The next two days will likely be pivotal for negotiations between the Orioles and Vladimir Guerrero, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Here are the details and other notes on the Orioles:
- Guerrero is looking for more than the Orioles have offered, according to Olney (on Twitter). The Orioles were told that Guerrero has an $8MM offer elsewhere over the weekend, but they offered $4.5MM or so.
- Derrek Lee told Rick Apperson of BaseballNation.net that he signed with the Orioles because they offered the most money ($7.25MM plus incentives) and because he likes Baltimore and is excited to play with some of the Orioles' young players under Buck Showalter.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun suggests Brad Bergesen will join Justin Duchscherer, Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Matusz in the starting rotation. Jake Arrieta and Chris Tillman seem likely to compete for the final rotation spot, but lots can change in two months.
come on O’s a great finish for the offseason!!
Orioles will be good this year. Tough division though.
Who could have offered Vlad 8 million (if its not a lie)…. Expos?
Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s the Angels, ha ha.
The A’s? They may think they can go all in and make a run at what has become a wide-open division.
If Guerrero had an $8M offer then either its heavily incentive based or Guerrero should be down on his knees saying “thank you thank you thank you.”
If Guerrero had an $8MM offer, he would have taken it already. He’s bluffing and McPhail knows it. The source of that rumor has to be an agent looking for leverage. Take the $4.5MM Vlad or take less when the Orioles pull the offer.
Maybe the offer is from the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
$8M yen?
Ouch, that would be a big cut…
I agree 100%…If he had double the money available, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now
I think its great that first he said he signed for the most money and then it will be great to play with young talent of baltimore, I guess it would sound bad if he just said i signed for most money. Go O’s
Signing up Vlad would make that Lineup just crazy
Roberts
Markakis
Lee
Reynolds
Guerrero
Scott
Jones
Weiters
Hardy
bench would be Reimold, Pie, Izturis and maybe Bell….thats damn respectable IMO.
Put Scott in between Vlad and Lee and drop Reynolds a bit…
Roberts
Markakis
Vlad
Scott
Lee
Reynolds
Wieters
Jones
Hardy
Roberts
Markakis
Lee
Vlad
Scott
Reynolds
Wieters
Jones
Hardy
The top 5 slots of this lineup feels the most “right” to me right now.
That said, I think Showalter is the type of manager who shuffles guys in and out to keep them fresh and on their toes, and, depending on the flow of the game. I think ideally he’s the type of manager like Scoscia who loves having a versatile athletic bench. Under the right circumstances Pie feels like a Chone Figgins type of guy who is athletic, has multiple facets to his game, and needs to be challenged daily to earn a spot in the lineup.
I like Scott but I like it better if he’s not the cleanup hitter and hits lower.
With that lineup, I’m thinking the bench would probably be Pie, Tatum, Izturis, and another utility type from amongst Harris, Fox, Andino, Green, (insert ST invite here)…
Back in 2004, Vlad essentially told the Orioles that he would hate to play in Baltimore. Here, in 2011, the Orioles are essentially his only option.
Oh, the irony…
I have been thinking this too. Though in fairness, at the time, Vlad never said anything publicly that sounded like that though. After talking to the Os all offseason, he ended up signing with the Angels at the last minute, citing the Spanish-speaking community of LA as his most compelling point, which definitely felt like an outright spurn of Baltimore.
If he signs with the Os this offseason, does this invalidate his earlier stated importance of needing to play for around a Spanish-speaking community, which would make the spurn more obviously a spurn?
Vlad needs the Orioles, but the Orioles don’t need Vlad. His options are diminished, so if he wants to play baseball this year he will choose the Orioles. Don’t get me wrong I would love to see him crushing balls at OPACY, but he would be a luxury and if we don’t get him it’s probably for the best anyways.
i love the orioles and am not sure i would have wanted to play for them in 2004 🙂
It is an honor to have my website on MLB Trade Rumors! Proud owner of Baseball Nation. Rick wanted to give me all the credit for inspiring him to get some interviews lined up. This was all him. Good job bud!
congrats sir
Thanks!
At least Lee was honest and said he signed with the team that offered the most money and not some bogus line on how Baltimore offered him the best chance to win.
$8 Million offer?? Haha, call his bluff! I would be totally fine if it turned true and he signed elsewhere… I would be quite upset if we bid against ourselves.
The 8 Million rumor is a bluff and a bad one. Aside from the fact that he’d trip over himself to sign that deal at that point, there’s no chance that the Orioles would come close to paying him 8. If he wanted to bluff, 5 and a half would be a much more believable number.
I agree. So he’s got an 8 million dollar deal and thinks someone will offer more? Even if its 8 million over 2 years. O’s should pull their offer and tell them to screw themselves.
Not trying to spam or anything. This is an Orioles related post. Baseball Nation just landed an interview with HOF’er Brooks Robinson.
Hm. It’s kind of a big deal. He doesn’t give out many interviews nowadays, especially lately, for obvious reasons.
obvious reasons?
Brooks has had some health issues of late, and he’s been fiercely private about keeping it private. Most of the mainstream and Baltimore media has been very respectful about observing that line. Around Baltimore it’s a sensitive topic.
The new additions certainly help the orioles, but they still need better pitching and more depth. Many of their players are injury prone, so it’s not necessarily who has the best 25 man roster, but who has the best 40 man roster.
Great offseason for the O’s could get even better with Vlad. They could’ve added good pitching.
It’s amazing how we have a player like Gil Meche who has class, and does the unthinkable in giving up 12 million he wasn’t earning. Then on the other hand we have Guerrero who is holding out for the 8 million that he’s never going to get! Sign with the O’s already and end this drama! It’s the best offer you are going to get… Go O’s!