{"id":22221,"date":"2024-12-30T10:13:54","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22221"},"modified":"2024-12-30T10:13:54","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:13:54","slug":"warning-three-orioles-questions-to-consider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22221","title":{"rendered":"Warning: Three Orioles questions to consider"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rather than ask (beg?) for more mailbag questions, I decided today to pose a few of my own.<\/p>\n

Here are three for you to consider. Share your answers.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

If the Orioles don\u2019t acquire a No. 1 starter, should Zach Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez start on Opening Day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eflin has the edge in experience and track record. He\u2019s also good, so the assignment wouldn\u2019t be based only on those two factors.<\/p>\n

The Rays named Eflin their Opening Day starter this year, and he held the Blue Jays to one run through five innings before the game unraveled for him in a five-run sixth. He surrendered three home runs in an 8-2 loss.<\/p>\n

The Orioles acquired him for three minor leaguers in a deadline trade and he posted a 2.60 ERA in nine starts, limiting his walks as he\u2019s done for much of his career. He turns 31 in April. He makes sense.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez brings the high ceiling and expectations that he\u2019d develop into an ace. Health has held him back, including a couple of lat\/teres strains and shoulder inflammation. He went 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts and averaged 10 strikeouts per nine innings.<\/p>\n

The Wild Card roster didn\u2019t include Rodriguez due to the lat injury. He couldn\u2019t get ready in time. But he\u2019ll be full-go in camp and able to compete for the assignment if Eflin is the only starter standing in his way.<\/p>\n

Who is the No. 5 starter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The answer depends on whether the Orioles make another addition to the rotation. You can take both scenarios into account.<\/p>\n

Eflin, Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are expected to be arranged in the top three if executive vice president\/general manager Mike Elias can\u2019t find another starter, or if he brings in an arm that\u2019s plugged into the back of the rotation. Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano signed for $13 million and could be fourth or fifth \u2013 again depending on what else happens in the offseason.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s room for one more, the Orioles can choose between Trevor Rogers, Albert Su\u00e1rez and Cade Povich. They\u2019ll also check out Chayce McDermott and Brandon Young, who would be the longest shots.<\/p>\n

I can see Su\u00e1rez working in long relief and being available as a swingman. I\u2019m not sure whether the Orioles would use Rogers, Povich and the others in that role or prefer to have them starting in Triple-A.<\/p>\n

Would you platoon Jackson Holliday?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m saying that Holliday breaks camp with the team. Let’s start there. Anything else is a separate debate.<\/p>\n

Holliday was 4-for-40 against left-handers this year, but he struggled across the board with a .213\/.265\/.340 line against right-handers. Don\u2019t lean too heavily on that first stat. He hit .296 with a .387 on-base percentage versus lefties in the minors in 2023.<\/p>\n

Switching from the leg lift to a toe tap as a timing mechanism brought some positive results late in the season. The Orioles have every reason to believe that a better version of Holliday is coming.<\/p>\n

The platoon question isn\u2019t just about Holliday. It\u2019s also about Jordan Westburg, who could be the right-handed option while Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas plays third base. Or Coby Mayo if he\u2019s on the roster and still getting reps at the hot corner. His future could be at first.<\/p>\n

Westburg made 64 starts at third base this year and 41 at second. You can decide how much emphasis you put on his .230 average and .294 OBP against lefties. I won\u2019t be consumed by it.<\/p>\n

Jorge Mateo also can factor into this debate if he\u2019s fully recovered from his elbow surgery. His status for Opening Day is uncertain, but he can play second base, as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rather than ask (beg?) for more mailbag questions, I decided today to pose a few of my own. Here are three for you to consider. 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