Wow Scott Boras scoreboard! Never heard that one before!

We up open.spotify.com/episode/7BDn...

I put out a podcast a bit ago saying rather than Zac Gallen, I would rather just sign Verlander/Bassitt for a year and move on. Here we are and, it's fine! Just fine!

Chayce rates in the pen going 📈

Never judge the off-season until the off-season is over (I repeat to myself in the corner while I cry in the fetal position)

As others are saying, Westy/Holliday trade flexibility is certainly what makes sense

WE SENT ARACENA TOO!!?!?

The Baltimore Orioles infield is the Red Sox infield’s Wario, but our rotation is the Red Sox rotation’s Waluigi

I gave genuinely no idea lmao. Something else has to be in the works.

I don't really have anything to say about Framber so I'm not really saying anything.

Tend to think at this point in the game, the Orioles are waiting on Framber and having preliminary discussions with a number of pitchers. If Framber signs elsewhere, we will want another arm. Those free agents are trying to play up their markets, and leaking "interest" stories accordingly.

This is a fun post

Open your eyes to atrocity, for it is very real.

Yeah... mostly just Framber now.

It's "a 100 percent certainty" that MLB owners are big-mad one team is exposing the rest of them being cheap and not actually caring about winning.

It’s worth noting @oriolesontheverge.bsky.social has been tracking these for months, and they have done great work doing so

I see your Ranger Suarez, and raise you one Sam Huff.

This is the ideal off-season post. You may not like it, but this is what peak beat reporting looks like.

If the 2026 AL East wasn't the 2026 AL East, I'd probably be looking at this and saying this is a pretty darn good baseball team!

I think I and many of us fans fall into the trap of thinking FA is substantially more deterministic than the trade market and I don't think it always is. You're haggling for good value with either the opposing team or the agent. If you go crazy and overpay, it'll work in both scenarios.

Welp, I am centering myself with the mantra of never judging the off-season until the off-season is complete. But! I'm sweating just a little bit while I chant. Framber or a trade.

I mean who even saw the Red Sox in this market? Lol

This was an absolute delight. Talked with some cool people, laughed a little bit, remembered some bad times, and got some real-time refreshers on the rules of Jeopardy (which I probably should have had prior to hosting a game of Jeopardy...)

Bregman signs and the Bears know how to play football all the sudden.

Club option makes him more attractive as a trade chip. But I do think this means if he's cut before OD then we still owe the full salary this year?? Effectively making that not an option. Idk, at this point, I think Beavers/Basallo are losing ABs against lefties to Mounty this year.

Well he certainly doesn't fit this roster... But! With a nickname like "Big Christmas" and bat speed faster than Santa's sleigh, idc that's fun.

I meannnnn... This is *so funny* x.com/i/status/200...

This article asserts that Arraez is on track for the HoF... *twice*. Yikes lol

Bowden's latest says Baz will pair with Rogers at the top of the Orioles' rotation. This guy really can't keep getting away with this right? Making money talking about baseball while not making any effort to know things about baseball?

Have I ever mentioned I love baseball

Come for a brief preview of O's ZiPS rotation projections, stay for the mild optimism you get in hearing about Dan's back health.

He can have my back if he needs a spare.

Echoing the first part of this, shout-out O's Bluesky for measured takes through and through tonight. I wasn't fully about to crash out or anything, but I had some concerns and feel much better now.

Seems like there are about a million permutations the rest of this O's off-season could take. But, with Mayo/Mounty still superfluous at 1B, and probably some redundancy in Kremer/Povich/Wells/Eflin, standing pat doesn't feel like one of those permutations.

This is a bit of a stretch, but I see this Zach Eflin move as somewhat Dodgers-like (assuming the O's add another good starter). When he signs, everyone asks "where are they gonna fit Eflin into this rotation when he is healthy in May?" And then it's May, and you need him, b/c injuries happen.

Couple positives here: -Orioles know his current medicals best. So, whatever the club expects from him is probably a reasonable bet for innings and performance. -Povich/Kremer are attractive, cost-controlled pieces for a lot of clubs. They both just became easier to package with Mayo.

BP is absolutely worth every penny, and supporting independent media, particularly in this day and age, is *so* vitally important. It's *literally* the cost of like a cup of coffee per month.

MLB's tech regulation plans give itself full control over who can do business with baseball. And I learned an AI scouting firm — founded by the uncle of an exec in Rob Manfred’s inner circle — may win a bid. Team sources and antitrust experts told me it creates a conflict of interest. NEW from me:

Only one team in Baltimore is taking things seriously rn.

Hunter Dobbins feels pretty light on the return? Will need to see who the prospects involved are I suppose

This is where I'm at too. The public-facing narrative certainly won't be "yeah, ugh, roster's pretty tightly constrained and we don't have any options really." They're certainly looking for Mayo trades as we speak.

It's easy to say "Grayson and Baz both had great stuff and a ton of injuries, lol Orioles", but it feels pretty disingenuous to me. Since July 5th, 2024, Baz has not missed a start. Since July 31st, 2024, Rodriguez has not pitched in an MLB game. Baz threw more than everyone but Dean last year.

This man's whole countenance and name feel coordinated. He's not about to waste time giving you six whole syllables when he introduces himself. You'll get six letters and then the conversation's gonna move on or he's gonna move on.

Final thoughts, Baz has front-line stuff and three years of control. We paid a lot for him... but Bodine is more high-floor than anything, Overn might not develop the pop to be an everyday guy, de Brun is like 12 years old, and Forret is a great pitching prospect!

I cringed. I gasped. Wow that is a lot.

Baz is so nasty. This is so much fun.

Yes.

It would've taken us giving up the draft pick for what will (if all goes well) be a one-year deal after he opts out. San Diego doesn't feel that penalty (they never had the pick to begin with), and King gets to show he's healthy for a year, then hit the market again without the QO attached.

Um, I was unaware we had to compete with them?

Chanukah Sameach to ME @fangraphs.com merch goes hard for the baseball lover in your life