Orioles baseball operations chief Dan Duquette acknowledges that the pressure is on to add a free agent with Spring Training on the horizon, according to Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun, but warns that the club aims to build from within. "If people have the expectation that we're going to sign a lot of high-profile free agents and that's going to be the answer, that is not who the Orioles are about," Duquette cautioned. Schmuck feels, however, that the O's are likely to sign "at least one" of the remaining veteran free-agent starters. Here's more Orioles notes, as the club wraps up its FanFest:
- Chris Davis appeared to be excited by Duquette's disclosure earlier today that the club had offered him an extension. "Really? Did he say anything else? … Keep me up to speed on that," the slugger said while speaking with Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com and other reporters. Davis, who will earn $10.35MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, figures to be expensive to lock up long-term.
- While Duquette wants to bring more pitching into the fold, skipper Buck Showalter doesn't think it's essential, reports Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com. “I don’t think it has to happen," the manager said. "Just because somebody has played X number of years doesn’t make him a good presence."
- Manny Machado says he may have to relearn now to run as he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery, according to a Kubatko report. "I've run my entire life how I did last year and I've had two injuries in the past three years," Machado said. "That's definitely not right." The infielder underwent testing yesterday to analyze his running technique.
- Charlie Wilmoth rounded up more Orioles links in a post this afternoon.
