Orioles Could Add Relief Help

Though most of the Orioles’ top relievers are under team control for 2013, executive vice president Dan Duquette said he’s open to adding bullpen help between now and Spring Training, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Duquette said he had some discussions regarding trade and free agent possibilities during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. That said, he sounds confident in the options already on his roster.

“These guys are at the age where some of them should improve and a couple of them should be able to maintain and perform at the level they did this past year, but that wouldn’t preclude us from adding some additional depth to our pitching staff,” Duquette said.

There’s not much room in the Baltimore bullpen. As Encina explains, Jim Johnson, Pedro Strop, Darren O’Day, Luis Ayala and Troy Patton will likely occupy five of the seven bullpen spots this coming season. Right-hander Tommy Hunter, left-hander Brian Matusz, and Rule 5 selection T.J. McFarland are among the Orioles’ internal options for the final two bullpen vacancies.

As the Sun’s Dan Connolly recently reported, the Orioles have shown interest in free agent right-hander Matt Lindstrom. There are still lots of alternatives available, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows. For example, Chad Durbin, Jason Frasor and Brandon Lyon are among the free agent right-handers who could be targets on relatively modest deals.