4 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

When I look at the O's current roster, I have Miller and Antonelli as options off the bench.

My current roster looks like:

Guthrie, Britton, Chen, Arrieta, Wada
Johnson, Gregg, Strop, Hunter, Patton, Eveland, and Simon

O'Day, Rapada, Phillips, and VandenHurk could also factor in the O's bullpen. I expect that Matusz ,Tillman , and Bergesen will be in AAA Norfolk to start the year.

Hardy SS
Markakis RF
Jones CF
Reynolds 3rd
Wieters C
Davis 1st
Reimold LF
DH
Andino 2nd

Roberts, Teagarden, Antonelli or Flaherty, Chavez or Miller

You will note that I currently have Roberts on the bench. If he is healthy enough to be on the roster, he will be starting. My assumption is that he will not be able to play. However, as he is currently under contract, and his status can not definitively be known now - I have him on the bench, with the expectation that Andino will start.

My preference would be a signing of Cespedes, with him taking over LF, and Reimold moving to DH. If that does not happen, are we looking at Miller or Antonelli starting?

I've thought it possible that Antonelli could replace Andino at 2nd, but the position I am thinking about here is 3rd. If another everyday bat is not added to the lineup, do we wind-up seeing Antonelli at 3rd, with Reynolds to 1st, and Davis to DH?

Or do we see Miller take over LF, with Reimold moving to DH?

I think Antonelli and Miller are nice moves as depth to a roster. I won't be excited if either one goes into the Spring as an expected starter.

[SportsGuy]

I doubt it, at least not initially.

Antonelli has more upside than Andino and should be given the chance but I don't think it happens.

Miller is a wild card and does bring good defense but I still kind of doubt that he starts.

Oh and Chavez is definitely on the team.

[Adam Wolff]

I think Antonelli could end up as a starter. It'll be interesting to see what Andino does, because if he's average to below average, I think Antonelli could steal some of his AB. However, if Andino is good, maybe we ultimately move him. I think Andino might already be valued by some teams a bit more than he should be based upon some of the events at the end of last season, and a solid first half could offer a good sell high option on him. I would expect Antonelli to then move into a starting role.

I don't expect him to have a starting gig out of ST, barring an injury, but I think there's a very good chance he ends up starting at some point throughout the year.

[Luke Jackson]

Miller and Antonelli...the former is a strikeout machine and the latter is an interesting pickup by Duquette who has displayed on-base skills throughout his minor league career. Antonelli was one of the top MiL FA's available (not saying a whole lot, but bear with me). Will they be starters, per se? Probably not to begin the year, but I could see Miller getting time in the OF and having one of Reimold/Jones/Markakis DH on the night that Miller plays. I could see Antonelli pushing for more playing time if he displays some OBP skills, which could mean a lot of nights where Reynolds plays 1B, Davis is the DH and Antonelli plays 3B. Or maybe Antonelli out-plays Andino and becomes the everyday guy at 2B. I don't know. But talking about this...I'm reminded of a piece Steven Goldman wrote for BP a little while back about Duquette's penchant for finding quality bargain basement players in Boston. The piece for subscribers: http://www.baseballp... ... leid=15735

The parts that will give you the idea:

""Rudy Pemberton" was a reference to one of Duquette’s many projects. Perhaps because the Yawkey Trust was a very different kind of boss, with far shallower pockets, than John Henry was for Theo Epstein, or maybe because he just loved bargain-shopping, Duquette was seemingly obsessed with turning over rocks to find secret stars." ...

"Sorting through other teams’ refuse led him to Brian Daubach, Rich Garces, Troy O’Leary, Matt Stairs (who didn’t catch on in Boston), Tim Wakefield, and Reggie Jefferson." ...

"The problem with this strategy when you’re running the Boston Red Sox is that you’re not going to beat the Yankees this way. It’s great to be creative, and you might somehow beat the 2011 Cardinals in a division race with this approach, but you’re not going to beat the 1998 Yankees this way." ...

"The Orioles aren’t competing with the Yankees; they’re competing with themselves. They need to get sorted at a basic level to reach basic, sustained competency before they can think about that. They can use a Rudy Pemberton more than any team on Earth. Duquette made his first gesture in this direction earlier this month when he selected Cubs infielder Ryan Flaherty in the Rule 5 draft."

Interesting stuff from Goldman. Will Antonelli, Miller and Flaherty be more bargain pickups for Duquette to put on his resume? We'll see.

[Mike B]

When I look at the O's current roster, I have Miller and Antonelli as options off the bench.

My current roster looks like:

Guthrie, Britton, Chen, Arrieta, Wada
Johnson, Gregg, Strop, Hunter, Simon, Bergesen, Patton or Eveland

O'Day, Rapada, Phillips, and VandenHurk could also factor in the O's bullpen. I expect that Matusz and Tillman will be in AAA Norfolk to start the year.

Hardy SS
Markakis RF
Jones CF
Reynolds 3rd
Wieters C
Davis 1st
Reimold LF
DH
Andino 2nd

Roberts, Teagarden, Antonelli or Flaherty, Chavez or Miller

You will note that I currently have Roberts on the bench. If he is healthy enough to be on the roster, he will be starting. My assumption is that he will not be able to play. However, as he is currently under contract, and his status can not definitively be known now - I have him on the bench, with the expectation that Andino will start.

My preference would be a signing of Cespedes, with him taking over LF, and Reimold moving to DH. If that does not happen, are we looking at Miller or Antonelli starting?

I've thought it possible that Antonelli could replace Andino at 2nd, but the position I am thinking about here is 3rd. If another everyday bat is not added to the lineup, do we wind-up seeing Antonelli at 3rd, with Reynolds to 1st, and Davis to DH?

Or do we see Miller take over LF, with Reimold moving to DH?

I think Antonelli and Miller are nice moves as depth to a roster. I won't be excited if either one goes into the Spring as an expected starter.

To answer your question, I do not see it happening to start the season unless we do not sign or trade for anyone else. I guess if we do not add anyone else, then Reynolds could DH and Antonelli could start at 3rd. That would make for one weak lineup. I want Reimold to play LF because I think he got better as the year went on. Miller and Chavez should be bench options at best.
The pitching you listed interests me. I agree with your projected rotation, but think Hunter and Matusz could force tough decisions.
DD certainly has stockpiled pitchers but my concern is journeyman guys like Eveland and O"Day are kept over a guy who has some upside. Patton and Phillips are two of those types IMO.