The free agency period for Major League Baseball starts in a few hours (Sunday at 12am) and thought among most Oriole fan is this question – who will the team get?
As it is right now, no one expects the Baltimore Orioles to be a contender, but stranger things have happened in sports. The team did finish strong last year, but that still didn’t stop Buck Showalter from making wholesale changes with his staff.
It’s obvious that the Orioles need a power bat in their lineup, a strong corner infielder, perhaps another starting pitcher or two (an ace would be beautiful – but, I see Andy MacPhail getting a middle-of-road, innings eating arm).
Lest we forget, the Orioles do potentially a shortstop along with some bullpen help. Again, the team has some serious needs and at this point, finishing up with a respectable record would be nice to see.
With a plethora of young talent on the team and up-and-comers, will the Orioles make a splash in Spring Training? These days, unless you’re one of big financial powerhouses of the sport, the mantra for most teams have been building from within (especially arms) and retaining young/cheap talent.
This offseason, I sincerely hope the Orioles do go after an established bat such as Adam Dunn – who played down the road in Washington, or a Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena (the low BA in ’10 was a conern).
Then again, the Orioles might find themselves shut out of top tier free agents and might have to go after some of the second tier guys (Lance Berkman, Derek Lee) or do some dumpster diving/creative trades. Really, I do wish we could get some young bats in here to help and grow with the current crop of guys the Orioles have now.
However, at this point, the team really needs a benefited bat in the lineup. Things with the Orioles certainly would not have been that bad in ’10 if the injuries obviously didn’t take place with key members’ however, Markakis, Scott and Adam Jones could have been greatly benefited with some protection in the lineup.
At this point, as long as improvement comes in 2011 for the Orioles, most would be happy with that. They are still a few players away from contending, but creating a winner does take time. Let’s hope it doesn’t take twenty years.
As long as the pitching continues to develop, and some of the key members of the team (Markakis, Wieters) bounce back, things will look up for Baltimore.
