I can’t really find much to bellyache about with our first-place baseball team, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for discussion, so let’s dig in deep. With a couple correct moves, our home team could be more than good enough to give us the deep ride we thought we were on the precipice of back in 2014.
The really good news? This team isn’t going anywhere for a while. Unlike the 2014 iteration of the Orioles, nobody we really want on the team is a pending free agent. You may recall that after the 2014 season, the club lost three key members of that team — Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis and Andrew Miller.
So, let’s put the spy glass on our team and see if we can figure out how to jockey the Birds over the finish line after a 40-year drought.
1. Mike Elias should pick up a starter and a reliever.
Orioles GM Mike Elias was fairly proactive after watching Bryan Baker give up a grand slam to the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor to cough up a lead in Grayson Rodriguez’s first start of his second try at the majors. The reliever he picked up on the cheap was Japanese reliever Shintaro Fujinami. Cheap in this case refers to the obscurity of the name. He’s got a giant arm and can be in that Félix Bautista range in fastball velocity, but he’ll be needed in big league games that matter now.
There is no question he improved immensely in those last 16 appearances for the Athletics, which came exclusively in relief. But there is a big difference between the context of the games he pitched in for the A’s and the ones he’s pitching in now. Sure, he was a late-inning reliever, but he also came into more than a few games simply to get his work in while his team was down big. To me, acquiring a pitcher who is being asked to swim in the deep end of the pool for the first time is a big risk in a pennant race.
So, while I like the gamble here, it’s got to be backed up by more of a proven commodity. And the more I watch this rotation, and all the post-pandemic issues of how many innings can a starter go, I see a need for someone who has been in the wars a bit.
I am reading a lot of pieces that seem to strongly imply that Elias might not make the big move this year. That sounds like it misses the point of assessing whether your team really has the goods to go all the way.
I am more than a little reticent to give up two top-tier prospects — no matter how clogged up our Oriole arteries are with talent — to get the starter the club needs for 2023 and beyond, only not getting the beyond part.
But I think it would be pretty much malpractice not to make some significant pickups to help this team ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Two arms, please.
2. That was an amazing display of support for the Orioles at Tropicana Field.
Baltimore baseball fans watching on TV finally got to see the other side of the coin this past weekend in St. Petersburg. After years and years of watching Red Sox and Yankees fans take over Camden Yards, Orioles fans packed the joint at the Trop and took the stadium over from the mostly tepid fan base in Tampa/St. Petersburg.
But, here’s the question — was these tremendous horde of fans all coming down from Baltimore? I don’t know for sure, but my supposition after watching last week’s three games against the Dodgers at Camden Yards that featured two of the five best teams in MLB draw less than 70,000 is that there are a heck of a lot of transplants who have moved to Florida and they are keeping up with their team and they showed up.
Also, there are a ton of fans in Sarasota who have adopted the Orioles. I’d say they showed up, too. So, as I said before my supposition is you had a perfect storm of O’s fans from Baltimore making the trip, transplanted O’s fans who still love their O’s and then you have the fans in Sarasota who have adopted the O’s. But it sure felt good however it occurred and it built up the narrative that the O’s are worth coming out to see.
Hint-hint: The Orioles have three this coming weekend against the Yankees at Camden Yards. Let’s rock the Yard and again the following weekend against the Mets during the club’s 40th anniversary celebration of its last trip to the World Series.
3. Here’s a strong suggestion for the home fans.
I know times change and the only tradition that doesn’t is playing John Denver’s “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” during the seventh-inning stretch. I love the Splash Zone, I love the amazing energy that fans give to whether Relish, Mustard or Ketchup wins the Hot Dog Race, but I’ll tell you what I miss — the connection between the players and the fans when one of their boys hits a big home run.
Sure, the scoreboard tells them to cheer and to make some noise and celebrate, but what once was so special was the fans calling out their hero for a moment when the fan’s expression of love, insanity and primal thrill could coax an Eddie Murray, Lenn Sakata or John Lowenstein out to take a bow.
What I see now is mostly polite enthusiasm, and I guess fans then turn to their phones instead of showing that extra ounce of passion.
4. I love what Aaron Hicks has brought to the table, but I’m ready to see more of Colton Cowser.
No, manager Brandon Hyde hasn’t buried his two big callups in Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser. And in the case of Westburg, Hyde can’t forget about infielders who have produced for him — Adam Frazier, Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías.
However, Hyde has chosen to pretty much play Aaron Hicks every day, mostly in center field. [Hicks was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain on July 25.] Despite a couple big-time plays that Hicks hasn’t made, I think he is still an excellent defender with a solid arm and great eye at the plate. It’s just that I’d like to strike with Cowser while the iron is hot. He looks totally capable in all three outfield positions. I’d like to see him get more of an opportunity to show us how good he is. That brings me to my last point.
5. Is Heston Kjerstad ready to make his major league debut?
The Orioles’ surprise first-round pick during the 2020 MLB Draft, Heston Kjerstad is now making up for lost time. Drafted No. 2 overall by the Orioles as an under-slot signing, Kjerstad allowed the club to then overpay a couple younger prospects to essentially buy them out of big-time college commitments.
The two prospects the Orioles targeted are third baseman Coby Mayo and right-hander Carter Baumler. Mayo is moving up the ranks quickly and is now a teammate of Kjerstad’s at Triple-A Norfolk. Baumler’s progress has been stunted by injuries ever since signing.
Kjerstad was promoted to Norfolk about a month ago. He is hitting .344/421/.584 with 18 extra-base hits in 147 plate appearances with the Tides.
I’ll trust GM Mike Elias on the timing of Kjerstad’s next promotion, but Elias and the team’s brain trust has to be thrilled at how his hard work has paid off after contracting myocarditis.
Kjerstad has been healthy for a while now, but he worked exceptionally hard to make up for all the lost time. That was a lonely journey and one he is very glad to be past. His time is coming. Just not quite yet.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox