So how are they going to work around the lack of options?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty confusing, but we're told they'll have to severe his current deal. - Roch

Bet he pulls it off. Good luck young man.

so is he not having surgery at all?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nope. Doesn't need it if he plays in the field because he won't need to make high-intensity throws off a mound. I'm not a doctor - though I play one on TV - but I can't imagine walking around with a fracture in my elbow. However, I'm told it'll heal over time if he doesn't do anything drastic to the bone. - Roch

Will be interesting to see how they can sever the current deal and somehow maintain his rights.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the part we're confused about. - Roch

Earlier in the season, Loewen got me thinking about Rick Ankiel early in his career, what with all the control problems and such. I was wondering how he would fare as an outfielder. I guess I'll eventually find out. Any predictions?

Say this whole converting to a first baseman works off and works off well, how soon do you think we'll see him on the Major League field?

Loewen was a big time hitter back in JUCO, but the chances of him becoming Rick Ankiel are pretty slim. Ankiel is a freak of nature (see also, Hamilton, Josh). In any case, hopefully he can make his way back through the minors that way and have a decent career. Good luck Adam.

My good friend had the benefit of watching his kids play against Loewen in the Fraser Valley Delta area . His hitting was pretty legendary in those parts.

Hope it all works out. I expect there will be some loyalty on Loewen's part that may help work it out. It is certainly a position of need in the organization and from an age perspective he is 4 years from peak.

Well, well, well ... I remember when I brought this up a couple of weeks ago, many thought it was a stupid idea, or "nonsense." I guess Adam didn't think so. I'm glad he's doing it. It may never work out, but at least he's taking a shot.

Roch, great line about playing a doctor on TV. A classic.

I wonder if there is some way that they can give him his release and he becomes a FA - with the understanding that he signs a minor league deal with the Orioles.

O is for "oh..you can never have enough pitching...

I know Loewen was scouted and respected as a potential position player coming into the draft.

But where would he have been valued in the draft if he was exclusively a position player?

Roch: what are the stats on Juan Castro? Does it look like he can contribute right away?

Good plan. This is what happens when you take the best player available in the draft (Ravens). Too bad it didn't happen earlier. He might be playing first base now!

Good luck Adam!

Adam is one tough competitor, a very courageous bird, who probably threw too many curves at too young an age... but hey, he is multitalented and the Os can sure use that big guy at first base. A natural hitter who can key on a lot of sneaky pitcher tricks!
Good luck to him!

I don't see why it's a huge deal to sever his contract. Who else is going to sign him right now? Even if someone made an offer, it wouldn't be any better than what Baltimore would give to him, would it? So it comes down to a gentleman's deal.

More importantly, Godspeed in your recovery Adam and here's hoping you become the next Rick Ankiel!!!

Rick Ankiel did it . Hope Loewen can pull it off too . Good luck to him .

thanks for the additional insight roch
i agree with you on the elbow fracture but lots of fractures dont require surgery; makes sense that it would heal on it own

WOW! Looks like people have been speaking the truth. Adam Loewen is gonna be our left fielder!

Hope he can do it very well like Nick Markakis did.

Wow, this is all a lot of news to swallow in one gulp. I'm encouraged by how well Rick Ankiel's situation has turned out, but this is far from a sure thing. I am doubly glad we drafted Brian Matusz right now. Best of luck to Adam. I know I'll be pulling for him to make it back to Baltimore as a position player.

Ok. Wow. That's about the most surprising and unexpected announcement I could have imagined. A top-of-the-line first round pitching draft pick trying to turn around and become a major league hitter? Has this ever been done before (successfully)?

Sorry to be skeptical here, but I would be AMAZED if he could pull it off. Baseball is almost impossible to play at the MLB level. He hasn't been actively practicing to be a hitter since what, high school now? Sure, he's a good athlete, but so was Michael Jordan, and he couldn't do better than being a wasteful and unproductive hitter at AA. Lowen's odds of actually pulling this off and building a career out of this must be in the 1000-1 range. He would have a much better chance of saving his career by just having the surgery and trying to return by the 2010 season. He'd still be reasonably young at that point and could potentially have many successful years.

Going the offensive route is pretty much impossible for somebody that spent about half a decade in his late teens and early 20s not practicing it. Good luck Adam, it's your elbow and your choice, but you face a VERY difficult uphill climb to make it back to the MLB as a hitter. I'm willing to eat crow on this if you someday prove me wrong, but the odds say you just can't do it. More power to you for trying though.

One obvious correction to my previous comment:

Has this ever been done successfully by someone NOT named Babe Ruth?

Juan Castro? He's 36. How do they explain that?

It certainly would be fitting to see Loewen go somewhere else and turn into a 30-HR guy.

If he doesn't re-work his deal, and skips out of Baltimore after we worked with him for 5-6 years, I'll be furious.

Is this guy fully recovered from his ligament surgery last year?

The new shortstop we acquired fits right in with what we have seen to dat, weak bat with a .230 hitter with no power. Fahey can do that. Hopefully, he's a great fielder.

Why bother?

Cabrera will never be more than a back of the rotation pitcher than can give a team innings. The light hasn't gone on yet, it never will.

Why on earth would we trade for a 36 year old SS? I thought we were rebuilding!!!

When he reinjured himself a few weks ago I made the comment...Two words..Rick Ankiel...pretty prophetic if I say so myself. Go get him a first basemen's mitt asap.

Please, please please Andy... Make DCab part of the sell off this month.

How much longer can we keep watching this guy???

What's the chance of seeing Rocky Cherry here again this year??? And if they are still looking for help in the bullpen, why not this guy Miller they got from the Rockies???

Why do we keep recycling has beens??? I thought Andy was going to change that???

Unless I'm mistaken, wouldn't the Orioles and Loewen's agent figure out a new deal, then sever the old one and have Adam sign it. To prevent him from possibly skipping town or some other crazy half-thought scenario. Or is there some MLB rule that prevents that?

Ankiel did have one bit of a head start: NL, no DH. Loewen is still only 24, so he could pull it off. I just won't expect him in Baltimore until late in the 2010 season at the earliest. Best of luck to him, though! He'd be a great story, and it's wonderful he's trying.

T-Mac, MLB dictates you have to have SOMEBODY between 2B and 3B. We might as well try someone else - our trio of legend (Boom Boom, Luis Luis and Lil' Bro) haven't done the job this year.

I stand a man humbled. But if it was really gonna be 1 1/2 years, its def the right move. Can anyone point me to some video clips of him hitting in AAU or JUCO? Now we just need to move Montanez to SS

There are plenty of issues Blaher. The players association is not going to be happy if Loewen ends up making less money as part of any new deal, remember the union is the one that killed the Arod to Boston deal. There is also the very real issue of him being out of options, he will have to be exposed to waivers in order to get sent down, I am not sure once he is down how it would work when it takes multiple seasons for him to work his way back up. Will he take up a spot on the O's 40 man roster, heck will he be eligible for the Rule V draft if he isn't on the roster?

What I do know is he can't just sign a minor league deal and act like he was just drafted.

Maybe if he told folks he was Cain Loewen, Adam's twin that stayed in Canada to work on the family farm....

Adam Loewen was not even drafted as a two-way player. There is *zero* chance he can ever become a major league player, even if he lives to be 200.

As for Castro: eh, who cares? They gave up crap, they got back crap. He'll fit right in.

hey steve nuclear guy, did you watch last sunday's game against the sox? D-cab is the only guy other than guthrie that goes late into games and takes some stress off the pen. if you watched a game you would know that. so he had a bad start. still went 5 and let us hang around and get the lead. give the guy a break.

I was a correspondent for BA and covered the 2002 World Juniors where Loewen never pitched but played outfield. Here's what the scout's thought about him back then...

Canadians bring depth to World Junior talent pool

By Michael Levesque
August 15, 2002

SHERBROOKE, Quebec–The talent on hand for the 20th edition of the IBAF World Junior Championships was impressive, as usual. The 12-team tournament attracted more than 50 scouts, with the Dodgers, Padres, Yankees and Mets sending up to five scouts apiece.

"Based on what I saw this year," Cubs international scout Tad Powers said, "this is probably the most talent that I’ve seen at this event. As always, the U.S. and Cuba were stacked, but this year is the best it’s been because Canada was loaded. I’ve been to tournaments in the past where there wasn’t really a prospect on the Canadian team.

"For the Asian countries in the past, the only guys that looked like prospects were the pitchers. But this year we were starting to see position players from Taipei and from Korea that look like they have a chance to get to the majors."

The two deepest areas for talent this year were outfielders and pitchers, with the consensus No. 1 talent, Canadian Adam Loewen, embodying both positions. The 6-foot-5 lefthander/outfielder was the first-round pick of the Orioles in this year’s draft.

"To me, he was the best guy here," a scout said. "I could see him holding out because he is worth it. He’s worth a lot more than slot money, that’s for sure. That guy is just a pleasure to watch run out to the outfield. And I don’t see why he wouldn’t play both ways professionally.

"There are not many 18-year-olds with that kind of power who are that disciplined at the plate. Add his prowess on the mound, and he is a dream for a scout."

1. Adam Loewen, lhp/of, Canada
The fourth overall pick in this year’s draft as a lefthanded pitcher showed above-average tools across the board while playing right field for Canada. He has a smooth lefthanded stroke at the plate with above-average power and an excellent approach. A plus arm to go with above-average speed and good defensive skills have a lot of scouts debating where he is more valuable. Some think he could he be a two-way player in the majors. He is compared to a young Larry Walker in the field and at the plate by a number of scouts.

2. Lastings Milledge, of, Team USA
Milledge put on a display of speed and power, crushing the ball to all parts of the park. He has exceptional bat speed, a short, compact stroke and adjusted well to breaking pitches. At times he took poor routes in the outfield but managed to outrun his mistakes.

3. Yunesky Sanchez-Navarro, ss, Cuba
A slick-fielding shortstop with good range, soft hands, excellent lateral movement and above-average arm strength, Navarro showed a quick bat with power potential, and runs above average. He’s a potential five-tool player at a premium position.

4. Yuliesky Gourriel-Castillo, 3b, Cuba
Gourriel’s father Lourdes was the No. 5 hitter behind Omar Linares and Orestes Kindelan on the great Cuban national team for years. Yuliesky may become better than his father, as he displayed outstanding actions at the corner with soft hands, good range and a cannon for an arm that grades out as a 70 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. He has a short, compact stroke at the plate with above-average power potential. Gourriel has an excellent frame and average speed.

5. Delmon Young, of, Team USA
Young, who hit nine home runs and earned tournament MVP honors, appears to have a higher upside than his brother, Tigers outfielder Dmitri Young. He is a polished hitter with good bat speed, plus raw power and the innate ability to make adjustments at the plate. He has a plus arm in right field and does a good job of going back on balls. He is a 4.5 runner down the line.

6. Deinys Suarez, rhp, Cuba
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound righthander had a lighting-quick arm as his fastball sat between 91-94 mph with late heavy movement. Add good command and two plus breaking pitches, and he overmatched hitters. He had a 66-74 mph 12-to-6 curve with good spin and bite, and a nasty 79-82 mph slider with tilt.

7. Chris Lubanski, of, Team USA
Lubanski is lighting fast, getting down the line in 3.73 seconds on a drag bunt and running the 60 in 6.4-6.5 seconds. He has an athletic body with a smooth lefthanded swing that should produce power in the future. He profiles as a center fielder, though his arm is borderline average. He struggled against breaking pitches.

8. Jeff Allison, rhp, Team USA
He displayed two plus pitches, a 90-93 mph fastball and a 78-81 mph slider. He has a prototype pitcher’s body and generates serious arm speed. Some scouts had concerns about his delivery–he straightens up on his front side, landing on a stiff front leg and hyper-extending his knee. He also recoils on his fastball.

9. Chad Billingsley, rhp, Team USA
Billingsley has a strong, physically mature body and gets by on pure arm strength. He topped out between 91-94 mph with extension-side sink, and flashed a power curve. Scouts worried about some mechanical problems, which lead to control problems. He showed a lot of effort in his arm action, had a deep back stroke and struggled to get his front side out.

10. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c, Team USA
The switch-hitting Saltalamacchia showed a better stroke from the left side of the plate. He is an athletic catcher with good footwork, solid receiving skills and above-average arm strength. He can generate good bat speed but has trouble against offspeed pitches.

Copyright 2002 Baseball America. All rights reserved.