the flaherty situation

[j.q. higgins]

anyone think there's a chance they'll work out a deal w/ the cubs to keep him so they can send him down and get him every day work at the plate? to me, he doesn't offer quite enough value in the outfield and w/ roberts healthy at the moment, seems surplus to requirements in the infield.

i realize he's roughly the same age as adams. does adams seem like a lost cause at this point or is this just a lost season?

[Don]

I have said privately about a month and half ago that you cannot keep his types on the roster for a contending ball club. I am not sure that I want to work something out either. If I am the Cubs, he would not go on my 40 man with their logjam and he would likely sit in AAA, end up a 6 yr FA down the road.

I am not sure that it warrants giving up a pitcher with some upside, unless money is involved.

Ryan could be a sound player, but he is not quite ready for a major league role in the first division of a winning club. He is, to me, the third division bench player and spot everyday regular. He has a place, but I think it is outside of this environment.

[Rising O's]

Question is, how much upside do the Orioles think he has? Pretty obvious they feel he is overmatched right now and are limiting his appearances. But with this offense and defense as they are, we cannot afford to keep him on the ML roster.

[dan72]

His bat does not play at the MLB level. His defense is fine. We need to fill his roster spot with someone that can hit and field.

[A_K]

If they've really decided that they're a contending baseball team-- and based on DD's comments about the trade deadline, that seems to be the case-- it's hard to justify keeping a roster spot for someone without any clearly defined role.

The other side of this is that returning him to the Cubs to free up a roster spot for a new acquisition needs to be folded into the cost of any trade. For instance, if they trade Schoop and Bridwell to the Padres (100 percent speculation, I have no idea what it would actually cost) for Chase Headley and give him Flaherty's roster spot, the cost of the trade would need be accurately registered as Schoop, Bridwell and Flaherty for Headley. I'm not saying that would necessarily be enough to scare you off of a trade, but it is the actual cost of the acquisition and should be valued as such.

[birdwatcher55]

Yes I think we're fast approaching decision time with this kid. If you think he has a future, put him LF for the next two weeks and see what he does before the all-star break and then evaluate things

[Matt P]

Why are they even so high on the guy? He never even hit in AAA and his breakout season in AA was as a 24 year old so it's not all that impressive.

[birdwatcher55]

Why are they even so high on the guy? He never even hit in AAA and his breakout season in AA was as a 24 year old so it's not all that impressive.

You pose a good question. That is why I think we need to look at him closely over the next two weeks and decide if we cut bait or not

[osforlife]

Blast from the past here. I thought I'd put this comment in some Flaherty forum. It's September 2nd, Flaherty isn't going anywhere. I'am glad we kept him. He can go down to AAA at the start of next season if he needs some more seasoning. I believe he has a bright future as a super utilty player. With that being said, why didn't he start today(9/2/12)? Quintanilla is stuggling and Hughes(RHP) was pitching so the matchup with Andino didn't work out. Buck has benched him several times when he was hot. He had a 4 game hit streak from 7/20/12-7/23/12 and was benched in favor of Quintanilla. Then, he just had a 2 game hit streak on the 24th and 25th and was benched. All of our second basemen have been truly terrible this year, Quintanilla being the best, so why not ride the somewhat hot bat? He plays a decent second base too.

[Matt P]

Blast from the past here. I thought I'd put this comment in some Flaherty forum. It's September 2nd, Flaherty isn't going anywhere. I'am glad we kept him. He can go down to AAA at the start of next season if he needs some more seasoning. I believe he has a bright future as a super utilty player. With that being said, why didn't he start today(9/2/12)? Quintanilla is stuggling and Hughes(RHP) was pitching so the matchup with Andino didn't work out. Buck has benched him several times when he was hot. He had a 4 game hit streak from 7/20/12-7/23/12 and was benched in favor of Quintanilla. Then, he just had a 2 game hit streak on the 24th and 25th and was benched. All of our second basemen have been truly terrible this year, Quintanilla being the best, so why not ride the somewhat hot bat? He plays a decent second base too.

Buck loves Andino.

[osforlife]

Buck loves Andino.

He clearly isn't the answer at second base and wouldn't mind him not being on the team next year. Flaherty can do just as good of job. Hopefully, Schoop will be ready by 2014. Next year could be the same thing as this year at second. I see Ryan Adams and Ryan Flaherty getting starts there once Roberts goes down, which he most likely will.

[Matt P]

He clearly isn't the answer at second base and wouldn't mind him not being on the team next year. Flaherty can do just as good of job. Hopefully, Schoop will be ready by 2014. Next year could be the same thing as this year at second. I see Ryan Adams and Ryan Flaherty getting starts there once Roberts goes down, which he most likely will.

Like I said though, Buck loves Andino. I don't know why but he has loved him since he called him up in his first September. He's going to give him a shot to be the everyday 2B next season before he gives it to Flaherty or Adams.

[LA Detective]

I dont get it either. You can see Flaherty is much better fundamentally than Andino. He has some pop in his bat too. I thought he should of played the NY series with the short porch and all. I could see Flaherty winning that spot in the Spring or after starting the year in the minors....275+ with 12-15 hrs wouldnt be bad at the bottom of the order..

[Matt P]

I dont get it either. You can see Flaherty is much better fundamentally than Andino. He has some pop in his bat too. I thought he should of played the NY series with the short porch and all. I could see Flaherty winning that spot in the Spring or after starting the year in the minors....275+ with 12-15 hrs wouldnt be bad at the bottom of the order..

I like Flaherty more too I just don't see it. Buck has been reluctant to play him all season. Even when he did have 2 or 3 games in a row with a HR he took him out in favor of Quintanilla.

[birdwatcher55]

Deal for Pedroia this offseason and let's end all this stupidity and the drama of As The 2Nd Base Turns