The Orioles FINALLY Make A Move And Bring In Jose Baustia's Worst Nightmare, Rougned Odor
And there we have it, the first Orioles free agent signing comes in the shape of a guy who is already beloved by Orioles fans. Let the record show that Rougned Odor was a Baltimore LEGEND before he even put on an Orioles uniform. He already had a key to the city for absolutely knocking the snot out of that pompous ass, Jose Bautista back in 2016. Everyone in Baltimore hated Bautista and I think it was mutual from him too, so when Odor knocked him out he became a fan favorite. On paper I love the move, it gives me an excuse to re-watch the punch over and over and over.
On the field it's a nothing signing really. He isn't an impact player at all, can't get on base, can't hit, has some decent pop, isn't exactly the worst defender in the world, he's a body to fill second or third base. It's nothing. Low risk, low reward if you ask me, and it's a cheap alternative. A nice lefty bat who will probably enjoy that flag court in right. The Rangers are still on the hook for his full 2022 salary which is over $12 million, so the Orioles are only paying the league minimum for him this season, thats a damn good deal for the Birds. Again, I'm not putting any expectations on him, he won't be an impact guy for the Orioles but he's going to play a lot. My guess is he'll get most of his at-bats playing second, but can also slide over to third. He's just a placeholder in this rebuild, he won't be here for the long run and is just a body.
The mind bottling thing is that he's only 27, I would have sworn he was closer to 37. Still pretty young and has decent pop, that is what I'm counting on is some nice homers from him. Maybe he gets hot and you can flip him, but for now he's the Orioles guy at second.
He showed some of the power when he got to New York last year, 15 bombs on the year and they aren't cheap ones. The downside is he only hit .202 and had a .286 OBP with 100 strikeouts and only 27 walks. Maybe he finds his swing again and can get his average up and find himself over 20 homers, that would be the perfect situation for him here. It's just a one-year deal and who knows if he'll get moved before the deadline, if he is able to bring back a prospect than I consider this a win. 0 financial risk here so I'm completely fine with the signing, this just can't be the only addition to the squad. But here is to welcoming in a guy who deserves a king's welcome for knocking out Jose Bautista, he deserves the world already.