Mailbag

Have the Orioles’ deadline deals helped or hurt? / MAILBAG

SCROLL DOWN TO READ ARTICLE

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: I think the Orioles ‘management team should be commended for their shrewd drafting of young players that make up this team. That being said, I think their recent trade-deadline acquisitions are some of the poorest trading I have seen in my years as an O’s fan. None of these players have lived up to expectations. In fact, they have been responsible for frequent losses. I believe the Orioles think they can get less than average players in deals and make them a reclamation project. That hasn’t worked and, in fact, has hurt the team. Any thoughts? From: Gerald Graham

Answer: Gerald, the Orioles made trades to try to replace players that were hurt or underperforming. They’ve been badly hurt by losing starting pitcher Kyle Bradish and reliever Danny Coulombe, and none of the players available on the trade market were as good as Bradish and Coulombe.

As for Seranthony Domínguez, who I think you’re referring to, I thought it was a good move at the time because I’ve been impressed with him over the years, but the two losses to the Mets were difficult.


The move for Zach Eflin was a good one, but unfortunately he’s hurt now. The Trevor Rogers deal hasn’t worked out yet, and we haven’t seen enough of Gregory Soto to get a good read. The acquisitions of Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater have been fine, but the Orioles lost Jordan Westburg the day after the trade deadline, and that’s really hurt them, too.

Sometimes, it takes a few years to evaluate trades, and maybe next year at this time, the trades could look better.

Question: I have a question about relievers in general. Why is it such importance placed on their being rested? When a reliever pitches one or two innings, maybe even two games in a row or more, like Burch Smith in your article today, and has thrown maybe 30 pitches total, often much less, why is there such a concern for their health? Is it because they are expected to throw much harder? Is it because they are not considered to be as strong as starters? Is it because they are generally not as consistent as starters? Is it because the stress is greater in late innings? From: Tom Capuano, Proctor, Vermont

Answer: Tom, I think the answer to most of the questions you pose is yes. There’s something else. Relievers have much less margin for errors than starters.

Relievers are expected to throw scoreless innings. If a starter gives up a run or two, that’s to be expected, but a late-inning reliever is supposed to be nearly perfect.

Relievers who are consistently excellent over several years are relatively rare, and as for rest, it’s generally accepted that relievers shouldn’t throw more than two days in succession, and managers are aware that warming up a pitcher without using him in a game also puts stress on the arm.

I think it’s much more stressful pitching in the ninth inning as a closer than for a starter who may take an inning or two to get into a rhythm.

Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.

Share
Published by
Rich Dubroff

Recent Posts

  • Peter Schmuck

Peter Schmuck’s Short Take: Attention skeptical fans! The wise guys in Vegas are pretty high on the Orioles

The MLB futures market is now open for business, and if you’ve been complaining all…

February 25, 2025
  • Mailbag

Did Orioles want to sign John Means? | MAILBAG

Question: I was somewhat surprised that John Means decided to leave the Orioles, particularly given…

February 25, 2025
  • Spring Training

Tyler O’Neill is eager to demonstrate his power with the Orioles

SARASOTA—Tyler O’Neill was supposed to play his first game for the Orioles on Monday. O’Neill,…

February 25, 2025
  • Spring Training

Braves-Orioles canceled by rain

SARASOTA--The Orioles' scheduled game against the Atlanta Braves on Monday was canceled because of rain.…

February 24, 2025
  • Mailbag

Can Orioles have both Rutschman and Basallo as catchers? | MAILBAG

Question: What do you think the future is for Adley Rutschman given Samuel Basallo waiting…

February 24, 2025
  • Minors

A look at Orioles’ minor league pitcher Trey Gibson and why prospect analysts are noticing him

For a pitcher who was not even drafted, but signed as a free agent after…

February 24, 2025