Answers to your Orioles questions

Beginning today, I’ll be answering Orioles questions from readers each weekday. Generally, it will be one or two questions a day, but we’ll start with a handful. As always, questions may be edited for style, length and clarity. If you’d like to ask a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.

Question: It seems as if the new owners have lots of money to spend. Do you think they’ll use some of that money to extend Gunnar Henderson or Adley Rutschman? From: @2osfans

Answer: That’s a popular question, and I think that’s something that David Rubenstein has said he’ll leave to Mike Elias. Of course, Rubenstein sets the payroll, and fans hope that the Orioles will have more money to spend on extending players and attracting free agents. I think the chances are better under new ownership, but Henderson is represented by Scott Boras, and relatively few of his clients sign extensions without hitting the free-agent market. The guess here is that an extension for Rutschman is more likely, but I really don’t know the chances.

Question: Can you address the lack of streaming ability for Oriole fans with MASN and what the present state is and the possible future? There are very few options for those of us who have cut the cord of cable with FIOs  and Xfinity. From: Aaron Magid

Answer: Aaron, the Orioles recently reached an agreement with Fubo, a service to stream games. That’s their first, and I think David Rubenstein will be more open to new ways of distributing games.

Question:  Based on Ryan McKenna’s history of being a solid backup in a crowded outfield, and Tyler Nevin’s great spring training, wasn’t there a trade market for these two, and throw in a useful arm like Cole Irvin, for a nice package for a number 5 starter, draft pick(s), or cash?  Or would teams simply take their chances on the waiver wire to try to get them without giving compensation? From: John Flato

Answer: John asked this question before McKenna cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Norfolk and Nevin was claimed off waivers by Oakland. There obviously wasn’t a trade market for either McKenna or Nevin. As for including Irvin in a trade for a number 5 starter, there aren’t many starters available in trades, and the cost for them is likely to be much higher than these three players.

Question: Who would you like to see throw out the first pitch at the Orioles’ first home World Series game? From: Timothy Fowler

Answer: Timothy, I think Cal Ripken Jr. would be the ideal choice.

Question: Can you explain the taxi squad? Is it official? Unofficial? It sounds very unofficial. Does it count to the 40-man roster? I saw your comment that Michael Pérez is on the taxi squad, but I don’t see him on the 40-man. From: Damon Stout

Answer: Damon, the taxi squad is used for an emergency catcher. It’s handy to have one around so that he can be active for a game after an injury to a catcher. Pérez is not on the 40-man roster, and I think you’ll see Maverick Handley and David Bañuelos alternate with Pérez as taxi squad catchers.

Question: Who do you see the O’s removing from their roster to make room for Jackson Holliday when he’s called up? From: Dave Gruber

Answer: Dave, I don’t know when Jackson Holliday will be called up, and I don’t know what other moves might be made, in case of injury, or for other reasons before then. This is a popular question, and I don’t know the answer.

Question: In the Sarasota article, you mentioned that Peter Angelos found the Latin player system distasteful. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that? From: Robert London

Answer: Robert, Peter Angelos found dealing with agents for young teenage prospects in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela distasteful, and he wasn’t wrong. It’s akin to college basketball recruiting where young teenage players are fought over. However, it’s nearly impossible to have a successful major league team without an infusion of talent from Latin America, and the Orioles have successfully re-entered the market, and it was the right decision. Hopefully, there will be an international draft in the future, and then some of the inequities of the system will be removed.