Hello, friends.
There are now 70 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. One month and one day from today is the full squad report date for spring training, though if it goes how these things typically
do, most of the position players will probably be reporting before the deadline.
Yesterday was a day with some big news, not that it was the Orioles that made the news. The Red Sox have linked up with free agent starting pitcher Ranger Suárez on a five-year contract that will pay Suárez $130 million. That’s a $26 million per year deal that adds one of the market’s higher-end pitchers to an AL East competitor. This after the Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease a while ago.
The game of musical chairs is now close to stopping. The only high-end name left, at least among the free agents, is Framber Valdez, lately of the Astros. Suárez’s contract was projected perfectly by Ben Clemens at FanGraphs. That doesn’t mean Valdez is guaranteed to hit the same, of course. It’s something to go on. Clemens’s projection for Valdez was a five-year, $150 million contract.
Valdez is two years older than Suárez, so the question about him is the same as it’s been all offseason: How’s he going to hold up for ages 32-36? A team that feels like he’s probably going to give at least three pretty good seasons is likely to be the one that signs him. Teams that don’t feel that way are probably not involved.
Many people are trying to will the Orioles signing a player into existence, but we are all clueless as to what Mike Elias actually thinks about any of these guys. Were the Orioles involved in this bidding and they were outbid, or did Elias pass entirely? How much does he like Valdez? It appears that the Mets are the team coming up around Valdez’s name, though they’re also heavily linked to a big-dollar, shorter-term kind of contract for outfielder Kyle Tucker. Maybe they’ll get one of those guys and not the other. Or they could say screw it and get both, because their billionaire is a bigger billionaire owner than our billionaire owner.
I don’t know how it will shake out. What I do know is it’s closer to the point where the shop is shut down for the offseason and there are no more meaningful avenues for improvement. The Orioles have shored up some of last season’s weaknesses already this offseason, yet it seems like they’d better act on the rotation some more or it might not be enough to maximize the potential the roster could have this season.
Today is a notable day on the baseball calendar as it’s the day of the international amateur signing period opening up for this year. The Orioles are expected to go in a different direction than past years, with more of a top-heavy signing class that includes four different players with bonuses in the range of $1 million or more, including a top signing that could potentially set a franchise record for the signing bonus. Stay tuned here on Camden Chat for more about that when those signings are announced later today.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Nationals leave Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (The Baltimore Banner)
The southern neighbor announced that the MASN divorce is official yesterday by revealing that they will be the seventh team to join MLB’s central production model for broadcasting. This was telegraphed some months ago when the two sides dropped all the lawsuits and had a settlement allowing the Nationals to explore their options for 2026. They were never going to stick around. I’m curious how long MASN will exist as a one-team operation, given the prevailing winds around team television networks.
Orioles eye Jeremiah Jackson for utility role. Is he ready? (The Baltimore Sun)
If he’s going to keep hitting like he did last year, I think they’ll find a space for him. I also think that’s a big if.
Three reasons why Gunnar Henderson can reclaim his 2024 form (Steve on Baseball)
Although I know better than to get my hopes up for anything to do with the Orioles, I’m still buying on Henderson having a big bounce-back year. Steve Melewski is on that wavelength too.
The Orioles can’t go into the season with three right-handed first basemen on the roster, right? (The Dishwasher)
Something’s going to have to give with having both Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo around, although I wonder if we’re underrating the chance of Elias just sending Mayo to Norfolk to start the season.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1999, the Orioles signed free agent reliever Heathcliff Sloclumb to a contract. Slocumb had a 12.46 ERA in ten games and was released before the calendar turned to May.
There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1999-2001 outfielder Delino DeShields, and 1970-76 infielder/should-be Hall of Famer Bobby Grich. Today is Grich’s 77th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: playwright Moliére (1622), Declaration of Independence signer Philip Livingston (1716), civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929), actress Regina King (1971), and DJ Skrillex (1988).
On this day in history…
In 1889, the Pemberton Medicine Company was incorporated in Atlanta. We know this company today as Coca-Cola.
In 1892, James Naismith published his rules for basketball.
In 1967, Los Angeles hosted the first Super Bowl, in which the Green Bay Packers were victorious over the Kansas City Chiefs by a 35-10 score.
In 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 collided with birds and experienced a double engine failure less than two minutes after taking off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Its captain, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, and copilot Jeffrey Skiles were able to land the plane on the Hudson River, with all 155 passengers and crew being safely rescued.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’m going to ask a question in this space until I either forget or run out of questions. The book has multiple choice answers but I’m not giving you those because it would be too easy. Today’s question:
What Orioles pitcher led rookies with 15 wins in 2002 and finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting?
The 2002 Orioles, you may recall, somewhat infamously were 63-63 after a win on August 23 and finished the season with a 67-95 record. Ouch.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 15. Have a safe Thursday.
