[Author’s note: I wrote most of this before Nick Vespi’s disastrous fourth inning in Seattle on Wednesday, in which he threw 0.2 IP and allowed six earned runs. Vespi entered the game with an 0.79 ERA and left it with a 5.40—four-and-a-half runs higher than when he woke up on Wednesday. Lessons learned: DON’T count your lefty relievers before they hatch. DO expect 88-mph fastballs down the middle to get blasted.]
One stage of a baseball rebuild, O’s fans have come to learn—by the way, if any team wants tips on how to run a rebuild, just ask: we’re all experts at it now—is the part where the new front office comes in, surveys what’s been left around by the old regime, gives those players some limited audition time, and then cuts bait.