The Baltimore Orioles and Birdland are gearing up for the 2023 postseason, and excitement is at an all-time high.
Of course, with the postseason comes questions, and most of those questions center around the roster, mostly the starting pitching and how the bullpen will be deployed.
At The Baltimore Battery, we gathered some of those burning questions and presented them to our panel to see their views and thoughts.
Let’s dive in and see if The Battery can help bring some semblance of balance to the diamond.
How the O’s rotation is set up and deployed goes a long way towards how a series can unfold and unravel. One question fans want to know heading into the postseason takes our first spot.
1) Who do you see filling out the rotation for the postseason?
Zachary Bucklew:
- Kyle Bradish
- Grayson Rodriguez
- Dean Kremer
- Kyle Gibson
RJ Diliberto:
- Kyle Bradish
- Grayson Rodriguez
- Dean Kremer
- Kyle Gibson
Stephen Heckman:
- John Means
- Kyle Bradish
- Grayson Rodriguez
- Dean Kremer
As you can see, Bradish and Rodriguez seem to be a popular agreement, and then you have a collection of Kremer, Gibson and Means.
The next question involves the position players of the roster. This has to take into consideration the impact of keeping and/or removing one player can have upon the rest of the team.
2) What position player would you leave off the postseason roster, and why?
Zachary Bucklew: Ramón Urías
I would leave Ramón Urías off the roster. While his Gold Glove defense is useful, his bat has been lackluster recently, and you can use players such as Adam Frazier and Jordon Westburg while also having Jorge Mateo in your back pocket.
RJ Diliberto: Ramón Urías
I would leave Ramón Urías off the roster. I just don’t think offensively or defensively he has been as good as the other options, and he doesn’t have a different elite trait to make up for that, like Mateo with his speed and baserunning.
Stephen Heckman: Ramón Urías
I would leave off Ramón Urías at this time. Like the other two guys mentioned, there are better options for Brandon Hyde to utilize throughout his lineup. Unfortunately, Urías becomes the odd man out. With Jordan Westburg able to efficiently play three positions and Mateo’s speed, Urías is on the outs.
As you can see, our panel agrees on the same player for this one.
3) Who would you put as the long releiver and the back end bullpen arms?
Zachary Bucklew:
My long reliever is Tyler Wells, and the backend of the bullpen is D.L. Hall as the closer with Yennier Cano and Cionel Perez as set-up men.
RJ Diliberto:
I like Cole Irvin as the long reliever. I’d like Yennier Canó and Jacob Webb for the back end. Based on matchups, I could see the argument for either Danny Coulombe or Cionel Pérez too.
Stephen Heckman:
For the long reliever role, I can see Tyler Wells and Kyle Gibson filling this role. For the back end of the bullpen, right now, based on the team make-up, I would utilize D.L. Hall as the closer with Yennier Canó and Cionel Pérez as the set-up men.
These questions were some of the hottest topics that we, at The Baltimore Battery, have seen raised and discussed across various platforms. We wanted to present perspective from different writers who utilize research and statistics to offer their ideas and thoughts pertaining to these hot takes.
One thing Birdland can agree on is that we are playing baseball in October, so be sure to Soak It In as the Orioles take October.
How would you construct the O’s roster for the postseason? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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