Baltimore Orioles Winter Meetings News And Notes

The Baltimore Orioles spent the first full day of the 2019 Winter Meetings setting up for the possibility of some activity.

Scratch Stephen Strasburg off the Winter Meetings shopping list for Mike Elias and the Baltimore Orioles.

While the Washington Nationals started their trip to San Diego by signing a key piece to their 2019 World Series run, and former San Diego State Aztec, to a $245 million dollar deal, the Baltimore Orioles spent their first full day of the Winter Meetings laying the groundwork for a number of moves expected to be completed in the coming days/weeks.

Elias spoke with reporters Monday evening, giving us a glimpse into what the first day of his San Diego adventures looked like and what we could possibly see by the end of the week.

First, there was trade talk. From a Monday night recap of events from MASN’s Roch Kubatko, teams are doing their homework and gauging the market for a few Orioles veterans.

"Elias indicated that most of the trade talks today were initiated by teams checking on available veterans, though he didn’t mention anyone specifically."

Mychal Givens is surely at the top of this list. Coming off an up and down season and lacking a defined role out of the bullpen, Givens did record a career-high strikeout rate and has the stuff to be a quality reliever for years to come. He also has two years of control, which makes him attractive, but how attractive?

If we’re continuing with this teardown by moving Jonathan Villar and Dylan Bundy for minor league pitchers, let’s keep ripping off the band-aide. Don’t stop while that last little bit is hanging on for dear life.

The Orioles have stockpiled bullpen arms since the end of last season, including RHP Cole Sulser (our report on him can be found here) and RHP Eric Hanhold (read up on him here). On Monday afternoon, the Orioles also claimed RHP Marcos Diplan off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. Diplan has an option remaining and once littered top prospect lists, but has struggled with high walk rates and putting it all together to advance past Double-A ball.

There was some Pedro Severino talk yesterday, as discussed by the guys over at Rox Pile, FanSided’s Colorado Rockies blog, but nothing concrete concerning the veteran catcher yet. I know we’re just playing the waiting game until Adley Rutschman is the man in charge, but I can’t do a full season of Chance Sisco as the primary backstop. I can barely make it through nine innings.

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The other major trade chip, obviously, is Trey Mancini. It’s no guarantee that Mancini returns in 2020 and if the right team comes calling with the right package, Mike Elias leaves San Diego without the 2019 Most Valuable Oriole.

"“But, yeah, sometimes somebody jumps up and gets super interested in a player all of a sudden and you never know when that’s going to happen. That could happen this week, it could be later on. You never know.”"

What we do know is that the Orioles are looking to add “three or four” pitchers and middle infield options this winter. There’s rumored to be a legitimate interest in free agent Adeiny Hechavarria, someone who brings a plus-glove the Orioles need up the middle. Other than that, there are no other concrete rumors to go off of.

In positive news, Mike Elias also mentioned that Rutschman will be making an appearance in Sarasota during the early part of spring training. It’s exciting to know he will be able to work with the major league coaching staff for a bit this spring and maybe see some action. As to who will be throwing to him, or any other catcher in camp, that’s still TBD.

The majority of Monday’s activities involved interviewing for open coaching and front office vacancies but don’t be surprised to see a move or two made on Tuesday. At least, I hope to see a move or two.

The Baltimore Orioles spent the first full day of the 2019 Winter Meetings setting up for the possibility of some activity.

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