Out of the Park Baseball 25 - Can We Save the A's? (Ep 197)

[@bladestaff46]

Glad to see we've started the season strong and with no major injuries (knock on wood). With the way Palomares has been playing my suggestion at looking for CF help seems pretty unnecessary at the moment, although I question how sustainable his good form is. Shaping up to be another good season in Oakland!

[@oldschoolsports]

I hope you are right... and I think you still could be right about CF... I was just checking some things out offline, and Palomares has slowed down a lot since the last time we checked in on him during this episode!

[@hammerpgh]

Great start to the season and strong performances from most players. Strong opening from Iwata and on target for about 20 homers is not bad considering his power was the biggest weakness. Palomares seems to have plateau'd but 🤞 he picks up again as it would be good not to have to worry about CF for a while. Worrying start for Saldana, I hope he picked up in the second half of this episode as I did not expect an 0-4, 5+ ERA from him. Thankfully Blumenshine picked up the slack though 👍 Sadly it's not looking good for Ortega and holding off on any offer is certainly the right move. Losing 10 from that eye rating is not good and definitely doesn't warrant considering that $34mill demand. Resting his legs from outfield duties does seem to have given him a boost on the bases though 😊 In the realworld world what are your thoughts on the Burns contract with Arizona? Was very disappointed to wake up to that this morning as I had high hopes he was on his way to San Fran.. going to one of our division rivals is double whammy for us. Looks like attention may be turning to Flaherty now!!

[@oldschoolsports]

Big money for Burns, that's for sure... only $8 million less total than the Yankees paid Fried - even though Burns' contract is two years shorter! I thought the Giants were a logical spot for him too, but for whatever reason, it seems like the biggest free agents haven't wanted their money the past few seasons. Arizona is also a good young team... there is some talent in the NL West!

[@paulwest3905]

A nice start to the '40 season. I am wondering if offering a one year contract to Ortega is the way to go, given he is already declining in ratings. I tend to be pretty harsh when it comes to cutting guys loose, but that is only because I have been burned too many times. I am sure you can relate. Well, as you say, it doesn't hurt to play the wait card and see how things go. I am looking forward to the rookie draft coming up and seeing what the pool offers.

[@oldschoolsports]

We'll have to see what he looks like when we get to the offseason. If his ratings decline as much over the next four or five months as they have since the beginning of the year, it may end up being an easier decision to move on than I was anticipating. I'm looking forward to the draft too. With the supplemental pick for Ramos' departure, we'll have two out of five picks towards the end of the first round, so that should result in some interesting decisions for the Worldwide Scouting Department to opine on!

[@ExpedientFalcon]

Give Ortega the pre-retirement treatment. 1 year at a time for cheap. If he won't do it, then let him walk. I definitely wouldn't offer him a long-term deal at this point.

[@oldschoolsports]

With his current demand ($206 million total for 6 years, with a Player Option in the final season) I would be surprised if he'd consider going year to year with us. But there is still a lot of time left in the season for things to change, especially given his age and injury proneness...

[@Shauneroo]

I know that you like to be loyal to your long tenured players, but I think you have to bite the bullet with Ortega unless he drops his demands significantly. If he stays above $30m then no way, but in the unlikely event he drops to $10-15m then maybe. Perhaps it would be a blessing in disguise if he were to have another long-term injury in the near future. He'd be lost for this season , but you may be able to get him for a few more at a discounted rate.

[@oldschoolsports]

We'll see how things go! But agree we could be seeing the final months of "The Franchise" with the A's. Not likely to be the career-long run we had with Seifu in Buffalo!

[@notmy4ply]

I wouldn’t bring Ortega back at all. I’d love him to retire an A, but he’s old, wrecked, and declining already. Get the pick comp for him, that contract is going to be a bad one. Shoot, I’d even investigate trading him before the deadline. Especially since he’s not playing CF anymore

[@oldschoolsports]

I think it's certainly trending right now towards moving on from him after this season. That could still change, but I don't see myself trading him now. We're still in win now mode, and he's still a switch hitter with a 119 wRC+ who is leading the league in steals, with 28 in 29 attempts. We'll wish him well and hope he gets a giant contract so we get a first round comp pick if we do decide to move on!