The Baltimore Orioles Scouting Director Joe Jordan, announced to MASN that the O’s have withdrawn their offer to 2nd-round pick Mychel Givens.
http://masnsports.com/2009/08/os-withdraw-contract-offer-to.html
Here is a link to my profile on Givens at the time of the selection:
http://baltimoresportsandlife.blogspot.com/2009/06/os-2nd-round-pick-is-ss-mychel-givens.html
As I stated at the time, I was excited about the selection. When I did my recent-ranking of the Orioles top prospects after the 7/31 Non-waiverTrading Deadline, I had Givens as my the 12th rated player in the system.
I am dissapointed that a deal was not able to be made with Givens, and obviously the O’s are as well – they are the ones that made Givens the 2nd-round selection.
The O’s are still very thin with their middle-infield prospects, and in-mind Givens would have greatly added to the system.
That said, I can not disagree with the Orioles pulling their offer.
If you have reached the limits of what you are willing to pay to obtain him, you might as well pull that offer and move on to trying and sign players over-slot that you drafted.
As the MASN article points out, there are 3 such players unsigned, and Jordan states he believes are 2nd-round talents.
Those players are the 11th-round pick, high school catcher Micheal Ohlman , 15th-round pick high school RHP Garret Bush, and 22nd-round pick high school LHP Cameron Coffey.
Getting a couple of these guys done would be great, but it has to be noted that none of them are SS prospects. The need for help at SS is just a glaring organizational-need.
The O’s will receive a 2nd-round compensation pick in the 2010 draft if Givens does not sign. It eases the pain of not getting Givens now, but does not erase it. You still have to account for the full-year of development you are missing for a 2nd-round pick, and whomever was left on the board this year outside of Givens.
At the end of the day, there is not much you can do. You gave it your best shot, and you move on.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.