By: Mike Rifkin
Last season the Baltimore Orioles finished with an 83-79 record and just missed the playoffs. You could see that things were changing in Baltimore as it was their first winning season since 2016. The Orioles are proving last season was not a fluke; they are 41-24 and 5.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East.
The last time the Orioles had to make a significant financial decision, they signed First baseman Chris Davis to a seven-year 161 million-dollar contract. That contract had a significant impact on the organization. The first being that the team was forced to trade superstar third baseman Manny Machado before he could leave during free agency. It also impacted how the Orioles would go after free agents. Now the Orioles have a young core with Catcher Adley Rutschman, Austin Hayes, Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle, etc.… The Orioles are also regarded as having one of the best Farm Systems in all Baseball.
The Orioles should examine what the Braves have done with their young nucleus of Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, Michael Harris, Ozzie Albies, etc.… The Braves have bought out the arbitration years on those contracts and have very talented players on reasonable contracts. It could financially help the Orioles by having these young players under contract at a reasonable price, but also they could pluck from their farm system if they want to be aggressive at the trade deadline. It also shows your fanbase you believe in this group and that they have a reason to come to the ballpark every day.
The Chris Davis contract hamstrung the Orioles badly, and they’ve had to watch Manny Machado continue his potential Hall Of Fame career in California. They don’t want to witness the same situation with a group that could be on the preface of something big in Baltimore.
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