The Orioles had a quiet weekend but the same can’t be said for some other big league teams
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a nice weekend and were able to avoid that cold cold weather. If you celebrate Christmas, you might have spent the weekend making last-minute arrangements for the big day, which is just two days away. Or maybe you got a head start on celebrating by watching the Ravens kick the stuffing out of the Steelers. That’s always a good time.
As for the Orioles, they remained quiet for yet another weekend. I wasn’t expecting any different. They still have time to grab that last starting pitcher and maybe another bullpen piece. We’re just inside two months until the first spring training game of the season. But as they bide their time, the options continue to dwindle.
News broke yesterday morning that the Phillies are acquiring Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins for two prospects. Minor league catcher Paul McIntosh is also headed to Philly.
Luzardo, a lefty starting pitcher, will be a free agent in 2027 and is coming off of a down year and has struggled with injuries. Still, he is a talented pitcher who was one of the more talked about trade possibilities this winter.
The Phillies sent prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd. Caba turned 19 years old on December 6th and is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the #81 prospect in baseball. Baseball America puts him at #56. He slides into the Marlins’ prospect list at #3. Boyd is a much less heralded prospect. He was 23rd in the Phillies’ system and does not crack the top 30 for the Marlins.
Should the Orioles have gone after Luzardo? I’m not sold on his durability or effectiveness, but he’s only 27 and has seen success in the majors before 2024. The Orioles don’t have a prospect of similar rank to Caba so they probably would have had to add more prospects to the pot for a chance to match it. But their top prospects, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo, would have been safe.
Please just sign Corbin Burnes already, Orioles.
Links
Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo expected to improve in 2025 – MLB.com
I should hope so!
A Corbin Burnes cautionary tale – BaltimoreBaseball.com
In which Peter Schmuck compares the Orioles signing Corbin Burnes to both the Rangers signing Alex Rodriguez and also the Chris Davis contract.
Serving mailbag leftovers for breakfast – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko opens the mail bag to answer thoughtful questions like, “Does Cal Ripken want to sign Corbin Burnes?”
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have just one Orioles birthday buddy: Dave May (b. 1943, d. 2012). May appeared in 223 games with the Orioles from 1967-70. Midway through the 1970 season, May was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. He played 12 seasons in the majors with the Orioles, Brewers, Braves, Rangers, and Pirates. An interesting note is that he was included in the trade that brought Hank Aaron to the Brewers for the final two seasons of his career.
On this day in 1980, the Orioles signed free agent Jim Dwyer. Dwyer spent eight seasons with the Orioles and finished his O’s tenure with a 119 OPS+ in 637 games. Dwyer played in the majors for 18 seasons total.
In 1995, the Orioles signed Billy Ripken to a contract after he had been gone from the team for three seasons. The younger Ripken played in 57 games for the 1996 team.
In 2013, the Orioles claimed Liam Hendriks off waivers from the Cubs, but lost him to the Blue Jays a few months later. I only mention this because he turned into a cool guy and a pretty good pitcher and it would have been nice to see him on the team.