107 replies to this topic

[JeremyStrain]

I think the O's flipped the Yanks a little cash to NOT add him to the roster that day. Which technically acquired his rights and added him to the roster before the opt out was official, but everything happened real fast and in the same day. Pearce had planned on opting out and signing with the O's, but thought the opt out timing was midnight 5/31 and it was actually midnight on 6/1 so when the Yanks caught wind he was going to sign with the O's they threatened to block it. Just a tidbit I heard, not 100% if it's true because it was 2nd hand, but plausible.

[Mike B]

I definitely remember hearing about him when he was coming up. I don't think he's going to break out into anything special but it was a smart pick up. He can be a solid left fielder until Reimold returns and a good reserve after that. His defense passes the eye test but that could be misleading.

He does pass the eye test as you mentioned. He seems to be a guy who you can plug into a number of positions and he will do a credible job. I know he has played 1st and 3rd and now the corner outfield positions. He seems to fit what Buck wants in role players. A guy with some pop who can play numerous positions.

[Mike B]

I think the O's flipped the Yanks a little cash to NOT add him to the roster that day. Which technically acquired his rights and added him to the roster before the opt out was official, but everything happened real fast and in the same day. Pearce had planned on opting out and signing with the O's, but thought the opt out timing was midnight 5/31 and it was actually midnight on 6/1 so when the Yanks caught wind he was going to sign with the O's they threatened to block it. Just a tidbit I heard, not 100% if it's true because it was 2nd hand, but plausible.

That makes sense and in a way it shows that the rest of the division has begun to look at the orioles a little different. In past years, the Yankees would have not much cared if one of their AAAA types would opt out to sign with the Orioles. This year there was probably some concern that he could help a team that does not want to go away. They ultimately did the right thing for a player who was earning another chance so good for them.

[SportsGuy]

894 career MiL OPS. Some of that done at advanced ages and things like that. Still, while no one should expect him to be a starter or anything like that, there s some reason to believe he could fill a bench role for us for a few years.

[Chris B]

I like him filling in at LF so far. He seems to hit the hard ball, and personally I'de rather have him starting in the outfield over someone like Chavez or Flaherty due to his better bat. As RZNJ said earlier, I think when Markakis gets back, Pearce will stay in left, and maybe someone like Tolleson is sent to AAA or Johnson released.

[RShack]

894 career MiL OPS. Some of that done at advanced ages and things like that. Still, while no one should expect him to be a starter or anything like that, there s reason to believe he could fill a bench role for us for a few years.

Well, I think his MiL summary total doesn't really paint the picture. For his first few years, each year he climbed a rung (or two or three) up the MiL ladder... and each year his OPS went up, not down, as he climbed up through the system. I don't know how common that is, but it certainly seems like something you'd want to see.

But then in 2008 and 2009 something happened. All the sudden, while he spent most of his time in the bus leagues, he also spent part of his time in PIT... he got worse, not better, with more time in the bigs... and even his MiL numbers suddenly got worse than they ever had. Now, maybe that was just him hitting a wall, ability-wise, or maybe it was something else. Maybe he was hurt, or maybe he just needed more time to adjust than he got. Or maybe this is an example of why GM's worry about bringing a guy up too soon. Now, at the time he was 25 (entered the MiL at 22) and had done well at each level in the MiL, so you can't blame PIT for wanting to find out what he could do... but still. Regardless of what it was, before that he was rising, in terms of both the league-level he was playing and how well he hit overall.

It was the 2008 and 2009 seasons which not only gave him a less-than-stellar intro to the bigs but also brought his MiL numbers down. I do agree with your basic conclusion, but that MiL .829 OPS might be kinda misleading (am not saying you meant it to be).

When vatech dropped by, he said he thought might be a Roenicke-like guy: valuable if put in the right role. While he has a limited number of ML AB's, those AB's show a .236 OPS diff RHP vs. LHP: his overall ML .235/.305/.373/.677 breaks down to .216/.284/.306/.590 (RHP) vs .278/.342/.494/.836 (LHP), based on 557 PA's (358/199). So, maybe there's something to that...

[SportsGuy]

Well, I think his MiL summary total doesn't really paint the picture. For his first few years, each year he climbed a rung (or two or three) up the MiL ladder... and each year his OPS went up, not down, as he climbed up through the system. I don't know how common that is, but it certainly seems like something you'd want to see.

But then in 2008 and 2009 something happened. All the sudden, while he spent most of his time in the bus leagues, he also spent part of his time in PIT... he got worse, not better, with more time in the bigs... and even his MiL numbers suddenly got worse than they ever had. Now, maybe that was just him hitting a wall, ability-wise, or maybe it was something else. Maybe he was hurt, or maybe he just needed more time to adjust than he got. Or maybe this is an example of why GM's worry about bringing a guy up too soon. Now, at the time he was 25 (entered the MiL at 22) and had done well at each level in the MiL, so you can't blame PIT for wanting to find out what he could do... but still. Regardless of what it was, before that he was rising, in terms of both the league-level he was playing and how well he hit overall.

It was the 2008 and 2009 seasons which not only gave him a less-than-stellar intro to the bigs but also brought his MiL numbers down. I do agree with your basic conclusion, but that MiL .829 OPS might be kinda misleading (am not saying you meant it to be).

When vatech dropped by, he said he thought might be a Roenicke-like guy: valuable if put in the right role. While he has a limited number of ML AB's, those AB's show a .236 OPS diff RHP vs. LHP: his overall ML .235/.305/.373/.677 breaks down to .216/.284/.306/.590 (RHP) vs .278/.342/.494/.836 (LHP), based on 557 PA's (358/199). So, maybe there's something to that...

Or maybe he just got to higher levels and was exposed as a player that is nothing more than a bench guy.

[JeremyStrain]

Or maybe he just got to higher levels and was exposed as a player that is nothing more than a bench guy.

I think the same thing has been said about every one of those examples you used earlier.

Thing is, some guys stumble and then take longer than other to adjust. Some have trouble with the mental side of things (finally making the majors, being sent down etc.) for a while.

There's lots of reasons for these late bloomers, but instead of worrying about why he didn't do things sooner, we should be focusing on what he's doing NOW and if it will help the team to keep him around.

Hammel is a good example. Both of us would have said last year he might be a 4/5 here, but then he gets the 2-seamer to work, and when that and the slider are on, he's just about unhittable this year. You just never know sometimes, but the gist is Pearce has always shown he's had some pop and can play a couple different positions. Maybe it's just the thought of knowing he's going to get some PT that's helping him do it, but I choose to focus on the fact he's hitting over .300 and playing decent defense, lets just enjoy it.

[RShack]

Or maybe he just got to higher levels and was exposed as a player that is nothing more than a bench guy.

Well, if you actually read what I said, that is the first possibility I mentioned.

Here's what I said: "Now, maybe that was just him hitting a wall, ability-wise, or maybe it was something else."

So, I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with.

[RShack]

I think the same thing has been said about every one of those examples you used earlier.

Thing is, some guys stumble and then take longer than other to adjust. Some have trouble with the mental side of things (finally making the majors, being sent down etc.) for a while.

There's lots of reasons for these late bloomers, but instead of worrying about why he didn't do things sooner, we should be focusing on what he's doing NOW and if it will help the team to keep him around.

Hammel is a good example. Both of us would have said last year he might be a 4/5 here, but then he gets the 2-seamer to work, and when that and the slider are on, he's just about unhittable this year. You just never know sometimes, but the gist is Pearce has always shown he's had some pop and can play a couple different positions. Maybe it's just the thought of knowing he's going to get some PT that's helping him do it, but I choose to focus on the fact he's hitting over .300 and playing decent defense, lets just enjoy it.

I agree with all this.

If you buy the idea that everybody will just be the same guy he was before, well, there's not much point in playing the games... you could just add up the expectations you have for everybody, modulo age and injury factors, and decide ahead of time who's gonna go to the WS. But that's not how it works... which is why formal predictions about how the season will work out end up being wrong more often than they're right...

None of which says Pearce is gonna be a long-lasting nugget. If he can be Gary Roenicke for a while, then we will have lucked out. But, for me at least, deciding all that before it happens just takes all the fun out of it. The main thing I enjoy about baseball is seeing what happens. If I had a crystal ball, it would completely ruin the game for me. (It might make me rich, but it would ruin the game.)

[Greg Pappas]

https://twitter.com/... ... 2869604353

@danconnollysun

Steve Pearce has been designated

Apparently the O's made this move to make room for Quintanilla. Pearce was a solid reserve. Makes little sense to me... in a vacuum.


Pearce commented through another Connolly tweet...

@danconnollysun
Pearce says if he isn't traded and clears waivers he'd like to stay w Orioles org. "definitely. I see myself as part of this team."

EDIT: Roch added a few notes about this move...

http://www.masnsport... ... nment.html



EDIT: Buck commented through Connolly's latest tweet.

@danconnollysun

Buck Showalter said he hopes Pearce stays in the organization: “I hope it is ‘See you later’ and not ‘Goodbye’ with Stevie."

[Chris B]

These minor moves that Duquette has been making all season have puzzled me.

[JeremyStrain]

These minor moves that Duquette has been making all season have puzzled me.

Yeah, expected Tollesun, but I guess if Omar isn't physically here for the game you don't want to leave yourself too thin at Mid Inf. I expect he goes with the next pitching move, or if they bring Avery back up.

[SportsGuy]

Poor roster management continues...at least they are consistent.

[Coker]

Not a fan of this move. At all. The 4 DH's are really starting to hamstring our roster

[Mike B]

I had begun to understand the need for Omar Q, defense at 2nd and SS and figured they would send out Tolleson. This to me is silly. We need have a handful of DH's who can not field and a collection of middle infielders who can not hit. I am not saying Pearce is irreplaceable but he gave us a RH bat with some pop.
I listened to Bucks presser last night and he was searching for something positive to say about the acquisition and could not come up with anything, except the obligatory we have good reports about him. Then I heard him say how he agonized all night about Pearce. This was DD screwing around with the roster again IMO.

[Coker]

I had begun to understand the need for Omar Q, defense at 2nd and SS and figured they would send out Tolleson. This to me is silly. We need have a handful of DH's who can not field and a collection of middle infielders who can not hit. I am not saying Pearce is irreplaceable but he gave us a RH bat with some pop.
I listened to Bucks presser last night and he was searching for something positive to say about the acquisition and could not come up with anything, except the obligatory we have good reports about him. Then I heard him say how he agonized all night about Pearce. This was DD screwing around with the roster again IMO.

Flaherty should be gone.

[Mike B]

Flaherty should be gone.

Not going to argue with you. Pearce has more ways to help a team in contention than Tolleson or Flaherty IMO.

[Chris B]

Astros claimed Pearce.

[BobPhelan]

Eh not a big deal IMO. I would've optioned Tolleson instead but Pearce isn't anything special. He gave us some value while he was here.