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The 17-minute video call with president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias confirmed that he isn’t necessarily done with the outfield. He’s got the numbers but also a willingness to work them.
Seven outfielders are stashed on the 40-man roster, including Reed Trimble, who was added to protect him in the Rule 5 draft. He’s expected to head back to Triple-A Norfolk and wait for a phone call.
Heston Kjerstad could join him after a lengthy shutdown caused by an undisclosed illness. He hit .192/.240/.327 in 54 games with the Orioles and .149/.225/.248 in 27 games with the Tides. The Orioles would settle for getting him back on the field and continuing their work with him at the plate and in right and left.
An Opening Day roster with Taylor Ward, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers and Leody Taveras would suffice. Cowser could start in center, with the capability of moving to a corner late in games. Taveras could replace him. Ward could be the regular in left, with O’Neill and Beavers making most of their starts in right.
Taveras signed for $2 million but he’s out of minor league options, which could complicate matters. He’d have to pass through waivers – the contract could make it easier - and approve an outright assignment.
Elias said the club will be “hunting for help there as we go along,” which keeps the Orioles engaged in the outfield markets.
Let’s run back the quote that I posted Friday:
“We obviously love Cowser. I think that's going to be a big bounce back. I thought he looked good defensively and he will be good defensively. I think Leody Tavares is a nice add for us and gives us some flexibility and depth in that spot and some competition in that spot, as well. But it's an area that we can continue to look for more, and you need more than two center fielders in your org.
“I think Enrique Bradfield is going to move his way closer, but we have room at the end for more center field help if we can find it.”
Who steps aside if the Orioles find someone else who’s projected to stick on the roster? Taveras might be the quick response, but the Orioles made an aggressive early strike for him.
Cowser and Beavers have options. A surplus could to part of a trade plan for a starting pitcher. There are different directions to be taken.
Bradfield, the No. 4 prospect in the organization, isn’t in the immediate equation. He’s played 15 games at the Triple-A level, where he went 10-for-56. The defense and speed are big league material, but he’s got more work to do offensively.
“We're going to bring him to camp and we'll kind of take it from there,” Elias said on his video call. “He's certainly, just looking at his Baseball-Reference page, so to speak, he hasn't exhausted the minor leagues. So we'll see where it goes, but he's going to be in camp. It's going to be a real important camp for him and look forward to seeing him there.”
* Carrying a third catcher is anticipated but not confirmed. Too many lineups are going to include both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. An extra would provide some protection – and ideally play another position.
The Orioles traded Alex Jackson, eligible for arbitration with a raise to $1.8 million in MLB Trade Rumors’ formula, to the Twins for minor league infielder Payton Eeles. Jackson was the frontrunner for the role after playing in his first game July 8 and finishing the season with them, having eight doubles and five home runs among his 20 hits.
The Orioles used seven catchers this season, a shining example of how injuries dimmed their playoff chances. David Bañuelos was on the taxi squad most of the season but only appeared in a game as the designated hitter.
“Alex did a nice job for us,” Elias said. “He’s a very talented player that was a very high draft pick, and when I was with the Astros and we had the No. 1 pick, I spent a lot of time watching him, and you could see a lot of the ability that he had here when he was with the Orioles. He’s got a big arm, he’s got big power. He did a really nice job for us when we picked him up during that ridiculous catching crisis that we had last year.
“We just have two other really good catchers, and there are other teams that had a bigger need for him and we got a nice player in Payton Eeles, so we made the trade. I don’t think it rules out us adding a third catcher, and I agree that there’s logical discussions around whether we should carry one, given that our main two are kind of offensive-oriented guys that might be DHing or playing first base at different times. So we’ll just continue to look at that. But we didn’t want to pass on the trade opportunity.”
* The Orioles are nearing the completion of their coaching staff but aren’t ready to make an announcement or confirm hires and returnees.
New manager Craig Albernaz will work with the following coaches, according to sources:
Bench: Donnie Ecker
Hitting: Dustin Lind
Assistant hitting: Brady North
First base: Jason Bourgeois
Third base: Buck Britton
Infield: Miguel Cairo
Field coordinator/catching: Joe Singley
Bullpen: Hank Conger
Drew French, Mitch Plassmeyer and Ryan Klimek are back. If titles stay the same, French will be the pitching coach, Plassmeyer an assistant and Klimek the pitching strategy coach.
“He's been terrific to work with so far,” Elias said of Albernaz. “I'm really impressed with the coaches that we've landed and the type of guys that he's been bringing in and the sort of mix and blend of types of coaches that we appear to have on the staff. I think it's a terrific-looking staff. It's not done, so I can't address every nook and cranny of it at this time, but there's been a lot of media reports about hires and those are accurate.
“They've been putting a lot of good work into it, and I also credit Matt Blood and Eve Rosenbaum, who have been working with Craig on finding people, lining up interviews, signing a new target, and it's allowed me to focus on a very busy player market right now. I've been helping out, but those three - Craig, Eve and Matt - have been doing a lot of work building staff.”
