As the Orioles continue to search for a new baseball management regime, work continues on construction of the 2019 team. By Friday, the Orioles have to reinstate the players who are on the 60-day disabled list, and they began making room when they placed outfielder John Andreoli on waivers, and he was snapped up by the Seattle Mariners.
Andreoli, who was claimed from the Mariners on Aug. 18, batted .232 in 23 games. With the large number of young outfielders expected to compete for jobs next spring, there wasn’t room for Andreoli.
The roster is at 39, and designated hitter Mark Trumbo, outfielder Austin Hays, pitchers Pedro Araujo, Richard Bleier and Gabriel Ynoa, who are on the 60-day DL, must replace players on the 40-man roster.
One player who has already been removed is Adam Jones, who’s set for free agency. Other names will surface shortly.
On Tuesday, the Orioles added pitcher Branden Kline to the roster, and they’ll soon add Dillon Tate, a right-hander obtained in the Zach Britton trade. Catcher Martin Cervenka, who is in the Arizona Fall League, is also likely to be added.
Wednesday was a busy day at the Warehouse, and contracts were sent out to returning minor league staffers. It was also the last official day of employment for executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter, whose departures were announced four weeks ago.
Brian Graham, the head of player development, is handling the general manager’s duties on an interim basis as the search for new leadership continues.
Norfolk manager Ron Johnson was informed last week that he wasn’t coming back after seven years as Tides manager.
A number of front-office personnel closely connected with Duquette have reportedly been told they won’t be back, including Lee Thomas, Joe McIlvaine and John Stockstill. Stockstill, who was Graham’s predecessor as minor league director, had a number of roles with the team over the past 13 years. Thomas and McIlvaine’s departures were reported by MASNSports.com and Stockstill’s by former ESPN.com reporter Jerry Crasnick.
Stephen Walters, a Loyola University professor of economics, who had served as an adviser to Duquette, won’t return. Jeremy Kapstein, who has been an assistant to Duquette for the last three years, has also left the team.
When the Orioles announced they were parting ways with Duquette and Showalter, they also announced that Vice President of Baseball Operations Brady Anderson and Scouting Director Gary Rajsich remain under contract.
The General Managers meetings begin Monday in Carlsbad, Calif., and it appears that the Orioles will not have a head of baseball operations named in time to attend. The Winter Meetings in Las Vegas begin Dec. 9.
Contracts for Orioles coaches also expired Wednesday, and no one has been assured of a position for 2019.
Bench coach John Russell and first base coach Wayne Kirby have been with the Orioles for eight seasons; Bobby Dickerson (third base) for six; Scott Coolbaugh (hitting) for four. Pitching coach Roger McDowell and bullpen coach Alan Mills were with the team for the last two seasons. Assistant hitting coach Howie Clark (two seasons) and major league coach Einar Diaz (six seasons) also face uncertain futures.
Arizona Fall League update
Bowie outfielder Ryan McKenna won the fans vote and will play in the AFL All-Star Game on Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz. McKenna is batting .404 with a home run and seven RBIs in 12 games.
The Orioles minor leaguers are playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs, managed by minor league infield coordinator Dave Anderson. The Desert Dogs are 8-11, and their final regular-season game is Nov. 15.
Infielder Steve Wilkerson, who concluded his season with the Orioles, is batting .270 with four RBIs in 11 games, and Cervenka is hitting .222 with seven RBIs in nine games.
Right-hander Tanner Chleborad, who pitched for Bowie last season, is 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA in seven games. Another Baysox right-hander, Jay Flaa, is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in six games. Left-hander Chris Lee, who pitched for both Norfolk and Bowie, is 0-1 with a 2.19 ERA in four starts. Taylor Erwin, a left-hander who pitched for Frederick, is 0-1 with 3.68 ERA.
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Sorry, but no great loss. As I’ve written here in prior posts, you could put the whole roster up for grabs and you wouldn’t get much in return. “Hope springs eternal” is what keeps most of us going but the O’s are at the lowest point I’ve ever seen them and now heading for the GM’s meeting with no one in place just puts an exclamation point on how far they’ve fallen. Time is running out for me...
Ekim, as long as you keep reading, I'll be happy. There will be much more to comment on.
A busness preparing itself to be acquired or to relocate, sheds expenses in every way possible, and delays decision-making that would increase expense (payroll and otherwise). Just saying.
Mark, it's nice to know that I get to learn economics from my readers.
Of course I hope I am wrong!
I hope you are right...about the sell. But I don't see that happening.
Rich ... I feel for you in that the O's managment team, whoever they may be, must be making it extremely difficult on you by failing to provide any kind of significant news regarding the team. Kudos for hanging in there. However ....
This comment is directed at Mr. Cockey, web guru and co-founder of this most beloved site ....
Please Steve PLEASE .... is there no way you can filter out the MLB video feed located in the bottom right corner, from showing the Red Sox World Series parade? How demoralizing!!
Boog, I've gotten through a month of the off-season. Now, just 3 1/2 months until spring training. There will be news to report on, I promise.
Agree, totally. It's absurd.
Hey Boog,
Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to filter out this video. Luckily, our provider swaps in new videos pretty frequently, so it shouldn’t be there much longer. Fingers crossed.
Thanks Steve ... I'd give you a thumbs up emoji if it were available!
Jones already is off the 40-man. Happened Monday. How do you think they had room to add Kline?
You are correct. Jones is still listed on the 40-man roster on Baseballreference.com, which I used to check. He is no longer on the MLB.com 40-man roster, which I just checked.
When Andreoli is a name worthy of being mentioned concerning this matter(claimed) maybe things are looking up. It sounds kinda cruel but to see all these FO dismissals is an encouraging sign. I feel awful saying that. You mentioned Trumbo. Now there is a player who was always on the wishlist of potential players leaving. This time around Trumbo could ironically be a plus. If he's healthy any production out of him could be a bonus going forward. Glad to see McKenna get his recognition and slowly rise to the top.
Orial, it will be interesting to see if Trumbo is ready to start the season. Had he been healthy at the end of August, it's conceivable he would have been moved.
Thanks, Rich, for keeping us up with whatever droppings fall from the Warehouse windows.
Question: Can the O's drop Chris Davis from the 40-man roster to make room for another player? I mean temporarily since they're stuck to paying him off, whatever. But there seems little chance someone else would pick him up. What are the implications that keep this from being considered? (I know, I have too much time on my hands.)
The Orioles can drop Chris Davis from the 40-man roster, Will. However, that will in essence force them to pay his entire contract because he'd pass through waivers unclaimed and because of his service time be declared a free agent. So, yes they could, but no they won't, at least until a new management team works with him.
Agree, totally. It's absurd.
John Andreoli, the 2019 World Series MVP. Book it. :)
bats... now I see where you get your name... just saying...
Bats. I don’t know what’s more unlikely Andreoli winning the MVP of the world series or seeing the Seattle Mariners reach it.
The M’s are real short on youngish outfielders so it makes sense they took him back. With Denard Span a FA there’s a chance he could win a reserve role there. The mariners decided dee Gordon would be a suitable CF..... they could be in worse shape than us in the near future. Farm system is easily the worst in the game but they do have quite a few talented major leaguers if they decided to rebuild but they haven’t seen the postseason in two decades and I’m sure they aren’t keen on doing that.