Steve Melewski of MASN Online spoke to Orioles president Andy MacPhail, who said he’s had preliminary contract extension talks with Nick Markakis’ agent. Dollar figures have not yet been exchanged. MacPhail added that there are no hard feelings from Markakis’ renewal last year. Locking up Markakis is an offseason priority for the Orioles. They’ll try to buy out all three arbitration years as well as some free agent years.
In March, players such as Prince Fielder, Cole Hamels, and Markakis were renewed at $700K or less. Fielder and Hamels publicly expressed displeasure. Young players who may be renewed next March include Hunter Pence, James Loney, Yunel Escobar, Jeremy Guthrie, Joba Chamberlain, and Tim Lincecum.
