Looking at the pitching depth, I'm excited for this off season.

[Matt P]

Starters
Jason Hammel
Wei-Yin Chen
Miguel Gonzalez
Chris Tillman
Zach Britton
Brian Matusz
Jake Arrieta
Tommy Hunter
Steve Johnson
Dylan Bundy
Kevin Gausman
Tsuyoshi Wada

The last 3 may or may not be ready for the start of the 2013 season but they figure to be ready at some point during the season. By my count, that's 12 starting pitchers that are under contract for next year as of today and 7 of them will all be competing for one spot in the rotation. Of course some will disappoint and some will get injured but 12 seems like a lot of pitchers before free agency starts. They should have a AAA rotation this season that is better than some of the recent Orioles rotations.

The other thing is we all found out how much Duquette loves depth. You have to figure there is going to be a few minor league free agent signings as well as a trade or two for some more pitching depth (like Eveland last year). With a few signings and trades they could have 10+ pitchers competing for one rotation spot.

Then, you take a look at the bullpen and realize there is a lot of depth there as well. They already have Johnson, Strop, O'Day, Ayala, and Patton for next year. That leaves two open spots as of today and you figure one will be a lefty and the other a long reliever (although, they went most of last year without a 2nd lefty or a long reliever so who knows). If they trade one of their relievers they can just plug in a guy who doesn't make the rotation. Pomeranz is going to be ready for Spring Training and he looked great last year. It's also another area where Duquette and his scouts have shown to have a great eye for talent (Gonzalez, Pomeranz, Neshek, Socolovich, Villareal, and others were all brought in as minor league relievers before the season).

I keep looking at it and thinking of all the trade possibilities. Whether they can pull off a trade for a #1 starter or middle of the order hitter remains to be seen. Trading to improve in areas of weakness last season (OBP, 2B, etc.) should be a guarantee.

[osforlife]

I see the top four being in the rotation, along with a free agent signing. Hunter, Wada, and Steve Johnson is the bullpen. Britton, Arrieta, Matusz, Bundy, Gausman starting somewhere in the minors.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

Then, you take a look at the bullpen and realize there is a lot of depth there as well. They already have Johnson, Strop, O'Day, Ayala, and Patton for next year. That leaves two open spots as of today and you figure one will be a lefty and the other a long reliever (although, they went most of last year without a 2nd lefty or a long reliever so who knows).

When Wada is ready it would be nice to have him as a long man AND lefty.

[Matt P]

I see the top four being in the rotation, along with a free agent signing. Hunter, Wada, and Steve Johnson is the bullpen. Britton, Arrieta, Matusz, Bundy, Gausman starting somewhere in the minors.

So you see the team having 8 relievers next season and going with a short bench?

[Matt P]

When Wada is ready it would be nice to have him as a long man AND lefty.

I'm more intrigued by Wada than anyone. He was more hyped than Chen and got more money than him. Maybe it's a dumb way to look at it but seeing how good Chen did I'm very excited to see what someone who was better in the NPB can do in the MLB.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

I'm more intrigued by Wada than anyone. He was more hyped than Chen and got more money than him. Maybe it's a dumb way to look at it but seeing how good Chen did I'm very excited to see what someone who was better in the NPB can do in the MLB.

I don't think it's a dumb way to look about it. It was brought up frequently when they were signed. Chen throws harder so people were more excited about him.

[ofahn]

So you see the team having 8 relievers next season and going with a short bench?

Which eight relievers are you referring to?

[ofahn]

Wada might be a dominant lefty, but I wonder if it's a good idea to count on him as a SP or even to be ready for ST. I can see him being ML ready by mid May and should probably be eased in as a long reliever. If he's as good as advertised we should be able to resign him at the end of the year. I'm not aware of any clause in his contract that deny us the ability to offer him arbitration.

[Matt P]

Which eight relievers are you referring to?

Johnson, Strop, O'Day, Ayala, Patton, S. Johnson, Wada, and Hunter.

[ofahn]

Johnson, Strop, O'Day, Ayala, Patton, S. Johnson, Wada, and Hunter.

I don't see Ayala as part of this team next season. Assuming that Strop, O'Day, and Hunter handle the sixth, seventh and eight innings he wouldn't have a role. Ayala had horrible inherited runners numbers and Hunter throws harder than Strop.

I could see your seven without Ayala.

[Matt P]

I don't see Ayala as part of this team next season. Assuming that Strop, O'Day, and Hunter handle the sixth, seventh and eight innings he wouldn't have a role. Ayala had horrible inherited runners numbers and Hunter throws harder than Strop.

I could see your seven without Ayala.

I was just listing the 5 I had listed as under contract for next year and the 3 that he wrote which is why I asked him if he saw the team carrying 8 relievers. He never mentioned one of the 5 I listed not being on the team.

I don't really like Ayala much either.

[osforlife]

So you see the team having 8 relievers next season and going with a short bench?

If I was manager, yes. I don't see Buck doing that as he has favored in the past to go with a 4 man bench. This is just what I would do. If we were going with an 8, it'd be Johnson, Strop, O'Day, Patton, Hunter, Ayala, Johnson, Wada. If it was seven they'd probably not pick up Ayala's option.

[ofahn]

I was just listing the 5 I had listed as under contract for next year and the 3 that he wrote which is why I asked him if he saw the team carrying 8 relievers. He never mentioned one of the 5 I listed not being on the team.

I don't really like Ayala much either.

It's good to see that we can find common ground from time to time.

[ofahn]

If I was manager, yes. I don't see Buck doing that as he has favored in the past to go with a 4 man bench. This is just what I would do. If we were going with an 8, it'd be Johnson, Strop, O'Day, Patton, Hunter, Ayala, Johnson, Wada. If it was seven they'd probably not pick up Ayala's option.

Call me crazy (the line starts HERE), but I would prefer we had a SIX man bullpen. OF course, that would require our SPs to work into the seventh or so with regularity and our relievers to be able to throw two innings an appearance (...and that would be bad because.......); but I'm tired of having limited options in game critical situations.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

I was just listing the 5 I had listed as under contract for next year and the 3 that he wrote which is why I asked him if he saw the team carrying 8 relievers. He never mentioned one of the 5 I listed not being on the team.

I don't really like Ayala much either.

Agreed. I could easily see him being removed from the roster next year. He was fire for the first half but really faded once those inherited runners started going.