O’s offseason report:
Our annual tour around the majors starts with a franchise trying to build back up.
Five issues facing the Orioles:
What is the club’s biggest
need? Pitching. Same story, different year. The rotation is unknown. The bullpen needs help.
The Orioles’ staff combined for the highest ERA (5.59) in the majors in 2019. They coughed up a major league-record 305 home runs.
Who do they turn to for a start? John Means, the lone All-Star, grew into their best starter and was a big surprise. But after that? Dylan Bundy, a former firstround pick, and Andrew Cashner were traded. That leaves Alex Cobb, who missed most of last season with an injury. And in the bullpen? Mychal Givens is their best option, but he could be traded before the season starts.
What are the offseason goals?
Everything. But the No. 1 goal is to add prospects. The Orioles are focused on building a better farm system from the ground up.
The club isn’t just rebuilding, it’s restocking for the future. In just a short time, vice president and general manager Mike Elias has gotten a lot of return in recent moves – the latest and most notable was for Bundy – to improve its farm system, which is now above average.
The good news? The Orioles have three of the first 40 picks in the 2020 draft, with selections at 2, 31 and 40.
What to expect out of Davis?
Not much. All the Orioles can do is hope the final three years of Chris Davis’ albatross seven-year, $161 million contract fares better than the first four.
“I have hope now, to where I had so many questions two years ago when the season ended,” Davis told The Baltimore Sun in November. “I’ll tell you again in a few months, but I like where it’s headed.”
Davis, who hit .198 with a strikeout percentage of 41% since 2015, was reduced to a bench role last season after hitting .179 in 105 games. And it’s likely that’s how he will be used in 2020.
How far back will they end up?
The over/under could be set at 50 games.
They finished 49 games behind the firstplace Yankees in 2019 in the AL East and 61 behind the first-place Red Sox in 2018.
To make matters worse, they were mathematically eliminated from the postseason by August in each of the last two seasons and posted 100-loss seasons in two consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.
How will they draw a crowd?
Orioles moved the start times of night
games on school nights from 7:05 to 6:35 p.m. Maybe the new initiative will help. Last year, the Orioles’ average attendance dropped about 16% and averaged just over 16,000 fans per home game, just 36% of the capacity. Any little bit could help.