Orioles: Here's What You Do This Offseason!

If you're an Orioles fan, you know who replaces Ramon Hernandez. Matt Wieters (aka the No. 1 prospect in baseball, Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year, htting .355 with 27 home runs, 91 RBI and an 82:76 BB:K ratio in 130 games).

To replace Millar, you have Oscar Salazar. I'd also consider calling up Mike Costanzo and moving him from third to first base. To replace Payton as the backup center fielder, you have either Tike Redman (who has major league experience), Chris Roberson (20 steals in AAA), or Jeff Fiorentino.

To replace Mora, you have Scott Moore, Jeff Nettles, or Mike Costanzo, if you want to keep him at third. To replace Castro, you have a talented defensive whiz in Brandon Fahey already on the team. To replace Scott, you, of course, have sweet-swinging Lou Montanez.

So the starting lineup would be:

C Matt Wieters: 27 HR, 91 RBI, .355 (A+ and AA)

1B Oscar Salazar: 13 HR, 85 RBI, .315 (AAA)

2B Brian Roberts: 9 HR, 57 RBI, .296, 40 SB (MLB)

SS Brandon Fahey: 0 HR, 12 RBI, .226 (MLB)

3B Scott Moore: 7 HR, 44 RBI, .247 (AAA)

LF Lou Montanez: 29 HR, 111 RBI, .327 (AA, MLB) Eastern League MVP

CF Adam Jones: 9 HR, 57 RBI, .270 (MLB)

RF Nick Markakis: 20 HR, 87 RBI, .306 (MLB)

DH Nolan Reimold: 25 HR, 84 RBI, .284 (AA)

That is an incredibly talented lineup when you look top-to-bottom. I also would re-sign Adam Jones and Nick Markakis to long contracts. They are the faces of the franchise offensively and one of the best CF/RF duos in the majors.

As for the rotation, I would make a major adjustment: BEN SHEETS! The O's need to either sign him or an experienced starting pitcher who is proven, such as Sheets, Jon Garland, or CC Sabathia, but it's very unlikely the O's will land CC.

I wouldn't mess with the other guys a lot, except getting Brian Burres off the team and letting Chris Waters go as a free agent. That would make the rotation look like this:

No. 1 Jeremy Guthrie

No. 2 Ben Sheets/Jon Garland/CC Sabathia

No. 3 Brian Bass

No. 4 Radhames Liz

No. 5 Troy Patton/Garrett Olson

The closer situation is a good one to have a problem with. The O's will have two healthy closers in George Sherrill and Chris Ray.

If I'm an Orioles fan, I personally want Ray. After the All-Star Game, Sherrill had an ERA over seven and had three saves, finishing with 31. I would trade Sherrill. I'm not sure why MacPhail didn't immediately after the All-Star Game, when his stock was the highest.

Right now, his stock is still pretty high. Still, he had a fluke year and is the opposite of a workhorse. Fact: He's never thrown over 50 innings. I want Chris Ray as the closer.

I know looking down the lineup, you think: That's not a competitive team, is it? No, it's not. But it gives the O's young prospects some confidence going into 2010 and 2011 to become great.

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