Blow It Up?

[birdwatcher55]

Time to face reality this is not going to be a playoff season. With that thought in mind, here's my blow it up trade pieces:
-- Jim Johnson. Love the guy but dagdling an all-star closer on 7/31 could net us two decent prospcts and hopefully one we can pencil in at 3B for the next 10 years.
-- Pedro Strop. Future closer somewhere IMHO. Let's see who steps up with what nice package.
-- JJ Hardy. Valuable trade piece for someone seeking a quality SS. With Machdo and Schoop knocking on the door, seems like a good time to extract TOR pitching from some contender.
-- Wilson Betemit. Good bat for contender needing punch. Might be able to get a B level prospect.
-- Mark Reynolds. See above.
-- Jason Hammel. Nice #2-3 guy ala Garza. If Theo can extract an Adrian Gonzalez like return per Gammons why not us???

Your thoughts are welcome. Happy Tuesday!!!

[CSPitt17130]

I agree that Orioles should be sellers and not buyers. I would add O'Day, Ayala, Lindstrom, and Patton to your list.

If Gammons is right about the return Garza could bring and Hammel could get a similar return, I hope Duquette seriously considers it. It may be worth hoping for a poor July to push the O's out of contention. They could already be in 4th place by the end of the night.

[A_K]

I'd keep Strop. Agreed on everything else.

[dan72]

I'd keep Hammel. Starting pitching is to hard to come by to get rid of him. Sure you could get a boat load of prospects....but who is to say those prospects ever pan out to equal Hammel? You could end up with another Josh Bell.

We need to stock pile good pitching and dump the crap pitching any way we can. Matusz, Arrieta, Tillman and Hunter are all questionable. What other teams would have any of those guys in their rotation, probably not many. I doubt any of these guys will ever amount to anything, maybe relievers at best. We have over valued these guys to long and I am ready to move them all on. Take what you can get for them and move on.

Also keep in mind we are not paying Hammel very much. To go out and get a pitcher of his performance would be very costly. Keep Hammel.

[A_K]

Keep in mind that the fact that they're not paying him much would figure into the return the team could expect from trading him. Nothing's guaranteed with prospects, but likewise there's no guarantee that Hammel continues to pitch at the current level (unprecedented through his career) or that he chooses to remain an Oriole after next season. One thing that is guaranteed is that the Orioles can't compete this year, or next year, and that the prospects that would come back in exchange for Hammel, unlike Hammel himself, would at least be property of the organization beyond that two year timeline during which we know that the team will remain irrelevant.

[Matt P]

If they are going to blow it up they should trade just about everyone except the young pitchers, Strop and Patton in the bullpen, and Jones, Wieters, and Davis in the field.

[A_K]

If they are going to blow it up they should trade just about everyone except the young pitchers, Strop and Patton in the bullpen, and Jones, Wieters, and Davis in the field.

No reason to hang on to Davis, either.

[OriolesRedskins28]

I really hope they stay in contention, but if they could get a monster return for Hammel I would be fine with that.

[Matt P]

If they are going to blow it up they should trade just about everyone except the young pitchers, Strop and Patton in the bullpen, and Jones, Wieters, and Davis in the field.

No reason to hang on to Davis, either.

He's only 26 and should be under team control for at least 2 or 3 more years if memory serves. I wouldn't be upset if they did trade him but I would hang onto him.

[osforlife]

I'd dangle Johnson, Ayala, Gregg, Hammel, Lindstrom, Betemit, Reynolds, Thome.
There are some other people I would trade but would bring back nothing like Eveland, Roberts, Andino, Paulino, etc.
I LOVE Jim Johnson but Strop could fill his shoes for less money. JJ will most likely be getting a big payday in arbitration this year. But I could be wrong(I know nothing about contracts) He could get us a good haul of prospects. I wouldn't mind if we keep him though.
Hardly anyone will want Gregg or Reynolds and wouldn't give up much at all to get them.
Ayala could get us a solid prospect.
Lindstrom and Betemit might be able to get a little more since they are under contract until the end of 2013. But I wouldn't mind if we keep them and just trade them next deadline.
Hammel could get us a BIG return if we trade him right now. He is pitching the best he's done in his whole life and likely won't be able to keep it up. Might as well trade him now.
If Thome got traded for two solid prospects he could be traded again....right?

[osforlife]

I'd keep Hardy, Davis, Wieters, Jones, Markakis, Chen, Strop, Patton, and O'Day.
Hardy plays excellent defense and will break out of his slump. Plus, he is the stopgap until Machado is ready which he isn't yet.
Wieters and Jones are are cornerstones.
Markakis is a solid piece that won't get us much in return because of his contract.
Davis is a decent...whatever the hell he is. His bat is nice, is cheap, and under contract for awhile.
Chen is a quality pitcher that would likely benefit us more by pitching for us than trading him.
Strop, Patton, and O'Day are young, shutdown bullpen arms. Keepers !!

[dan72]

I think Hammel will continue to pitch well. I think he is one of those guys that figures "it" out later in his career. Roy Holladay was a late bloomer to, and by no means am I comparing them talent wise. I think Hammel will have a good few year run of being a solid #2 or #3 starter which we desperately need.

I value starting pitching greater than I do any other position on the field. We have seen a lot of poor pitching in the last 14 years, when a good pitcher comes along you have to keep him ,just my thoughts.

[CSPitt17130]

Roy Holladay was a late bloomer to

Halladay was great from age 24 on. I don't know if I would call that a late bloomer.

[Rising O's]

Middle relievers are not going to get you much unless they have arbitration years remaining. Other than Johnson this team really lacks for players that will bring back much in return.

There isn't enough pitching in the pipeline to trade Hammel, his career year might net you more for a desperate GM, his history says buyer beware. While there is still hope for the 4 in Britton, Arrieta, Matusz, and Tillman, there are some very interesting free agent pitchers who are going to be available. Win, maybe make it as a wild card, give yourself a chance to sign one.

Its looking more likely that left field will be settled between Avery and Hoes with the best thing being both look like they could hit at the top of the order. They'll need a 2nd baseman and 3rd baseman, a smart trade could fill one of these positions and free agency the other.

Lots of dead weight on this team, clearing out Reynolds, Chavez, Johnson and Roberts should help improve the team offensively and defensively.

Blow it up? No, there is a way through but DD has to be shrewd and perhaps be a little lucky. The Thome trade leaves me doubting but that's where orange sunglasses come in handy.

[ofahn]

there are some very interesting free agent pitchers who are going to be available

I'd prefer to avoid any over priced "free" agents that come with long term commitments. One or two year deals.