Nick Markakis Rumors

Discussion: What's Next For Baltimore?

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly details the questions facing a Baltimore team with some young offensive talent, some terrific young pitching on the way, and a lot of extra cash. Connolly writes that while the 64-98 record Baltimore had in 2009 was the third-worst in team history, "there is a sense that the future has promise because of the emergence of young starting pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielders Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie." Left unsaid, of course, is the emergence of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis continuing to be a tremendous player....   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Reynolds, Gammons, Orioles

Some late night links after Jake Peavy allowed three runs in five innings in his first start for the White Sox... Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic notes that Mark Reynolds is likely to fall short of qualifying as a Super Two, meaning he'll have to wait until after 2010 to become arbitration eligible. He also says that it "does not appear there have been any discussions about a long-term deal with Reynolds, but the club does not seem averse to the idea of an extension." ESPN's Peter Gammons writes about how great Victor Martinez has been for the Red...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: O's, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa

More links for the afternoon... Today's chat will take place in a little over an hour, at 2pm CST. It's worth checking out this Jerry Crasnick article at ESPN.com just for the photo of Nick Markakis balancing a folding chair on his chin. As Crasnick says, Markakis, Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Luke Scott will be an impressive group of outfielders on improved O's teams in the near future. In the midst of his mid-season awards, SI.com's Tom Verducci says the Tigers and Dodgers deserve credit for well-thought-out offseason moves. David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News lays out five...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Orioles, Bowden, Nathan

A few links for Sunday afternoon... According to MLB.com's Spencer Fordin the Orioles used "number crunching and statistical analysis" to compare Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis to similar past and present players before locking them up to deals worth $40MM and $66MM, respectively. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Joe Nathan's happy to see Jonathan Papelbon making lots of money this year ($6.25MM) because it's good for closers in general. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out the absurdity of the Manny Ramirez negotiations and suggests the structure of a deal that could work for both sides. It's been nearly four...   Continue Reading

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Arbitration Awards Increase By Record Amount in 2009

While the value of most free agents plummeted this offseason, players in salary arbitration did quite well for themselves. Writing for the Associated Press, Ronald Blum reports that the 111 players in salary arbitration received an average pay increase of 172 percent this year. That figure is up from 120 percent last year. The previous record of 169 percent was set in 1999. The big winners this year were Nick Markakis and Ervin Santana, whose salaries rose 24-fold and 16-fold, respectively. Writing for MLB.com, Fred Claire argues that the arbitration process is "a far greater escalator of salaries than free...   Continue Reading

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Brian Roberts Addresses Contract Situation

On MASN's weekly Brian Roberts segment, the Orioles' second baseman touched on his contract situation, as well as teammate Nick Markakis' new deal. In regard to his own contract, Roberts made it clear that though he's focused on Opening Day, he believes that there's time to make a deal before spring training: "It is going to come to a point where we have to make a decision one way or the other," he said. "I don't want this to drag out once we get into kind of midway through spring training as I start getting ready to play for the...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Varitek, Markakis, Johnson

Links for Thursday night... Curt Schilling thinks the Red Sox need Jason Varitek. Buster Olney writes that some executives think Type A free agents like Varitek, Orlando Cabrera and Juan Cruz should sign soon instead of waiting until the season starts. Ken Rosenthal proposes a 'Juan Cruz rule' so that players like Cruz aren't the ones hurt by the compensation system. Andy MacPhail provides some of the reasons he wanted to lock up Nick Markakis. He has plenty of good ones to choose from. Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with Nick Johnson, who "expressed no particular desire" to...   Continue Reading

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Markakis Finalizes Extension With Orioles

2:33pm: The Orioles and Markakis have finalized a six-year, $66MM extension. Markakis will take his physical this week. MONDAY, 7:53am: Peter Schmuck believes the Markakis extension is "essentially done" and awaiting a routine physical. Yesterday Andy MacPhail said, "We're close, but we're not quite there yet." SATURDAY: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun is reporting that right fielder Nick Markakis and the Baltimore Orioles have made "real progress" in their contract-extension negotiations in recent days, according to club president Andy MacPhail. One source told Connolly that the two sides are close to agreeing to a six-year deal worth between $64MM...   Continue Reading

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Orioles Talking With Luke Scott, Eyeing Ohman

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun writes about the Orioles' attempt to sign arbitration-eligible outfielder Luke Scott before figures are submitted on Tuesday. Baltimore's other arb-eligible players are Nick Markakis and George Sherrill. The O's made an offer to Scott's agent Page Odle on Tuesday, and the offer was countered on Thursday. Odle described it as "pretty positive dialogue." Zrebiec also learned from Odle that the Orioles remain interested in Will Ohman, as are the Braves, D'Backs, Indians, and Rangers. Ohman has two offers in hand, but not from the O's. Regarding Sherrill, MLBTR has learned that the Orioles called...   Continue Reading

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Orioles Rumors: Roberts, Uehara, Zaun, Pudge

10:46pm: Roch Kubatko says Zaun wants a two-year deal but the Orioles prefer one year. The O's are also talking with Ivan Rodriguez. Kubatko adds that Kenshin Kawakami was seeking a three-year deal. In another post, Kubatko says the O's have no interest in Shelley Duncan, but Richie Sexson and Ty Wigginton are possibilities for first base. Peter Schmuck adds Nick Swisher, Ryan Garko, Billy Butler, and Ryan Shealy as trade possibilities. Dan Connolly says the Orioles offered Brian Roberts a multiyear extension at about $10MM per, but the two sides have not made progress and Roberts doesn't want talks...   Continue Reading

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