The Orioles declined to offer arbitration to Kevin Millwood or Koji Uehara tonight. Here are the other hot stove-related items about the O's:
- President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's "disappointed" to have missed out on Victor Martinez. The Orioles made Martinez a four-year $48MM offer at the general manager meetings in Orlando last week and were not given the chance to raise their offer, according to Zrebiec. MacPhail says the O's are now "looking at other options."
- The Orioles agreed to sign former Mets manager Willie Randolph to be Buck Showalter's bench coach, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Orioles did not bid on Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, according to Connolly (on Twitter).
I hope the Twins won the bidding for Tsuyoshi…I just hope his negotiating points are valid…Hope he doesn’t compare himself to Derek Jeter!
I’ve been reading that a lot of the hype behind him is somewhat overrated. I’ve been an avid watcher of Japanese ball over the years. This last year I have not been able to spend so much time in Japan so I am not super familiar with Tsuyoshi Nishioka. So I am not sure.
US articles citing sources from US teams sometimes seem to think he might be a UT type of guy or slaphitter in the longrun.
I’ve been reading that a lot of the hype behind him is somewhat overrated. I’ve been an avid watcher of Japanese ball over the years. This last year I have not been able to spend so much time in Japan so I am not super familiar with Tsuyoshi Nishioka. So I am not sure.
US articles citing sources from US teams sometimes seem to think he might be a UT type of guy or slaphitter in the longrun.
Surprised they were planning to go all in on V-Mart. Does this mean the O’s are planning to completely give up on Wieters?
They would have rotated him through C/1B/DH, and he could have mentored Wieters.
The Os were planning on putting VMart at 1B-DH and sometimes C. In that order. Wieters would get the majority of starts at catcher. They saw Martinez as a good mentor to Wieters who might be able to guide him in the ways of being a switch-hitting catcher.
I hope the Sox don’t bid on Tsuyoshi like it has been reported they might. It just doesn’t make sense to me why they would.
Another free agents snubs the Orioles. It’s extremely frustrating that the top talents just don’t give the Orioles a shot. It’s like they think the Os are paying in Euros or something.
Usually the GM doesn’t even bothers to mention it publicly though. So the transparency is refreshing. It’s not as if the Orioles don’t try to match opposing teams’ offers. Once the free agent’s demands are met, they basically don’t give the Os a shot to match it.
I don’t get it either. They have a good young core and a great ballpark. Baltimore is probably my 2nd favorite team in the AL East. I like watching that team play for some reason.
I think Baltimore is my 54th favorite team in professional sports…
If that’s true then why are you reading (much less posting comments) on an article about Orioles news?
If that’s true then why are you reading (much less posting comments) on an article about Orioles news?
I think it’s one of those things where the ball needs to get rolling to overcome the bad rap it’s built up. So, the only way out for the Orioles is for enough of that promising young core to breakout. If that happens, the free agents will be more inclined to come along.
I think it’s one of those things where the ball needs to get rolling to overcome the bad rap it’s built up. So, the only way out for the Orioles is for enough of that promising young core to breakout. If that happens, the free agents will be more inclined to come along.
Victor Martinez has stated countless times that he wants to stay at catcher. He was never going to sign anywhere where he wouldn’t have been the starting catcher anyway.
Victor Martinez has stated countless times that he wants to stay at catcher. He was never going to sign anywhere where he wouldn’t have been the starting catcher anyway.
The Orioles don’t project to be winners yet. That will change starting this year,but for now the perception is of a bad team. They should pay in euros- The euro is worth more than the Dollar.
Hmm. Actually that’s not true right now. I think the dollar was at 1.33 for every 1 Euro at last check. This recent recession has hit Europe even harder than the US. Sure, the US has had to bail out companies but Europe has had to bail out 2 countries so far, maybe a 3rd (or more) to come.
It’s the other way around, basemonkey. You have to give $1.33 to get one Euro. Slopeboy is right, it’d be better if the Orioles were paying in Euros. The player would make more money.
Ok. I had a late night brain freeze. Sorry about that. I was wrong. I swapped the figures around.
No worries. Happens to all of us :-)
Btw, my dad likes to tell a story about how he was wrong once. Thought he had made a mistake, but in fact he hadn’t ;-)
The Orioles don’t project to be winners yet. That will change starting this year,but for now the perception is of a bad team. They should pay in euros- The euro is worth more than the Dollar.
did anybody bid on Nishioka?
The orioles are retarded for not? What’s to lose? This is ridiculous…
The orioles are retarded for not? What’s to lose? This is ridiculous…
Pretty bad day all around. The GM is ‘disappointed’ he couldn’t blow $50M on a light-hitting, light-defending 1B/backup C. No comp picks at all when the Rays set themselves up for like 10. And no creative Japanese solution at short. ugh
If you read closer you’d see that the Os didn’t get a chance to up their offer. Martinez just inked the deal without checking back with Baltimore. If the Os balked at raising their offer that’s one thing, but if they don’t even get a shot, that’s another.
If you read closer you’d see that the Os didn’t get a chance to up their offer. Martinez just inked the deal without checking back with Baltimore. If the Os balked at raising their offer that’s one thing, but if they don’t even get a shot, that’s another.
light-hitting? 5 of his last 7 seasons, he’s had an OPS of .850 or higher (and last year it was .844). that would’ve ranked 6th in the AL last season among first basemen with >300 PA. as a 1B he’s basically a 3 win player (assuming he’s average defensively) and aging wouldn’t be as big of a problem since he wouldn’t be a full-time catcher. and looking at the market so far, $12 million a year isn’t a huge overpay for that kind of performance.
True, but is Victor Martinez any better at first base than Luke Scott? He’s not a true first baseman so he’s not really a fit on the O’s since the O’s don’t need a catcher or a DH (unless they trade Scott). I’d rather have a real first baseman, like Derrek Lee or Paul Konerko, even if they’re older. They can fill in until the O’s find a decent young first baseman (who was the last good home grown first baseman in Baltimore, Eddie Murray?) Even Carlos Pena brings a solid glove and good power even if he can’t hit for average. I guess what I’m saying is the O’s best choice perhaps would have been to bring Aubrey Huff back ;) though that was never going to happen. Adam Dunn could still happen too even though his defense is bad.
Pretty bad day all around. The GM is ‘disappointed’ he couldn’t blow $50M on a light-hitting, light-defending 1B/backup C. No comp picks at all when the Rays set themselves up for like 10. And no creative Japanese solution at short. ugh
VERY disappointed the Orioles didn’t even make an offer for Nishioka…not that they were actually trying to get him in the first place or anything…
Can’t believe the Orioles are going to go with yet another weak SS like Bartlett or Hardy (or, UGH, Izturis again) sitting in the 8 or 9 hole. I know Machado’s waiting in the wings, but you need a glove AND a bat at SS for the next 2-3 years until he’s presumably ready. What are they scared of? No one would have blamed them if Nishioka didn’t pan out. At least they would have tried. He’s GOT TO be better than what’s available in the pool of MLers.
I’m not huge on the FA market, but what’s the point in even saying you’re going to sign guys when you know you’re just going to do what you do EVERY year? That, of course, is to over-pay for bullpen help (that doesn’t acutally help) and an “innings-eating veteran” and pick up some infielder off the scrap heap when all the legit FAs have been picked over and you’re left with some fool who’ll take anything at that point in the offseason.
I don’t see much in the FA market for them to try to sign. You expecting them to sign Jeter??
Nope! And I can say the same for the other top-tier FAs, too. The O’s just have to understand that they can’t create a culture of winning by bringing in big names off the market…even those who are proven winners elsewhere (Miggy/Javy/Raffy, anyone?). They need to create that from within the organization so FAs can see that and, in turn, hopefully see Baltimore in a whole new light.
I completely agree about building from within, but the Orioles have no options aside from Machado who was just drafted this year. Bartlett and Hardy are hardly big names. I think this is the right approach for the Orioles and I’m glad they are going in the right direction. I’m a die hard Orioles fan by the way.
I love the Orioles, myself. Now, Machado really is the one true prospect the Orioles have. Britton maybe will be alright, but one or two solid guys doesn’t make it a good system. There need to be rookies knocking on the door each year, but instead we see midseason call-ups that you can never expect a lot out of. Sometimes a rookie can energize a team, but how often does that happen? As for FAs…..
There was absolutely no point in what they did last year in signing the likes of Gonzales & Atkins. I mean, you have a rebuilding team, yet you think getting a “sort-of closer” is going to fix something? Then, you get a guy who USED TO hit, but somehow couldn’t do it at all anymore…in COLORADO. Wouldn’t it have been just as risky to go with someone they already had? They ended up canning Atkins in the first half of the season anyway! Signing guys like that doesn’t show us, the fans, anything. You can’t fill in holes on a team with FAs. They’re meant to enhance an already solid team. I guess I just have a different definition of “solid” than Mr. MacPhail.
I completely agree about building from within, but the Orioles have no options aside from Machado who was just drafted this year. Bartlett and Hardy are hardly big names. I think this is the right approach for the Orioles and I’m glad they are going in the right direction. I’m a die hard Orioles fan by the way.