The Orioles were a surprise contender this year and now it appears they might be a surprise big spender in the offseason. Baltimore is targeting Josh Hamilton and Cody Ross for their left field job, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Hamilton, 31, would add major left-handed thump to a lineup that already features Nick Markakis and Chris Davis. He also wouldn't have to play center field thanks to Adam Jones. Ross, 31, would complement Jones as a right-handed power hitter and would come considerably cheaper. He's reportedly seeking three years and $25MM while Hamilton figures to demand nine figures.
Baltimore – Interesting spot for Hamilton
YOLOrioles
Never again
I feel sorry for anyone that gives Cody Ross a 3 year deal
Well start feeling bad for the phillies cuz he’s bound to get a 3-4 year deal from us…
Baltimore is one of those teams without a huge deal free agent signing, so let them commit 7-8 years at $25mil per to Hamilton. That’ll hamstring them for a while in the free agent market.
So you know what their budget is going to be in future years? Please do share. For me, I see a team that has plenty of money to spend.
Their budget may increase since Angelos now knows he has to field a competitive team or risk losing fans to the Nationals but Baltimore is still a small market and they’re probably going to lose a chunk of tv revenue to the Nats once the MASN arbitration case is finally settled.
7 -8 years would be foolish, but 4 would be a good move
WOW the moderation around here pretty bad…
7-8 years would not be a good deal, but 4 would be nice
Forget Ross – get Hamilton
If you sign one, then sign the other as well. One is oft injured and the other a platoon player…works out perfect!
Made me laugh…. +1
Wieters and Roberts for Gavin Floyd, Flowers, and Thornton. sign Hamilton
I’ve seen worse ideas, but this is definitely in the top-5.
Horrible thought process….
Atrocious
Please tell me I am missing the sarcasm
Thank God ur not running this team….
What else you got?
Hamilton to the O’s, sounds too good to be true. The Ross signing is more believable.
Hamilton in black and orange would generate a lot of momentum for the O’s. If their starters progress and the offense stays hot, I could see them taking the division.
How does Hamilton playing for the Giants help you guys exactly?
🙂
I would hate seeing that, as a Phillies fan.
I would love for the Orioles to sign Hamilton. I’ve seen 2 Red Sox championships, so now I’d like to see the O’s win.
Why would they be interested in Hamilton and not in Grienke? With Reimold possibly coming back left field is a far lesser need than pitching.
Grienke has bad numbers in Camden Yard
Yes, the Orioles have no interest in Greinke based on his three starts in Camden Yards. #Logic
Come on….really?
Joe Saunders had awful numbers at The Ballpark at Arlington…until the playoffs
Reimold is not an outfielder. DH type who is injured more than he plays.
The Orioles do not believe in long term contracts for pitchers. Unless Grienke lowers his demands from 6 years he is not coming to Baltimore.
I don’t believe any of this.
Sounds like the orioles being “intrigued”, just like the braves and the other 28 teams
And I’m targeting an alien.
Ross might get his money if the Orioles somehow believe he could generate fan interest AND they knew they were bringing in Josh Hamilton. Plus, down the line Ross would look very tradable when inevitably compared to the tandem signing of Hamilton’s nine-figure deal.
Coven? No man, that’s like oven!
Hamilton isn’t a big game player. He disappears in the playoffs.
Small sample size
A little too broad of a generalization. In 2010 he was the ALCS MVP despite getting numerous IBB. In 2011 he hit what would have been the WS winning home run if the bullpen or Cruz closed out game 6 in the 10th. Not to mention he was injured the entire 2011 post season. Obviously the Wild Card game in 2012 couldn’t have gone worse for him.
He gave his team a two run lead with a homerun in the top of the 10th in a game that would have won the first world series in history for The Rangers. Huh.
Makes more sense then Milwaukee, simply because Baltimore can eventually put him at DH if his defense falters later in the contract. I still don’t see the O’s dropping that kind of cash though.
yeah that’s not going to happen
Who is going to play the 50 games that Josh Hamilton can’t play in?
Cody Ross of course
If he puts up a .285/.350/.550 line and hits 30 home runs and 30 doubles when he’s healthy, who cares?
if cody ross signs in the al east it’ll be with boston not baltimore bc he’s better in Fenway and probably would’nt be half as good in camden yards and as for hamilton how would baltimore deal with his drug and alcohol problems?
do the red sox have a special drug and alcohol program that baltimore does not have?
It’s called the “Green Monster”
I’ve always considered Melky a good fit for the O’s. Not as much of a gamble as with Hamilton, but a little higher upside than Ross
His PED suspension ended that possibility. Orioles are desperate to escape that cloud, not revisit it.
Actually, the suspension is why I can see him there. While some teams shy away from players like that Duquette and especially Angelos seem like the bargain-hunting type to go after them. If Cabrera will take the one year deal that he’s suited for then there really isn’t much risk involved.
And every team was hit by the steroid era so its not like one team is more gun shy than the other right now.
I could definitely see Melky ending up in Baltimore.
I’d be surprised to see him sign anywhere before January though. I expect he’ll let the dust settle and then he’ll be waiting as the last resort for many teams, and someone will sign him for a one year, make-good deal at $7-9MM.
Lol Orioles… you need pitching, not more offense
What team are you watching? They had no offense in the playoffs and excellent pitching..
You forgot the other 162 games
I am sorry but you are mistaken. No reason to continue this charade.
You should watch more games, or at least follow the team before you try bashing them. The pitching staff was one of the best in the league after the All-Star break, it was the offense that was either extremely hot or extremely cold all year. Plus the O’s have enough pitching depth now with Hammel, Chen, Tillman, Gonzalez, Britton, Arrieta, Bundy, Gausman, Wada, Johnson, Matusz, and Hunter all under contract.
We just need a pitcher who can eat some innings aka Dan Haren.
Sign Hamilton
Sign Swisher
I am a little surprised about Cody Ross, the Orioles didn’t even give him a second thought in 2012. Now all of a sudden????
How serious is this rumor?
Where would you put both hamilton and swisher? that would be an awful allocation of funds
Swisher at 1st base
True, but it was the opposite in the Postseason!!
They actually need both. And since they’re not going to spend on pitching, it would make sense for them to make a splash on a bat.
The O’s did score a decent amount of runs last year, but their offense was built around the home run. And as we saw in the playoffs, a home-run fueled offense isn’t sustainable and it can be shut down fairly easily by top quality pitching.
Hamilton would be a perfect fit for the Orioles offense. He’s the complete, middle of the order hitter that they haven’t had since pre-steroids Rafael Palmeiro. He would add a much needed dose of patience to a lineup that put up a .311 OBP in 2012. Not to mention the fact that his presence in the middle of their lineup would probably lead to guys like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters seeing more hittable pitches.
they would be better off going after hunter, pagan, and a starter that can eat innings like haren(if healthy). but so many teams are going to be looking at those same guys. should be an interesting offseason
No idea why the O’s would consider Hamilton. I would hate to see that organization start to woo the high-end free agents and possibly corrupt the club. Ross? Maybe, but not three years. I would rather see them go after Edwin Jackson or get Guthrie back.
Because they have a whole in their line-up in a place called clean-up hitter. And Hamilton is the only big hitting free agent.
A middle of the order left handed power bat is what the orioles need. Hamilton would be perfect hitting at camden yards either behind or in front of adam jones. I just don’t know how many years they will be willing to commit to him.
As for cody ross, i know he would be a solid right handed bat but i would rather resign mcclouth than sign ross. Mcclouth’s glove is impressive and i have faith that he can produce again as an everyday player
O’s should go for Ross over Hamilton. He’d the perfect complement for Jones and the O’s already have several lefty power bats. Also, the O’s would never give Hamilton the type of money he’s asking for. I know I know, he could eventually DH, but still, this is the Orioles.
Ross put up a .684 OPS outside of Fenway in 2012.
No thanks.
Not quite sure I understand…..sign both Hamilton and Ross…..or one of the two? We don’t need both…..really not sure if we need either. I wouldn’t complain if we got Hamilton but I think Victorino would be a better fit in left field for us than either of those two guys. Would prefer a power hitting first baseman not named Reynolds.
Nice to see you have carried over from Wrestling Inc. But unlike I usually do over there, I have to disagree with you. The O’s need a middle of the order power bat and LF and Hamilton (even though listed as a CF) fits. I know he’s supposedly asking for 7 yrs/$ 175 million and of course his drug and injury problems but I think if you can get him to 5/110 mil., you do it. Plus I think that Reynolds needs to brought back on a 2/17 mil. w/ a third yr. option type deal and have him at first with Davis DHing. A SP needs to be added. The only other 1B option are Swisher, Napoli or Youkilis. TB is open to trading Shields or Hellickson, Cubs with Garza, Marlins with Josh Johnson. Greinke will cost too much if the go the FA route. But E. Jackson, A. Sanchez, Haren or Marcum as a 2 or 3 and bring back Saunders as the 5 would work.
Where did you hear that Tampa is interested in trading either starter? Certainly not here, where Andrew Friedman was quoted saying that Tampa’s payroll budget could sustain Shields and Price. Although there is interest in Hellickson by other teams, I have seen nothing indicating Tampa is willing to trade either Shields or Helli. Not to mention TB does not do business within their own division.
It’s been reported on MLBTR on 10/31 the Dodgers have asked about Shields. On 11/4, they said the Twins asked about him. They picked up the $ 9 mil. option on him this but he’s has a $ 12 mil. option for next year and they have pitching but need offense that one or the other or both could bring in a trade. Hellickson was reported on 11/5 to be drawing interest from teams. I’m not saying the O’s and the Rays are going to do a deal with one another just that these were the pitchers reported by this site and also on MLB .com and by some like Rosenthal and Morosi to be on the trade block.
I’d love to have Hamilton…..problem I see is a log-jam at left field then. I’ve said many times I think they need to package a few of their starting pitchers for a middle of the order type guy…..specifically Billy Butler. He’s a much better hitter than Reynolds could ever dream of being and he’s locked up for 2 more years. Orioles have too many middle/back-end type pitchers and not enough spots.
The starters you listed above are nice (though I’m not real big on Garza) but would cost too much….they’d want Bundy or Machado…..and that ain’t happening.
We get Hamilton though…..I’m not complaining.
Buck Showalter would probably choke out Hamilton at some point over the course of a season. The one positive the Orioles fans don’t know about is Hamilton almost always hits a home run in games Tommy Hunter starts. Of course if Tommy Hunter is starting, that’s a whole other issue.
No to both. Sign Scott Hairston and Nat Mclouth