As the Orioles' roster rounds into shape heading into Spring Training, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has a few items of note …
- The Orioles still have interest in free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer, although the O's were not one of the two teams for which the right-hander recently worked out, as reported by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Duchscherer will likely hold another open workout for any interested teams to check him out in the next week or so, Zrebiec notes, and he thinks the O's will be there. Duchscherer's son lives in New Jersey, which is relatively close to Baltimore, and the righty is looking to join a team he can start for, which the Orioles can offer.
- The Orioles have not been aggressively pursuing free-agent slugger Vladimir Guerrero, contrary to a report by ESPNDeportes.com earlier on Thursday. If Guerrero's market shrinks enough, the O's may be interested, Zrebiec writes, but otherwise they plan on moving forward with Luke Scott as their designated hitter, and Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie platooning in left field.
- The Orioles have not officially announced their list of non-roster invitees to Spring Training, but Zrebiec reports the following players will be among them: Armando Gabino, Raul Rivero, Josh Rupe, Adam Donachie, Michel Hernandez, Caleb Joseph, Ryan Adams, Brendan Harris and Tyler Henson.
Donachie is still kicking, eh?
I would really like to see the orioles get better in 2011, with Showalter at the helm they can be a lot better this year, and put the Rays back in the basement where they belong.
Wow little bit of hostility toward TB. Still bitter about that Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir deal? Or are you just mad because the Mets will finish closer to the basement than the Rays will?
Nah, I’m just messing around, but I am still bitter about that trade now that you bring it up, but really most Rays fans on here are so sensitive, I was wondering if one would bite…but I do really like to root for the underdog. If you are right about the Mets stinking it up this year, I hope the Nationals represent and shake things up, I think it’s good for the game.
Lol. It amazing how many TB fans there are now when just 3 years ago no one would admit to even watching them on TV. The Mets are headed in the right direction with bringing in Sandy Alderson. The fact that they even have a direction is an improvement over Minaya. I could see them moving some guys during the season if they show their worth. Reyes, Beltran, and K-Rod are all guys who could be attractive to a contending team. Especially K-Rod. He was having a very good year before he went nuclear. His BB/9 was down from 5 to 3.3. his WHIP was down from 1.309 to 1.151 all while his BABIP actually rose .040 from .256 to .296. There is one team out there that i could see being an excellent fit and thats the White Sox. They need a closer regardless of what they do with Sale. They have some pieces that are attractive. They have the money and they have the right manager. Seems like a perfect match. If the Mets want to move KRod.
I didn’t know Buck SHowalter was a power-hitting All-Star first baseman. Who knew? I can’t wait for the O’s to have a terrible start to the season so they get a dose of reality by understanding that the manager has the minimum power to affect a team. It’s the players, not the coaching staff that leads to good teams.
justin duchscherer would b a great arm in that rotation maybe even over guthrie??? and vlad would be great to but where would reimold and pie go??? idk tho both would be great pick ups
The rays really need to sign a DH like vlad. We don’t have much depth in the minors now that we are bringing kids up to fill roles left by the departures or Crawford and Pena.
Hes too expensive for them I think.
The real question is why wouldn’t the Os be interested in Vlad. They should be all over signing him.
This is sweet music to my ears. Duchscherer is ace material when he’s healthy.
There is plenty of room for a guy who TEARS APART the AL EAST in 8x Silver Slugger Vlad Guerrero. I’ve wanted him on the O’s since 1990 it seems. For this guy to still be raking is incredible. The O’s were horrific with RISP last year – Tied for 28th w/ Houston in fact. The odd thing is that the O’s were 13th overall in Hits. Vlad was 6th overall in the MLB w/ 115 RBI.. They will make room for him. Scott to LF Pie = 4th OF’er & Reimold needs to show he can hit above .250 in AAA & stay healthy before he’s brought up or send Pie down & keep Reimold up.
Plus they don’t have many superstars to attract the fans. Reynolds, Guerrero, & Hardy’s longballs should do the job. That didn’t come out right.
Reimold is garbage at this point. I can’t stand him….. he seems so drastically overmatched. I can’t figure out why anyone would even think about keeping him over Pie.
Did the guy run over your cat or something? Thats some pretty harsh words for a guy with very good plate discipline and power.
About 13 months ago i made a suggestion that they should send Reimold and Guthrie to Atlanta for Derek Lowe. I got RIPPED into by BAL fans who were in love with Reimold. What a difference a year makes.
On topic. The O’s could definatly use Vlad in the middle of the order. I loved the Lee signing but i havent heard if he is 100% yet and if he isnt then Vlad makes a lot of sense.
Imagine this.
Roberts
Jones
Markakis
Reynolds
Vlad
Lee
Scott
Wieters
Hardy
They might not be able to keep up with their pitching but they will score some runs.
I still would not do that. I’d much rather have Guthrie and Reimold
“What a difference a year makes.”
Yeah, Guthrie has a stellar season for the O’s, so your proposed deal looks even worse for Baltimore now than it did a year ago. Last year, Guthrie pitched more innings than Lowe, with a lower ERA and WHIP, all while facing better competition the AL East. Not to mention the fact that at the start of the 2010 season Lowe still had 3/$45MM remaining on his contract. Guthrie was paid $3MM for last season, filed for $6.5MM in arb this year, and will not even come close to $15MM in his final arb year. Thus, Guthrie costs roughly 1/3 of the price of Lowe.
Guthrie: 209.1 IP, 3.83 ERA, 1.161 WHIP
Lowe: 193.2 IP, 4.00 ERA, 1.368 WHIP
I would hardly call 11-14 stellar but Ill give you that he had a good year on a bad team. I think that having just a .255 BABIP probably had something to do with his stat line.
My point at the time was more that having a guy like Lowe at the front of the rotation was more beneficial than bringing in a guy like Millwood to just eat innings and give away runs. It also wasnt just a 2 for one deal. ATL would have had to send cash over also.
And as far as the what a difference a year makes part that was referring to Reimold who went from everyone loving him to “leave him at AAA” or “Reimold is garbage” they should have sold high on him last year as a guy who had a solid if not great 100 game run. He is a little old to still be a prospect and they could have brought back a solid return for a guy who is now almost an afterthought.
Did you not read the report? They’re not going for him.
I hope the Yankees don’t pass on this guy, or let the O’s steal him out from under them.
It makes sense: the Yanks have holes in the rotation and the team can afford the risk.
Maybe Cash is playing this quietly but this move makes too much sense. (Unless the guy is asking for a lot)
Yeah I was hoping they would get him too. If not, I guess the last option is Milwood or Garcia.
How is Harris an NRI? Didn’t they get him in the Hardy deal?
I believe he was not on the 40 man roster at the time.
Ryan Adams and the Orioles? I thought it was Ryan Adams and the Cardinals.
Damn it why wont the O’s sign Vlad, Lee and Vlad with Reynolds, thats some firepower. Signing Dusch would be a steal too obviously if he performed, hes a low risk
I thank God everyday that I’m not an Orioles fan.
I still say ,signing Vlad would show the the rest of the league that we are serious about winning and also would attract some big names to players for Baltimore. I grew up in the 70’s and followed the orioles in the 80’s so you have to understand that I missed those glory days win we were winners.Gotta get it back.