This is a project where 30 people got together to act as the GMs of the 30 MLB teams with the idea of conducting the offseason in one week. This is what happened in this simulation, not a prediction of what will happen in real life.
By Greg Jarvis
Losses:
Mark Trumbo – FA
Matt Wieters – FA
Darren O’Day – Trade
Ubaldo Jimenez – Trade
Additions:
Evan Gattis, C – Trade
Jesse Hahn, SP – Trade
Alex Avila, C – FA
Brandon Moss, OF – FA
Michael Saunders, OF – FA
Aaron Hill, IF – FA
Stephen Drew, IF – FA
The Orioles’ main targets for this off season were to resign Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters, as well as strengthen starting pitching. Unfortunately, we were outbid on Wieters and Trumbo and had to turn in another direction.
With the loss of Wieters, it was imperative to pick up some catcher depth to not rely Caleb Joseph. The addition of Alex Avila as a free agent helped in that area. Also, in an attempt to drop some salary, we were able to pick up Evan Gattis in a trade for Ubaldo Jimenez dropping his unpredictability as well as his $13.5 million contract for a net gain of $8.3 million back on the payroll.
With Trumbo leaving the team, outfield depth was also addressed with free agent pick ups of Brandon Moss and Michael Saunders. Infield depth was also addressed with the pick ups of Aaron Hill and Stephen Drew.
A trade with Darren O’Day gained the Orioles a starting pitcher in Jesse Hahn while also losing O’Day’s $6 million salary in exchange for Hahn’s $600k that cleared space for other free agent additions. The Orioles also elevated Dylan Bundy, Tyler Wilson and Mike Wright to the 25-man roster to fill in pitching holes.
| Name | Position | 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Davis | 1B | $21,118,782 | Signed | ||
| Adam Jones | CF | $16,000,000 | Signed | ||
| Evan Gattis | C | $5,200,000 | Trade | Obtained for Ubaldo Jimenez | |
| J.J. Hardy | SS | $14,000,000 | Signed | ||
| Yovani Gallardo | SP | $11,000,000 | Signed | ||
| Zach Britton | RP | $11,400,000 | ARB | ||
| Chris Tillman | SP | $10,600,000 | ARB | ||
| Wade Miley | SP | $8,750,000 | Signed | ||
| Jesse Hahn | SP | $600,000 | Trade | Obtained for Darren O’Day | |
| Alex Avila | C | $6,500,000 | FA | ||
| Brandon Moss | OF | $12,200,000 | FA | ||
| Aaron Hill | IF | $8,000,000 | FA | ||
| Stephen Drew | IF | $5,200,000 | FA | ||
| Michael Saunders | OF | $12,200,000 | FA | ||
| Manny Machado | SS | $11,200,000 | ARB | ||
| Hyun-soo Kim | LF | $4,200,000 | Signed | ||
| Vance Worley | RP | $3,300,000 | ARB | ||
| Dylan Bundy | SP | $540,000 | Tender | ||
| Ryan Flaherty | 3B | $1,700,000 | ARB | ||
| Brad Brach | RP | $2,900,000 | ARB | ||
| Kevin Gausman | SP | $3,900,000 | ARB | ||
| Caleb Joseph | C | $1,000,000 | ARB | ||
| Jonathan Schoop | 2B | $3,400,000 | ARB | ||
| Tyler Wilson | RP | $600,000 | Tender | ||
| Mike Wright | RP | $600,000 | Tender | ||
| TOTAL – BAL | $154,990,000.00 | ||||
| Cap | 155,000,000 |
Gattis caught enough in the second half of last year to not have to be too frightened of counting on him to be your primary catcher next season. Cheaper than Wieters and likely to be a better overall player, too.
I wonder what happened to Michael Saunders’ defense last year. Is he an OF for you or a DH?
I like it. The lineup is probably even stronger than last year and a little less Homer or Bust. I like the young guys in the rotation but I probably would have tried to get a solid veteran or two for depth. Hahn is nice but I’d like to see arms with more track record.
I liked your offseason.
Gattis was a coup and your free agent acquisitions worked.
I’ll say more in my article.
Good Job!
+1^
Nice job, but did you consider cheaper back infielders to maybe improve another area? Overall, I’d love to see the Orioles have this team.