Whitcomb has played pretty much everywhere but 1B, catcher and pitcher. But on a day Walker rests, Diaz could play 1B and Whitcomb could DH. Or, they could give him time in the OF - that's where he's been playing this season and where the front office seems to think he fits. If they thought Whitcomb could produce, they'd find a way to fit his bat in. We certainly can use offense from wherever we can get it.
I am pretty sure we are in agreement on who and what these players are. We simply have different opinions on what level "middling" is. And I would argue that last season Kikuchi had at least twice the trade value that O'Hearn does now. As you requested, I'm not going to break down all the prospects, but I will say I think Gordon and Whitcomb are better than Bloss and Loperfido.
Clearly MLB pitching is their priority. But pitching is so valuable right now, I can't see anyone giving up 2 legitimate MLB caliber arns for a platoon heavy corner bat that is a rental. Maybe a SP and a RP? Gordon and Dubin?
I can see a Gordon/France type trade if France is close to healthy by the deadline. Or maybe Gordon/Dombrowski?
I think France would definitely be reasonable to trade away. I wonder if Elias would like Javier? That is the kind of addition that moves the needle on their 2025 rotation. Maybe part of a larger package for Morton and O'Hearn? Maybe a 6-8 player blockbuster!!
I'm sure to give up Javier, the Astros would like more than just rentals. At least 1 prospect who looks to be a MLB contributor will likely need to be included. The Astros would also probably want to add prospect value to get the Orioles to pay some salary, as they are very very focused on avoiding the CBT penalty this year. Here's the $$ Morton $15M = approx +$8.85M O'Hearn $8M = approx +$4.7M Javier $12.8M = -$7.55M* Chas $3.4M = -$2M Astros +$4M *Javier's AAV goes from $12.8M to approx $18.9M when traded so Orioles are actually only saving approx $0.4M this year towards the CBT, but about $5.4M in actual salary this year.
When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster. Within seven days of the transaction (had been 10 days under the 2012-16 Collective Bargaining Agreement), the player can either be traded or placed on outright or unconditional release waivers. If the player is claimed off waivers by another club, he is immediately added to that team's 40-man roster, at which point he can be optioned to the Minor Leagues (if he has Minor League options remaining) or assigned to his new team's 26-man roster. If the player clears outright waivers, he may be assigned outright to the Minor Leagues. However, players with more than five years of Major League service time can reject an assignment to the Minor Leagues, and players with more than three years of Major League service time, or who have been previously outrighted, may reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency in lieu of the assignment. If the player clears unconditional release waivers, he is unconditionally released. https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/designate-for-assignment
I really like O'Hearn for our team. He's used to subbing in, is clutch late in games and bats better on the road than in Balty. He'd fit right into our RF spot with no problem. Last 2 playoff years he's only had 7 ABs in 5 games with 2 hits. He wouldn't command a starting spot every day... he just plays.
Uh huh, sure. Why has he never played LF in his entire career? I just wonder. I was also thinking about the other guy that the other guy wanted to trade for. My bad, let's never speak of this again.
