The Payoff Pitch

Anthony Santander has finally joined the Orioles (it was revealed that he had tested positive for Covid19), but Dwight Smith Jr. is still nowhere to be found. Richie Martin suffered an injury requiring surgery and will be out for a few months. In the finale of The Payoff Pitch, Paul runs down those stories and more as we are now just over a week from our delayed MLB Opening Day. 

In this week's episode of The Payoff Pitch, Paul goes over the Orioles' truncated 60-game schedule, wonders why a couple Orioles haven't been seen on the field yet, and tears into the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for their refusal to show us any O's intrasquad or other summer camp action.

We're back! Hopefully MLB will follow shortly...why don't they already have a plan in place? Well, let's spend a few minutes talking about why Rob Manfred is the worst thing to happen to Major League Baseball in my lifetime. Maybe we'll have a shortened season and can talk about some real baseball soon...or maybe not, because Rob sucks.

For now, let's talk about the guys the Orioles drafted in the 2020 Amateur Draft.

In this first episode of The Payoff Pitch of 2020, Paul goes over the recent Hall of Fame honorees, then gets into the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and the fallout from that report. After that, he of course talks Orioles, including their jettisoning of Jonathan Villar, some prospects to get excited about, & more. Dan Connolly of The Athletic joins Paul to talk about his HoF ballot, Adley Rutschman being invited to big-league camp this spring, other young Birds that will be competing for spots, and more. 

In this offseason episode of The Payoff Pitch, Paul talks about the O's Winter Warmup, the recent trades, and more. He is joined by Orioles Hangout's prospect analyst Luke Siler, and they discuss the players the Orioles acquired in the Jonathan Villar and Dylan Bundy trades, as well as their Rule V selections. 

In this offseason edition of The Payoff Pitch, Paul congratulates the team down 95 on their World Series win, goes over the Orioles' moves to date, and previews the owners meetings. The Baltimore Sun's O's beat writer Jon Meoli then joins the show to discuss the O's puzzling decision to cancel FanFest, Chris Holt's role, those aforementioned moves, and more. 

In the final episode of the 2019 season, Paul is joined by Dan Connolly of The Athletic to put a bow on the Baltimore Orioles' 2019 campaign. Which players made a case to be back in 2020? Who will be non-tendered? Who will be traded? And what can fans look forward to this offseason and into 2020?

On this week's show, Paul plays GM and looks ahead to the decisions the Orioles will have to make this offseason regarding a long list of players. After the break, our old friend Adam McInturff of 2080 Baseball joins us to talk about the O's playing in the Arizona Fall League. 

This week, we are again honored to be joined by Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun. Jon and Paul talk about the Most Valuable Oriole award, the logjam at first base (including Ryan Mountcastle), Chris Davis, Alex Wells, Adley Rutschman, and plenty more!