The Orioles have made plenty of off-season moves this year: From front office moves such as new GM Dan Duqette to players in Tsuyoshi Wada and Wilson Betemit. However, the best acquisition is not a player but a coach. That coach is Rick Peterson who is in charge pitchers development. Peterson was brought in from the Brewers organization this off-season to join the orioles organization.

Rick Peterson is one of the best pitching coaches out there and he could be the answer to the Orioles problems in their development of young pitchers. The recent crop of young pitchers have not looked as good as they would have liked. Chris Tilman hasn’t performed like the top prospect they thought they were getting, Brian Matusz produced the worst ERA in major league history last year, and when these pitchers get to the majors they seem to lose their control and their walks, ERA and WHIP all go up. Then there is the problem of many of the young pitchers developing injuries that sidetrack or ruin their progression to the majors.

Peterson’s job is to try and fix that problem and reverse the trend of Orioles pitchers becoming busts. One of, and maybe the best weapons, in his arsenal is Biomechanical analysis. This is where the pitchers get hooked up to various wires and throw 7-10 pitches. This analysis is suppose to point out potential flaws in their deliveries and can reduce the potential for injuries. If this works out and Rick Peterson is able to work with the Orioles young pitchers and develop them into the pitchers they thought they were getting he could be the best off-season acquisition.

It’s no secret that Buck Showalter puts an emphasis on versatility with his bench players. And it’s no surprise that most of the players on the bench last year could play multiple positions. Looking at the possible bench players for next year, many of the players will be able to play more than one position.
Depending on how many pitchers the Orioles have on staff depends on how many bench players the Orioles will have. So here are the players that I think Showalter will choose for his bench assuming the season started now:
OF: Endy Chavez
C: Taylor Teagarden
INF: Robert Andino
OF/INF: Matt Angle

Chavez was signed to bring not only a veteran major league OF who bats left-handed but could give Adam Jones a rest when needed and can platoon with Reimold in Left. The Orioles acquired Teagarden this offseason in a trade with Texas. Teagarden is a solid defensive player who has some pop and give Wieters a day off when needed. Robert Andino has progressed tremendously after getting a lot of playing time with the injury to Roberts and can play 2B, SS, and 3B and can be put into either of those positions at a moments notice. I believe Matt Angle will get the last bench spot because this offseason he has been doing a lot of infield work and could possible be another insurance in case Brian Roberts isn’t healthy, plus Angle is a speedy player who can come off the bench to pinch run and can play the OF. This could change with future transactions this offseason.

If the season began today I think Orioles fans would agree that the team could stand to add a few more pieces to the puzzle. Luckily there is still time for the Orioles to add those pieces but we can still speculate as to what the opening day lineup would look if nothing else changes.
The lineup will be made up of only those currently on the Orioles and assuming people will be healthy come opening day. Here is what I could see the lineup being opening day:
2B: Brian Roberts
SS: JJ Hardy
RF: Nick Markakis
CF: Adam Jones
C: Matt Ieters
1B: Mark Reynolds
DH: Chris Davis
LF: Nolan Reimold
3B: Ryan Flaherty

As off now this is what I could see the Orioles lineup be opening day. Of course things could change if more people are signed or trades are made or if people don’t come back completely healthy. The biggest changes could be in 1B, 3B, and DH; the Orioles have been interested in bringing back Luke Scott who elected for free agency. If Scott comes back you would insert him into the DH role and put Davis at 3B and move Flaherty, rule 5 draft pick, to the bench. If Roberts isn’t healthy you can slide Robert Andino into 2B.
This post won’t be about possible players they could sign since I don’t have inside information and what kind of money they are willing to spend. So for now this is what it looks like the starting lineup will be for the Orioles if nothing changes, however, expect things to change and more players to be added to the team before the start of the season.

The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to terms with OF Endy Chavez on a one year deal pending a physical. The signing gives the Orioles a needed fourth OF who can backup Adam Jones when he needs a day off.
The Orioles will be Chavez’s 7th team in his 10 years of Major League service. Chavez is also a left-handed hitter, something else the Orioles were looking for this offseason. Chavez played for the Rangers last year and played in 83 games for them batting .301 with 5 HR, 27 RBI, 37 runs, and 10 stolen bases.
There is reason to believe that Chavez will platoon with Nolan Reimold in left field while playing center when Adam Jones needs a day off. Chavez gives the Orioles a true backup for Adam Jones after they lost Felix Pie to free agency this offseason and gives Showalter flexibility in the outfield with Reimold.
The Orioles also have speedy Matt Angle who played center last year from time to time has been getting infield work this offseason which could spell a position change next year as another insurance policy in case Brian Roberts isn’t fully healthy next year. While I believe Reimold will get the majority of the playing time in left next year, Chavez will be a great pick up for the Orioles. He can play all outfield positions and will be able to fill in where needed out there when called upon.

The Orioles season ended on a bitter sweet note. Sweet that they were able to keep the Red Sox out of the playoffs and bitter for the way their season went. The team was riddled with injuries and plagued with ineffective pitching throughout the season. Luke Scott was lost for a big chink of the season with a shoulder injury, Brian Roberts was out for most of the season with concussion like symptoms and the young pitchers took a step backwards in their development with the exception of rookie Zach Britton.
The pitching was pretty bad this past year and needs fixing in a big way. The Orioles need to find a starter who can take some of the load off Jeremy Guthrie and can eat up some innings while still being effective. After that they need to add some depth to their rotation which is very thin to say the least. There isn’t much help in their minor league system Britton was the last big league ready player and the next ones are still a ways off from big league action. So far this off season the Orioles have started address the issue by acquiring Dana Eveland via trade from the LA Dodgers and recently signing LHP starter from Japan Tsuyoshi Wada. However this is not enough as the Orioles need to add more depth to their rotation.
The bullpen needs some help as well. The closer situation is up in the air and the top two options are Jim Johnson and Kevin Gregg. Johnson could make the switch into the rotation and Gregg was highly ineffective last year closing out the games. The Orioles need to get someone who can close the door late in the game or be stuck with someone in-house, which seems like the most likely option at this point. The Orioles had some success with some of their younger relievers but still need to upgrade especially finding a quality left-hander.
The defense and offense is less of problem right now. The Orioles have one of the best catchers in Matt Wieters, who has emerged as a gold glove backstop and showed his power potential, clubbing 22 homeruns. They acquired back-up Taylor Teagarden from Texas to give them an upgrade from Jake Foxx and Craig Tatum. Center and Right will be anchored by Adams Jones and Nick Markakis and left field should go to Nolan Reimold. They do need to find a vaulable back-up in the outfield who can give all three of these guys a day off when needed. The infield as of now looks like Mark Reynolds at first, Roberts, if healthy, at second, JJ Hardy at SS and Chris Davis at third. The Orioles have acquired a couple middle infielders to give them insurance in case Roberts doesn’t return healthy and could still look for a power bat at first or third. The role of DH is still up in the air. The Orioles will be very interested in signing back Luke Scott who if comes back healthy from shoulder surgery can provide good pop in the lineup.

The Orioles have a lot to do to be able to compete in the AL East, but they can take steps in the right direction if they play their cards right and make the right moves. They can’t make anymore bad signings like paying for aging veterans past their primes like Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero. They need to sign quality pitchers, they need to develop their young pitchers better and need to retool their minor league system which is tapped out of major league ready talent. If the Orioles can do this the city of Baltimore could finally get a much needed winning season.