Should Orioles give Mountcastle a try in the outfield? | MAILBAG

Question: Ryan Mountcastle has never batted below .250 in each of his MLB seasons. He is one of five Orioles who has a MLB career average of .250-plus.  He has played left field in both the minors and majors. Why not give him a chance to replace Taylor Ward in left field? 

If the Orioles don’t exercise their team option, they lose him for nothing. If they retain him, they can also trade him later in the offseason.  The Orioles need outfielders who can get on base more consistently. Shouldn’t they at least give it a look? From: Mitch

Answer: Mitch, the Orioles hold an option of $7.5 million on Mountcastle for 2027. They’ll decide within five days after the end of the World Series whether they’ll pick up his option, and I don’t think they will.

While Mountcastle has batting .250 or better in each season, that counts 2025 when he played only 89 games, and this season when he played in just eight. He hasn’t played in the outfield since 2021, and I don’t think it would be a wise investment to spend $7.5 million on a player they hope can play the outfield.

If they want to bring back Mountcastle for 2027, perhaps they could if they decline the option and agree on a lower contract figure. I’m guessing they’ll look to other outfielders and give Mountcastle a chance to play in another organization.

Question: One of the more confusing things to me entails the Rule 5 draft vis-a-vis the lockout. How does the cancellation of the draft affect guys who might be left unprotected from the (non) draft? Are they simply adrift without certainty of MLB employment, because their team elected to cut ties (DFA) and the process through which another team might select and/or sign them is in administrative limbo for who knows how long?

When the lockout ends, is it just a free agency free-for-all among the many teams vying for those many players? If there is a “floor” as many speculate, might those fringe guys suddenly become more attractive to teams playing dollar-commitment jenga at the bottoms of their roster? From: Mark Eisner

Answer: Mark, if the Rule 5 draft were canceled, and we don’t know if it will be, players who were unprotected would remain in the Orioles’ organization.

Players who aren’t on 40-man rosters aren’t affected by the lockout. They prepare for their minor league seasons.

Minor league players are never designated for assignment. If their team doesn’t want them, they’re released.

Players with six years of minor league experience who are not on 40-man rosters can declare for minor league free agency, and that happens every November.

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.