Talks between the Orioles and Nick Markakis on a four-year deal appear to have stalled, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Markakis’ agent, Jamie Murphy of TWC Sports, will meet with several clubs at this week’s GM Meetings. Asked if the Orioles were among the clubs with whom he planned to meet, Murphy told Connolly, “No, not at this time.”
According to Connolly, the two sides were at one point nearing agreement on a four-year pact that would have paid Markakis $10-12MM annually. However, the agreement was never reached, and the two sides haven’t had any meaningful discussions in a week, Connolly writes. Prior to today, Murphy had been negotiating exclusively with the Orioles, but that has changed, and he’ll now shop for a palatable deal with teams around the league. Connolly tweets that he doesn’t get the sense this latest development has closed the book on Markakis re-signing in Baltimore.
Markakis, who just recently won his second Gold Glove, is coming off a season in which he rebounded from a poor 2013 with a .276/.342/.386 batting line and 14 homers. Though he wasn’t the doubles machine that he was earlier in his career, he still posted a solid OBP and home run totals that are in line with his career norms. I profiled Markakis last month and projected him to sign a four-year, $48MM contract.
Tigers would be desperate enough to overpay for him.
Well, the Left Handed OF bat would fit one of our needs, but i dont see us getting involved in the Markakis sweepstakes, more likely a trade or second tier FA.
White Sox will be one of them. Left field and DH (preferably lefties) are their two prorities (besides bullpen) this offseason.
He got a GG and he had a dWAR of -0.5.
Yet more evidence if anyone actually needed it of how worthless Gold Glove awards can be.
If the price is in the 10-11M AAV range, I could see the Reds take a look. That’s only slightly more AAV than Aoki and Morse.
This is a case of Markakis’ agent doing his due diligence. Simple as that.
He’ll be an Oriole when it’s all said and done. No doubt.
My guess is the O’s made their best offer and it wasn’t quite where Markakis wants it to be. Then the O’s told him to test the open market to see if anyone would match their offer. The O’s were reportedly offering a contract somewhere in the 4/40 range… for a 2 WAR player that is more than fair.
Or trying to force the O’s into overpaying.
Giants and Mets are two possible landing spots. This isn’t surprising. If Markakis was going to remain an Oriole, a deal would have been done long before this point.
Ultimately, I think he’ll end up back in Baltimore, but it sure would be nice to see him in RF for the Royals!!
He rebounded from a poor 2013 with a not as poor but still below his career norms in b.ave, obp and slugging.
He is able to work the count but doesn’t offer power, speed or a high on base percentage. Solid but not remarkable. If the Orioles let him go I will be a little sad but he is not a 10% of your payroll player.
You say he doesn’t offer high OBP, but also state that his 2014 OBP was below his career norm. .342 is solid, don’t know what else you want from him in that regard.
Right. He is no longer the .290/.360/.440 player. He is in decline. His doubles didn’t turn into HRs like it was predicted earlier in his career they turned into outs. He takes about the same amount of walks. Now he needs more hits. He might have a couple more solid years in him but he isn’t worth big dollars to a mid market team.
As an Os fan I’d miss him like I missed Roberts. But I would take Aoki for 3 for less money. Or how about spending it on the Cuban kid?
I can agree with that. I think he can still be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-18 or 3-24, but not sure id go much more than that if I were the O’s. Admittedly, I know next to nothing about your minor league system and specifically, the OF prospect depth you’ve got. I’d take a shot at Markakis to replace Ludwick in Cincinnati though. A guy that provides decent defense and an OBP over .340 would be a big upgrade in Cincinnati’s outfield
His first 3 years he had a combined 12.5 WAR. His last 6 years he’s a combined 10.2 WAR. I pray my Orioles just let this guy go. As far as OF Prospects in the system Dariel Alvarez from Cuba is almost ready. He had a very good year last year. He’s 26 and word is he already has the best arm in the entire organization. After that it’s Mike Yastrzemski (Grandson of Carl). He isn’t ready yet but he rose 3 minor league levels this year and could very well be ready in 2016. I just don’t see a need for the O’s to spend that money on a player who hasn’t been elite since 2008. A 2 year deal I’m ok with that but if the price is 4 years I see zero value come year 3-4.
Unless one side or the other is really hosing this up, it must be posturing. Several teams – especially the Mets – would overpay for him, but while money matters, Nick is one of those guys who look for other things as well. And priority number one – his family – wants to stay in Baltimore. You never know, of course, but I’d be pretty surprised if he left.
Now that the Mets scooped up Cuddyer, you have to think the market for Markakis is one team smaller. In addition, the fact that Cuddyer signed for an AAV less than $11 mil bodes well for Baltimore landing him in the $10-12 mil AAV range on a four-year deal.
like to see the Cardinals sign him…………..he can flat out hit and field. And they need a right fielder!
Can anyone else see him in Cleveland with swish n Brantley? Or KC?