So What? Orioles Re-Sign Oliver Drake

Huh. The Orioles once employed a player named Oliver Drake. And now they do again. Isn’t this offseason thrilling?

Actually, I’m going to stop for a second here. You see, normally, this would be the space where I would rant (who me?) about the fact that other teams are inking star players to contracts, making blockbuster trades, and some team with a carnival for a stadium is giving its star player $325MM over thirteen years! This is the space where I would deride the Orioles for inaction. But I’m just going to can it.

Congratulations, Orioles – you beat me. I can’t, in good conscience, criticize this move or any others that seem underwhelming because you seem to have a knack for making some of those stick in a big way. I remember being completely underwhelmed when the organization traded for some guy name Brad Brach – who ended up being a significant contributor to the bullpen of a team that went to the ALCS. I remember wondering “who the hell is Steve Pearce?” when the club acquired, re-acquired, and managed to hang on to the guy who filled the gap for a largely absent Chris Davis in 2014.

How does Dan Duquette do that? Well, to be honest, he throws a lot on the wall in the hopes that some of it sticks. And maybe that’s not such a bad strategy. Within the confines of his resources, Duquette is working to build around a strong nucleus of players that should “add” considerable talent in Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. Steve Pearce can never be as good again as he was in 2014, but hopefully Chris Davis can never be that bad.

Here’s something crazy: maybe all this team needs is a couple of Oliver Drakes. Maybe a guy who mowed down the Eastern League last year is yet another diamond in the rough that Orioles evaluators believe can make the jump. And by “make the jump,” we’re not talking the next coming of Mariano Rivera. We’re hoping for the next Brad Brach.

Here’s hoping he’s one of the moves that sticks.

That is a lot of optimism in one sitting. Yikes. I need to bottle this stuff for that first losing streak of the upcoming season…