Tap-In Question: Which roster hole must O’s fill through free agency?

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• 1st off, I dont' think they MUST fill any hole. But for the sake of the Tap In

  My number one priority is catcher. That is of course, assuming Wieters is history. (breaks my heart) But who and at what cost is the question. I know that Nick Hundley has been talked about. My guess is the O’s will stand pat on that hand.
  So what will they do free-agency-wise?

  OUTFIELD is the obvious position of need as our leader Mr. Connolly points out. (again, assuming they don’t dole the $ to Trumbo) I DO however have many reservations about the wisdom of doing anything noteworthy here.

  If they must, they need to do it on the very-cheap, as would be expected. Frankly I’d prefer they stay in-house by resigning Bourne. He seemed to be exactly the type of player we lacked and hopefully he won’t command a huge salary or more than a couple of years.

  I’d like them to try and fill the hole with what they have. As the team is structured now, I’d assume that a platoon of Kim & Rickard is coming. That is also assuming that they don’t send Rickard back down … which wouldn’t surprise me in the least. So what do the currently have?

  Dariel Alverez is still on the 40 man roster? That’s puzzling to me. Does this mean he’s going to get a real shot at making the team this year? And why don’t they give more ABs to Flaherty in the outfield? I still believe Ryan could hit if given more regular appearances. And Yaz & Christian Walker? They left them both unprotected. I’m thinking it’s time for one if not both of them get a shot at the bigs. I’d go with Jones, Kim, Rickard and Bourne being spelled by some combination of Flaherty, Alvarez and Yaz/Walker. And let’s also not forget that Davis isn’t a bum out in the grass either. Buck can shuffle as needed.

  So long story short …
  1. Catcher
  2. Outfield (if they MUST)
  3. Relief Pitcher would be nice as I believe a starter is out of the question as well as unnecessary.

  • Good points all. Really intriguing to see if Alvarez gets more of a shot. I'm not convinced he's a big leaguer. But we'll see. As for Walker, he is on the 40-man. And Yaz would be a real reach to play in the majors all year in 2017 from what I've been told -- still has work to do in minors -- so it's doubtful he'd be snagged in the Rule 5.

• Boog is correct....catcher and right field. But none of those moves matter if they don't take steps to fortify a pathetic bench. Buck continues to run the regulars into the ground. Let's give him a big league bench and see how that improves the offense.

  • Yeah, the bench needs an upgrade. No doubt.

• For me, it's OBP, regardless of position. We've heard Duquette talk about the need for more 'on-base capability' countless times over the years, but the hitters he ends up acquiring rarely end up having that skill set (Trumbo, Alvarez, Young, etc.). The O's have finished in the top 3 in the AL in homers in each of the last 5 years, yet they've only been top 5 or better in runs scored once. This offense needs to diversify.

  • Preaching to the choir here. Maybe we need to start a business together.

    • I'm in.

    • I long ago canceled my subscription to the Sun. (but is was after Dan stopped writing for them)

• I'd prioritize a RFer. I'd like to see the O's make a run at Carlos Gomez. I think Sisco and Joseph can hold down C.

  • I still think Sisco needs close to a full year in AAA to develop his defense. He had just 4 games there in 2016

• FA Adds
  C
  RF
  U-INF
  BP
  Trades
  DH
  SP

• Figuring that starting pitching is a bit scarce in this FA market, and the O's don't have a substantial enough collection of prospects to make a move for Chris Sale (that much needed LHP that won't blow up the staff ERA -- I'm looking at you Miley), I'm inclined to say that RF needs to be a priority, followed by DH. The infield is pretty well set, although I wouldn't mind seeing Flaherty brought back as a utility guy.

  There are a handful of RF options, more if players are willing to shift around in the OF a bit. They could make a move for Curtis Grandserson, and the Mets need BP help (Mychal Givens might be a fair swap.) Not sure if they can muster enough to make a play for McCutchen from Pittsburgh, and I'd imagine he wants to remain in CF. Will AJ move to a corner? I like Granderson as a pickup, even though he's heading into his age 36 season. He has some pop in his bat, and a lefthanded hitter like him should thrive in OPACY. McCutchen's career slash line of .292/.381/.487 would be nice to add, particularly as a potential leadoff hitter who can take a BB on occasion. I'd like to see Kim batting behind him to set up Manny, Crush, Jones, and Schoop for driving in runs.

  Dumpster Dan has already missed out on Jon Jay and Matt Joyce as potential hole-fillers and appears destined to either ride this season out with a LF platoon of Kim and Rickard or an OF of Rickard, Jones, and Kim. I don't expect Angelos to pony up enough to attract McCutchen, but he'd really solidify the lineup. Instead, I expect to hear about some last minute seasoned MLB journeyman has been acquired and will now be a somewhat mismatched RF hole filler. Either that, or there will be an offer for Chris Carter to come in, hit 50 HRs, bat in the low .200s, and strike out 200 times, as if there isn't already someone capable of hitting solo HRs and killing rallies already on the roster.

  So, being realistic on what can be addressed in the off-season, here are the priorities as I see them:

  RF
  DH (could be initially addressed with Mancini if the O's want him to get some ABs in the bigs, and he can mash lefties)
  Bench depth
  SP