SATURDAY, 8:11am: Orioles' president Andy MacPhail shot down the report, telling Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com that it is simply "not accurate." Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says that a deal could still happen, but for now it does not appear imminent.
FRIDAY, 11:01pm: The Orioles are closing in on a contract with Vladimir Guerrero, reports Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). Bowden says Guerrero is "close to accepting" a one-year deal worth a "humbling" amount, but Bowden also notes that it could make the future Hall-of-Famer one of the best bargains of the winter.
We heard yesterday that Baltimore had "the inside track" on signing Guerrero, who is running out of suitors this winter what with the Angels, Rangers and Rays all looking elsewhere to fill their DH spots. Adding Guerrero to the roster gives the O's something of an overload in left field (with Luke Scott, Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie all vying for playing time), though Scott could find some at-bats spelling Guerrero or Derrek Lee against right-handers.
Guerrero hit .300/.345/.496 last season in helping Texas reach its first World Series in franchise history. His signing would be the latest big move in an active offseason for the Orioles, who have already acquired Lee, Mark Reynolds, Kevin Gregg and J.J. Hardy, among others.
Offseason winner: AL East (Except that evil team…just cuz)
Yesssssssssssss what I have advocated for finally a guy who will instill fear!!!!!!
I’d be surprised, but this doesn’t even hit the top 5 surprises of the day… and 4 of those are about the Angels.
The 2011 Orioles will be the 2010 Padres. Significantly better than the previous year and better than expected, but not quite good enough.
I don’t know about that, AL East is stacked this year
Gotta admit this division keeps things interesting thats for sure,Jays , Orioles , Sox, Rays , Yankees, just might play the funnest games to watch this year, cant wait for the season, GO JAYS!
Getting more hitters wont help the Orioles, they need pitching.
what they need is a guy like Vladdy to serve as a mentor to guys like Adam Jones.
Tuff for Vad to help AJ when they dont speak the same language.
Disagree. It’s not so much “telling him anything.” It’s just the presence he
brings…playing the game the right way. Veteran leadership. Dugout
non-idiosncracies.
15 years in the US/Canada and Vlad still doesn’t speak English?
Edit: I’m not making fun of the guy. This is a legitimate question.
If AJ swings at the same pitches Vlad does he’ll bat about .187.
reminds you of the yankees doesn’t it? lol
At this rate AL East teams will pretty much beat up on each other.
WC winner from Central or West.
Reynolds, d. Lee, hardy, vlady, what a way to improve
love it. love it. love it.
About time Vlad found a home.
as an o’s fan, im disappointed. vlad on a 1 year deal? whats this gonna accomplish? take us from a 75-win team to a 78-win team? thats…good…i guess?
if guerrero is gonna get regular playing time, that means either giving luke scott (16th in the MLB in wOBA) much fewer ABs than he deserves or selling low on either reimold or pie, both of whom could take huge steps forward in 2011.
i dont get it…
Or trading Scott for a much needed pitcher.
Or starting Scott in left, Pie as the fourth OF and Reimold in AAA, where he can prove that he’s healthy an deserves another shot.
scott isnt going to bring much of a haul in a trade considering hes a free agent after the season. maybe he could bring a half-decent pitcher under team control for a few years but we’ll see.
it would be truly unfortunate if luke is forced to start in left. not only is his defense sub-par but this team is rebuilding. we gotta see if either pie or reimold can cut it in left for a full season. pie came on really strong at the end of last season (kind of like jose bautista??? dont worry im not really suggesting that) and reimold did show last year he was healthy and ready for another shot after hitting .340+ wOBA in norfolk last year before getting called up.
A .341 wOBA in 90some AAA games isn’t much to write home about. Especially considering his pathetic SLG% and the fact that he was a 26-year-old in AAA.
And Felix Pie put up a .724 OPS from August 1 through the end of the season. What’s so strong about that?
Call me a pessimist, but I don’t have much hope for Reimold or Pie. I know the O’s are rebuilding, but I don’t see either of those guys as long term pieces. I’ll be ecstatic if one of them proves me wrong. I’ll go nuts if both do. But I just don’t see it happening.
Scott is a free agent after 2012.
I beg to differ. I think both Remi and Pie need to prove themselves, which is all the more reason to sign a guy like Vlad. I really hope it is Remi who proves himself, and if they both prove themselves I’ll take Remi b/c he has a much better upside than Pie with higher BA and SLG taking from his partial 2009 campaign. Go O’s!
On the other hand I really like Pie’s speed, but not so much his defense, to spell Jonsey and left field. Now that I think about it, I would really like to see Remi on a daily basis and see him bring it. Having him in there will give Showalter great situational pieces to work with, but Remi will need regular at bats to really get in a grove. I’m confused. Vlad would be great, but is he over the hill? He showed last year that he was not. Why are all the other teams out on him, and picking other DH types? I’m excited about the possibilities, which has been hard to come back over the last 13 losing seasons. Go O’s!
How would signing Vlad allow Reimold/Pie to prove themselves? That will only limit their at-bat’s.
Perfect answer! Pie is a AAAA guy fourth of. Sorta like the Red Sox wondering how to find at bats for Darnell Macdonald.
Where does Luke Scott play if they sign Vlad? They still lack pitching, but this is a good signings just because I think it will be a very discounted cost. I wouldn’t have minded Vlad in Toronto, but there’s simply no room for him.
Scott starts in left. Or they trade him for… Wait for it…
Pitching.
The Halos need to bring Vlad back home!! With Wells, Hunter, Morales, Abreau, and Vladdy, that lineup would be sick!!
No room for two designated hitters in Los Angeles, unless you’d like to tell Peter Bourjos he just lost his spot atop the depth chart.
If the orioles sign vlad they will put scott in left field and trade pie and probably someone else for a starter
Vladdy will happen soon and then the next move will probably be Duchsherer who will battle Tillman for 5th starter and if he loses, will be a long relief option.
Seeing Vlad in Oriole orange is going to be very weird. And seeing him 18 times next season is not something I’m looking forward to.
How many DH’s does this bring the AL East up to?
You know I am a Marlins fan and I have to say I am so happy to see the Orioles setting up a team that can be a contender. Offensively they are very potent with bats like lee, reynolds, vlad, scott and Jones. The only reason why the Orioles will not make the playoffs will be because of their starting rotation but overall I see them finishing over .500 and landing in third place with either the rays or yankees finishing in fourth.
umm no they are still the worst team in the division and you happened to leave out their best hitter …. roberts
and markakis lol now I think of it that was a sarcastic post im assuming
My bad guys how could I forget about roberts and markakis but again it validates my previous post the orioles will have a great offense but the rotation is the reason why they will not make the playoffs and my post was not sarcastic.
Roberts
Markakis
Lee
Reynolds
Vlad
Scott
Jones
Wieters
Hardy
That’s a damn good offense if everything shakes out right.
Toss in another solid year from Jeremy Guthrie, a breakout season from Brian Matusz and improvement from Jake Arrieta and Brad Bergesen, and that’s not a bad team.
Sure, a lot of things have to go right, but isn’t that what 90% of baseball is hoping for on January 21st?
Gotta love a line-up that features Matt Wieters 8th (and btw I’m not disputing your take on the line-up, just commenting on how baller it is!)
I would bat Reynolds lower, too many strikeouts.
I would bat Reynolds fourth. Lots of home runs.
Vlad strikes out, what, 60 times per year? And Lee probably won’t top 130. And both of those guys hit for a high average. Putting Reynolds in the middle of those two makes it more difficult for pitchers to pitch around him. Sure, he’ll probably still strike out 200 times, but he might hit 40 or maybe even 45 homers.
If the O’s really do sign Vlad, I could see a 40+ homer season from Reynolds.
Reynolds won’t hit fourth, he will hit 6th… Look:
2B Roberts S 10-15HR 30-40SB
RF Markakis L 15-25HR
1B Lee R 20-30HR
DH Guerrero R 20-30HR
LF Scott L 25-35HR
3B Reynolds 25-40HR
CF Jones R 20-30HR
CA Wieters S 15-20HR
SS Hardy R 10-20HR
Better balance this way…
i doubt reynolds hits 4th, especially if they sign vlad. they are not going to hit 3 power-hitting right-handers 3, 4, and 5. Especially with a bat like Scott. No sane manager would do that.
I see it like this:
Roberts
Markakis
Lee
Vlad
Scott
Jones
Wieters/Reynolds
Reynolds/Wieters
Hardy
Not to mention Wieters making strides and a healthy season from Hardy, that short porch in left for Reynolds and Lee… Jones continued progression. The O’s offense could be really fun to watch in 2011…
If they get Vlad, pitchers can’t pitch around Markakis (who could have a BIG year). Lefties killed them for years but now you’re a LHP and have to face a switch hitting lead off guy, a lefty who hits lefties, and then two patient big right handed bats, followed by a power lefty who hits lefties, and then another right handed power bat followed by another right handed bat, followed by switch hitting Jesus, followed by another right hander. Oh, all of these right handers have good numbers against righties too. Very interesting to watch this team in 2011….
My bad guys how could I forget about roberts and markakis but again it validates my previous post the orioles will have a great offense but the rotation is the reason why they will not make the playoffs and my post was not sarcastic.
Those starters pitched to a 3.16 ERA since Buck took over and the O’s had the best record in the AL. They are a total wildcard and could finish anywhere between 5th and 2nd… if that young pitching continues to progress (Matusz, Arrieta, Bergesen, and Tillman) and they do it against the division, you could see a scenario where they have more than enough offense to take 2nd, it would involve some luck but the talent is there…
Hold on a tick.
Didn’t Bowden report that LaRoche to the O’s was a done deal a few weeks back?
This would be a great move, since the O’s could follow I up by trading Scott/Pie and prospects for another rotation piece, but I’m waiting for conformation from an O’s beat guy before I believe the rumor.
Called it.
this lineup is easily one of the best in baseball Wieters, lee, roberts, hardy, reynolds, scott, jones, markakis, vlad no particular order here
A lot of “ifs” there though…
IF Wieters finally breaks out…
IF Jones can lay off the outside breaking ball…
IF Hardy can stay healthy…
IF Scott can repeat a career year…
IF Lee can bounce back…
IF Vlad doesn’t fall apart at 36 (Heck, IF they even sign Vlad)…
The O’s will be a good team if everything goes according to plan, but when does that ever happen in baseball?
IF reynolds can hit .230/35hr’s again. I agree there are a lot of IF’s, but on paper it looks like a solid lineup if (lol) a few things go right.
I see Reynolds as almost a sure bet to bounce back.
He was hurt in the beginning of 2010 and had that concussion towards the end of the year, so as long as he’s healthy, I don’t forsee any problems.
That .257 BABIP will bounce back to at least .280 or .290 and the power was still there in 2010 despite his other issues. The fact that he hits lefties well and pretty much all of the top pitchers in the AL East are lefties is a nice matchup too.
So he’ll probably still strike out 200+ times, but I can see .235 and 35 home runs easily. If he hits between Lee and Vlad, I wouldn’t be surprised by .245 and 40+ homers.
Did you know in the AL last year that 4 of the 5 pitching staffs that lead the league in strikeouts were in the AL? Did you also know that Baltimore was not one of these teams? I think the AL East pitching staffs are going to feast off of him more than the other way around.
Maybe…
But I just don’t buy that Reynolds is going to be any worse against Sabathia, Lester, Price, Romero, et al than he was against Ubaldo, Lincecum, Kershaw, Cain, et al. Especially since he does hit lefties better.
The AL is is a nice division, for sure, but I would guess that if you matched up the pitching numbers to the NL West, they would look prettys similar.
It also helps he doesn’t have to face Kershaw, Billingsley, the entire Giants rotation, Ubaldo, and other quality arms of the NL west. One would imagine he would do a hell of a lot better this upcoming season and O’s home park isn’t a bad park to hit in either.
Riiigght! He’ll have an easy time against CC, Lester, Buchholz, Price and those sorry backend rotation guys like Hughes, Burnett, Beckett, Lackey, Shields, and Romero!
And every other team doesn’t have “if”‘s?
Did I say that?
As an O’s fan, I am more excited about this year than any year ever. I’m 21 years old and have been a die-hard fan for my entire life. Maybe I’ll finally get lucky and see a winning season (one i can remember)
If their young starters can take that next step…..look out for this team. If I were Buck, I’d forget about a veteran starter. Let the kids pitch. The one’s who want it the most will win a spot in the rotation. They don’t need another Milwood to eat up innings. Pitching alot of innings and giving up a ton of runs is worthless. Having a veteran inning eater is such an overrated term. Let the kids pitch!!
Couldnt have said it better myself…you see the hes an innings eater label all the time but when do those guys pitch in crucial games when are those guys pivotal to a franchise progressing, let guthrie be the guy they learn around and let’s see who can man up and who isn’t ready
I’d love to get Millwood back. He wouldn’t cost much and now with an actual offense he might get some wins. In his 1st 11 starts last year 7 of them were quality starts. How many wins did he get? 0. He also finished the year with 7 quality starts in his last 10 games. Besides June to Aug 1st when he was hurt he pitched pretty well. At that point his ERA was 6.05. End of the season it was 5.10.
Slot Millwood in the 3 spot behind Guthrie and Matusz and he will win 12 easily with this line up.
Once Buck took over the strength of the team coming down the stretch was the rotation. The offense only scored half a run more a game. But the ERA dropped across the board.
avenging 2004
So this will be official in the morning I guess.
I volunteer to push Vlad’s wheelchair to home plate this season. Come on you know that’s funny.
Ooooooo’Sooooooooooome!
Finally, we repel the yankee fans and can finally feel good about having that beer with the red sox fans at fells point
i’d still trade pie for gio gonzales
Sure you would, but the A’s wouldn’t make that deal in a million years.
I’d trade five dollars for $100,000, but for some reason I haven’t found any takers.
Booky, you should look into being a comedian! Your a funny dude
Why not trade him for Halladay AND Lee? I’m sure Billy Beane will trip over himself to make that deal. (eye roll)
damn the O’s can definitely hit the big fly now
Wow they added quite a few righty’s this offseason.. Lee, Hardy, Reynolds, and Vlad throw in Adam Jones and they may struggle against good RHers..
But add Markakis and a healthy Roberts and that is a pretty solid lineup.
Great move glad to see the Orioles with a “Big leauge line up ” Lets not forget how well the pitching staff did once Buck took over the club. They were lights out and had under a 4.00 Era.. Oh and only had the 3rd best record in baseball once Buck took over.. So if Buck could do that with basically NOTHING imagine what he can do with the talent that we have given him. Make a deal for a SOLID starter and a lefty reliver and we will be good. Bullpen should be solid with a healthy a healthy Johnson, koji and Gregg and gonzalez.. Guthrie, matuz and Bersegen are always solid. Give Britton a good look this spring I think he could make the team. Dont forget we also have Tilman but I would like to see a proven Vet get picke up for the starting rotation. Maybe the O’s could pluck Blanton from the Phils in a trade so they can fill the hole that Jason Werth left..
The problem with a deal for Blanton is the pieces the O’s would want to deal if they signed Vlad (Scott/Pie) both hit left handed. Philly needs a right handed hitting outfielder, so unless they want to move Adam Jones, it would be a prospect deal.
..
Good grief, there are going to be a ton of high scoring games in the AL next year. NL teams are going to be destroyed at least when they play in AL parks.
Vlad is the cherry on top for this team, what a great job of improving a team in one off season with few long term contracts. Job well done. I think they have moved passed the Jays and might be looking the big boys in the eye. What a division. The only negitive is that the wild card may not come out of the east, after these teams beat up on each other. That would be crazy. Could look like a year too late on adding wild card teams in baseball.
passed the jays, ha
Come on. I really wanted the Orioles to sign this guy why did Andy have to shoot down this one.
IMO, the O’s have made some good moves and could be a .500 team! Unfortunately they’re in the toughest division in baseball but they should be fun to watch as their lineup has lots of power and good hitters!
hahaha everypne spoke to soon, no old man vlad for the orioles just yet.
Seriously, at this point I think everyone will be disappointed if we don’t get Vlad. I don’t care how old he is or how balky his knees are, Vlad is the type of player any team would LOVE to have.
his decline will come sooner then later, not sure everyone wants a 36 old dh.
If he’s got anything left in the tank he’s worth signing. He already has declined a bit, but I’ve seen some very productive 36 year old seasons from a lot of players with lesser pedigrees than Vlad.
Andy McFAIL living up to his name again.
Just do it Orioles
I call Macphail’s bluff here… I think that he is holding out to make an announcement at Fan Fest like he did for Tejada last year. I find it funny how two different sources said the exact same thing and were shot down both times. Unless this is a set up by Vlad’s agent to get him more offers and more money, I call bluff on the Oriole’s side.
I really think the Rangers unintentionally screwed Vlad by putting him in the outfield in the WS. Really showed he can not play the field anymore. ANyone looking at him, is looking at him SOLELY as a DH, so unless there’s a National league team willing to pay him to make an occasional spot start in the OF and Pinch hit, and use him in interleage play at AL sites if he’s willing to take Manny money (PHILLY COMES TO MIND…) He’s running out of options after yesterday. Toronto, LAA and the Rays were in the mix, but out now. So other than Baltimore, who else is left?
AL EAST: Nobody (though if the Yankees knew they couldhave gotten him or Manny for what they are paying Andruw Jones, they may have jumped….
AL CENTRAL: Kansas City. Vlad ain’t going ther to make less than Francouer..
AL WEST: Oakland could consider him, and platoon him with Matsui, I guess… Prob not.
The Angels move Abreu into the DH spot now, so unless they trade Abreu, ain’t happening.
Seattle could use a DH, but they probably aren’t gonna bother.
For the right price, Texas would be wise to Shift Young to First and resign Vlad.
Maybe, but the Rangers did the move with Vlad out of desperation. The bats went to sleep and they needed Vlad’s bat in the lineup in SF, so, he plays OF. Didn’t work, but they tried. It also isn’t mainly a matter of moving MY to 1B, when the Rangers like Moreland and he was productive during the WS, but also if Vlad will accept only a part-time DH bench role. Also, it would be best to get to get a bat in the lineup to platoon with MY at DH and who could also cover a position like 1B.Too bad Berkman signed with the Cards or he might be better off as a DH/1B with the Rangers.Not that I like Berkman, but he’d fit the bill right now. After Vlad, there aren’t many options left out there for the Rangers.
I don’t understand the “Sign Vlad, then trade Scott/Pie/Reimold for starting pitching” people. I’ve been a diehard O’s fan for 35 years, but who in the blue hell is going to trade us a starter who is good enough to bump Tillman from the rotation in exchange for Felix Pie or Nolan Reimold? C’mon, people.
I think we can easily get a starter who will be better than 5.8 ERA and 1.5 whip for Pie or Reimold.
In that case, just resign Milwood.
I think the Vlad deal is contingent on a trade being done for Luke Scott/ Pie at some point for starting pitching. If they make the move then the Vlad deal makes alot of sense for the O’s.