MLB Free Agents 2012: Biggest Roster Holes for Baltimore Orioles To Fill

The Baltimore Orioles had their struggles during the 2011 season.

From regressing young pitchers, to a DH batting cleanup who couldn't drive in a run, to key injuries, the team had more than its share of problems.

Despite that, the O's started and ended the year on high notes. They were one game under the .500 mark 61 games into the year, and played the role of spoiler in September better than they ever had in recent memory, knocking the oh-so-hated Boston Red Sox out of the wild-card lead on the last day of the regular season.

However, none of those small successes can hide some of the Orioles' glaring needs heading into the 2011-2012 offseason. And it's getting tougher and tougher to hide some of those needs by the "young, growing players" excuse.

Maybe the Orioles GM, whoever that ends up being, will tackle some of these issues this winter.

Starting Rotation

Baltimore's baseball team, with their MLB-worst 4.89 team ERA, desperately needs starting pitching help.

As of now, their rotation definites heading into 2012 consist of Jeremy Guthrie, Zach Britton and Tommy Hunter. Brian Matusz's historically bad season will force him to earn a spot in the rotation, and Jake Arrieta will have to prove he can continue to better himself after undergoing surgery to have something similar to a bone spur removed from his pitching elbow late in the summer.

Then there's Chris Tillman, who's never shown he can handle major league hitters even though he dominates the AAA level; Brad Bergesen, who hasn't been the same since taking a liner off his shin during his stellar 2009 rookie season; and Alfredo Simon, who may end up in a middle relief/setup role in the bullpen; all expected to be given a shot to earn a rotation slot.

Setup man/closer Jim Johnson may also be given a shot in the rotation, as he was a starter throughout his minor league career before he became a successful late-inning pitcher for the O's.

Unless one or two of the younger pitchers can step up and become ace-like material, it's not a very impress bunch. This is why the O's need to find a way to get a top-flight arm.

The free-agent list isn't terribly attractive; Texas' C.J. Wilson and the White Sox's Mark Buehrle head the list, and the Orioles probably won't bid on either. That means they'll either have to settle for mediocrity from another free-agent arm (the more likely scenario), or find a way to swing a trade with another team for a No. 1 or 2 starter.

I have absolutely no idea who is going to available via trade come this winter, nor will I try to speculate on who the Orioles' scouting guys like, so I'll leave it at that. You can come up with your own thoughts from there, and if you think of anything good, I'd be happy to discuss it with you in the comments section.

Second Base

Fan-favorite Brian Roberts can't be counted on to be healthy anymore.

That's the plain, simple, unfortunate fact that we all need to accept.

Roberts played in only 39 games this year before his concussion symptoms came back, and has yet to shake them.

Due to this, the Orioles need to head into this offseason like they're in need of a starting second baseman. I'm not demanding they bring in anyone too flashy, but at least grab a player who can get the job done on an everyday basis.

Manager Buck Showalter has indicated that he'd prefer if Robert Andino, who did most of the filling in for Roberts during 2011, remain a utility infielder than get stuck on regular starting duty, as Showalter values Andino's ability to play second, shortstop and third base with an above-average glove.

Hopefully Roberts will be healthy, and the O's will have a welcomed problem with an extra second baseman on the roster, but risking not signing a guy isn't a good idea at this point considering Roberts' health.

Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports speculates that the Birds might be interested in Aaron Hill, and I'd personally like to see some attention given to Kelly Johnson. If the O's do go after someone, look for it to be of the likes of those two—an inexpensive option who's had some past success in the bigs.

Bullpen

The Orioles bullpen is in shambles going into this offseason. After trading away setup men Koji Uehara and Mike Gonzalez (who would have been gone this winter anyway since his contract expires), the Orioles have virtually no one of value in their 'pen.

As stated on the starting rotation slide, Jim Johnson may be given a shot at starting in 2012. However, his success as the Orioles closer during the last month of the season could sway Buck Showalter to keep him in the bullpen.

If Johnson is moved, that's one more replacement the bullpen will need.

Kevin Gregg has proven he can't be a reliable closer. Jason Berken had a down year after his injury in 2010, and hopefully can rebound in 2012. Pedro Strop (pictured) was real good after being acquired from Texas, and will pretty much have a bullpen spot to lose in spring training. Clay Rapada is phenomenal against lefties, but gets lit up by righties.

So many question marks. Isn't that always the issue with the Orioles?

There actually will be some nice relief arms available this offseason, with closers such as Heath Bell, Matt Capps, Jonathan Papelbon and Rafael Soriano (opt-out clause could be taken advantage of) possibly hitting the free-agent market.

Then there are some other middle relievers and setup men, like Kyle Farnsworth, Jeremy Affeldt, Juan Cruz, Javier Lopez and Octavio Dotel, to name a few, who could be free to sign.

I'm sure that whichever young starter who doesn't make the rotation out of spring training will be slotted into a long-relief/swingman role, similar to how Brad Bergesen was used last season.

The Birds will need to get creative and maybe spend a little money to make a solid attempt at fixing their bullpen.

Designated Hitter

With a gaping hole at the DH slot, the Orioles will definitely need to address that during the winter.

The O's DH of 2011, future Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero (pictured, on right), will almost certainly not be back for another year with the team after he had quite the down season.

Luke Scott (pictured), the most valuable Oriole of 2010, could be tendered a contract and brought back, but it's also quite possible he isn't and hits the open market. Were he to return to the Orioles, he would have to compete for a starting spot and prove he's healthy and can still contribute after a rough and injury-plagued 2011 season for the big lefty. Assuming he wins a starting job, the DH role seems to be the best fit for him.

There are many, many possibilities for the club in this department if they don't bring back Scott. They could find another left fielder and move Nolan Reimold to DH, or possibly sign a first baseman and move Mark Reynolds or Chris Davis to DH. If, somehow, Prince Fielder showed up in Baltimore on Opening Day 2012, the O's could have him DH instead of playing first.

Then there's always the thought of going out and signing a full-time DH, like they did prior to the 2011 season with Vlad. Maybe Jim Thome, but I highly doubt that and am just using him as an example.

Whatever the Orioles decide to do with that position should be interesting to watch unfold.

Left Field

It's not that I fully agree with this slide. It's that I'm adding it to save myself from being attacked by those Orioles fans who feel so strongly about the need for a left fielder. I don't want to hear I forgot about this position just because I disagree with the rational, so I'll analyze it from a neutral perspective.

The Birds have had a revolving door of left fielders over the last three years. The mainstays have been Luke Scott, Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie, with even a bit of a Corey Patterson reunion sprinkled in.

Scott did a fine job his first year in Baltimore, but once the team traded for Pie, they wanted to try and improve their defense without losing anything offensively and moved Scott to a full-time DH.

Since then, Pie and Reimold shared time, Luke took over this year prior to his injury and for much of the 2011 season, it was a platoon situation again.

Many fans would like to see some stability and commitment to the position, which is completely understandable. Unfortunately, there isn't much available this winter at any position, much less left field.

The team could opt to give Nolan Reimold (pictured) a shot to improve his defense and bring up his batting average over the course of a full season in 2012, or could look for outside help and either move Reimold to a different position or platoon him.

Josh Willingham is probably the best bat available at the position, but his defense leaves something to be desired, and it's very possible he'll re-up with Oakland. Of course, an outfielder who typically plays a different position could be signed/traded for and moved to left, but personally, I feel that the pieces mentioned on the previous slides are much more dire than left field for the Orioles.

General Manager/Field Manager (?)

At this point, it is pretty unclear what is happening with the Orioles' front office situation. What seemed to be all but official last week has dragged on, and is leaving people to speculate on what's really going to happen.

Months ago, it seemed as if president of baseball operations (or in other words, general manager) Andy MacPhail was going to pack his bags and leave the post he had held the last four seasons once his contract expired on October 31.

Baltimore media outlets were even expecting an announcement of this the day following the final game of the season for the team, but we have yet to hear anything of the sort, which leaves beat writers wondering if things have changed and MacPhail will remain in his current role.

In addition, it had been rumored that manager Buck Showalter was considering taking up MacPhail's vacant post, and it was assumed that when he went home to his family over last weekend, he'd talk over this issue with them. However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports Showalter will not take the GM job.

If MacPhail does in fact leave his current post, he could possibly stay within the organization in a smaller role, such as a consultant of sorts. Regardless of whether he stays in a smaller role or leaves the franchise, the O's will be shopping for a new GM should he not want to return to his current role.

Owner Peter Angelos would likely prefer to bring in an older, experienced baseball man as opposed to a whiz kid, so look for someone around the age of 50 or older. For whatever reason, Angelos seems to feel more comfortable with the conservative approach that class of GM tends to take.

This club definitely needs to figure out who's running it before the postseason is over so that they can make the most of their time to improve in the offseason.

Let's Talk Baseball

Think I missed something or disagree with an opinion of mine? Leave a comment and I'd love to discuss it with you.

One thing I think we can all agree on: The Orioles need to make some major improvements this offseason. After 14 straight losing seasons, you'd imagine we're long overdue for some luck.

With the baseball mind of Buck Showalter in charge of how things will shape out, I'd like to think the team is in good hands and hopefully, we'll be seeing many more celebrations like the one pictured during the 2012 season.

The guys in orange played with a lot more heart this year, especially toward the end of the year when they were trying their best (and succeeding) at sending everyone home for the postseason (namely Boston), so that's a good sign.

More than likely, it will take at least two or three more years before Baltimore's beloved Orioles are contenders again, but hey, "Why not, Hon?"