Good Morning Birdland!
Well, the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes have concluded, and they turned out just like we all expected them to. He’s signing with the Dodgers.
It is a result that will shock very few outside of the Blue Jays and Padres organizations. The Dodgers were the favorites from the very start of this process. After all, salary was never going to be the driving factor here since all teams were constrained there by international signing rules. So teams would need to be considered from the perspective of player comfort and opportunities for those players to earn money outside of baseball. The city of Los Angeles and the Dodgers organization can provide a lot of those things for Sasaki. Good for him!
That said, in broader terms, this outcome is also extremely lame. The Dodgers just won the World Series. They spend a ton of money on players, and their pitching staff—if healthy—is made of five guys that could be aces on most other teams. That is probably a lot of fun for Dodgers fans, but not many other people.
And this does feel like one move where the common refrain that “any team could do this!” seems unfair. Sasaki wanted to be a Dodger. Sure, he probably “considered” other landing spots, but it’s hard to prove that this was anything other than a fait accompli. No matter how rich your owner may be, they weren’t gonna convince Sasaki to pitch anywhere but LA.
From the perspective of an Orioles fan, this is a fine outcome. Sasaki is a big talent, the sort of guy that never even has Baltimore on his radar. Even worse, they often end up with the Yankees or Red Sox. Fortunately, we didn’t have to worry about that scenario here, but the Blue Jays were said to be a finalist. In the end, they were spurned by yet another notable free agent.
Sasaki signing should loosen up the free agent market, which has been rather quiet in recent weeks. While Sasaki wasn’t going to be expensive in terms of dollars, a pursuit of him likely did tie up organizational resources in other ways. Now, those minds can get back to the more traditional offseason activities.
Links
Orioles Outright Liván Soto | MLB Trade Rumors
The ideal outcome for the Orioles. They hang on to Soto, keeping him as organizational depth in the Norfolk infield. You would imagine he will get some chances in the spring to impress as well.
Blue Jays discussing deal with power-hitting OF Anthony Santander | SportsNet
It would sting to see Santander in a Blue Jays uniform, but the guy deserves to get paid. The Blue Jays have been willing to spend for the last two offseason. Maybe Tony will finally be the guy to say “yes!” to them. And for the Orioles, they need Santander to get at least $50 million in order to earn a draft pick between the first round the Competitive Balance Round A.
Five offseason surprises with Orioles ties | Roch Kubatko
It has been quite an offseason for the Orioles. They really have added a lot of players. You can argue on how much sense each individual move makes, but they have clearly been busy.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Anthony Bemboom turns 35 today. He was a reserve catcher for the Orioles in 2022 and ‘23, playing in 28 total games for them.
- Brandon Fahey is 44 years old. Between 2006 and ‘08, the gangly utility man played all over the field for the Orioles, his only major league club.
- Brian Falkenborg is 47 today. The righty made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 1999, pitching in two total games for them, and then bouncing around the league for several seasons.
- Kevin McGehee turns 56. His MLB career was only five games long, all of which came with the Orioles in 1993.
- Brady Anderson celebrates his 61st birthday. An Orioles legend, Anderson spent 14 seasons in Baltimore from 1988 through ‘01. He made three all-star games, including in 1996, when he blasted 50 home runs, an outlier for a player that averaged 19 long balls in a typical year. After his playing career, Anderson spent time in the O’s front office from 2012-2019, reaching the role of Vice President of Baseball Operations. The Orioles inducted Anderson into their team Hall of Fame in 2004.
- Scott McGregor is 71. Acquired from the Yankees as a prospect in the same deal that landed Rick Dempsey and Tippy Martinez in Baltimore, McGregor became a team legend with the Orioles. His entire MLB career was spent with the Birds, and it was a good one. He spent 13 seasons in Baltimore, made an all-star team (1981), earned Cy Young votes in two different seasons (‘80, ‘83), and help the O’s win the 1983 World Series. He joined the team Hall of Fame in 1990.
- Mickey McGuire turns 84. He played in 16 total games for the Orioles, split between two seasons, 1962 and ‘67.
- The late Mike Fornieles (b. 1932, d. 1998) was born on this day. He played parts of two seasons in Baltimore, from 1956-57.
This day in history
2009 – The Orioles and Cubs agree to a trade. Félix Pie goes to Baltimore in exchange for Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson.
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