Some significant news has already come out of the Orioles’ annual FanFest event, and here are some more items from some reporters on hand (including Eduardo A. Encina and Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun, PressBoxOnline.com’s Rich Dubroff, and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko)…
- The Orioles expect Manny Machado to be on the roster on Opening Day and, while they didn’t entirely close the door on trading him, executive VP Dan Duquette said that teams weren’t willing to meet Baltimore’s high demands. Interestingly, Duquette mentioned that the O’s might have swung a deal if they had received an offer similar to the one that allowed the Cardinals to land Jason Heyward from the Braves in the 2014-15 offseason. That trade saw Heyward (who was, like Machado, a year away from free agency) and young reliever Jordan Walden moved for an MLB-experienced, controllable arm in Shelby Miller and a top-100 prospect in righty Tyrell Jenkins.
- Duquette identified the rotation as the biggest need still facing the club. “The key will be addressing the starting pitching. If we can do that, and I’m confident that we can — don’t ask me how exactly. But if we can do that, I think we can have another good season,” Duquette said. Though Spring Training is approaching, Duquette felt that a pitcher could be signed as late as around March 1 without it impacting their preparations for the start of the season. Aside from pitching, Duquette also mentioned that the O’s are still looking to add a left-handed hitting outfielder and a veteran catcher.
- Duquette’s contract is up after the 2018 season, and the executive said he would “like to continue” with the club beyond the end of his current contract. “The Orioles gave me an opportunity to re-establish myself in Major League Baseball, which I really appreciated….I enjoy the fans in Baltimore, I enjoy working in the organization and I appreciate the opportunity Mr. (Peter) Angelos gave me,” Duquette said.
- There haven’t been any extension talks between Adam Jones and the team, the outfielder said (Twitter links from Meoli and Dubroff). Jones declined to answer what he considered to be hypothetical questions about his future with the team, other than to say that he was prioritizing winning over money in his next contract. The lack of negotiations aren’t necessarily a surprise; reports back in November stated that the O’s would wait until later in the offseason to discuss extensions with Jones and Machado. Jones is entering the last season of a six-year, $85.5MM deal, and it remains to be seen if the Orioles will keep the longtime star into his age-33 season and beyond. Jones has posted above-average hitting numbers over the last two years but his overall value has diminished thanks to a big dropoff in his fielding metrics. He did express a willingness to consider moving out of center field, though not for “a couple of years.”
- Kevin Gausman’s arbitration hearing with the Orioles has been scheduled for February 14, though the righty is hopeful a deal can be reached beforehand. Gausman is seeking a $6.225MM salary for 2018, while the Orioles countered with a $5.3MM offer.
I wonder what Baltimore’s approach with Machado would be if it wasn’t for the Chris Davis contract!
Great point! They are stuck with that Davis albertross contract after bidding against themselves and no that contract will cost them their best player too
It’s a Fair question to ask him – I still though do not think they would have signed Manny long-term. And they shouldn’t.
they obviously screwed up the Chris Davis contract, but their problems run deeper than that. Even if they could resign/extend Machado they would still have no starting pitching and it will be virtually impossible for them to compete until they can get some good young arms coming up through the system (or are willing to blowup their budget to sign some).
That is an excellent question. My take is that Manny was going to be a goner regardless of any scenario since missing the window of extending him several years back when they could have made him an offer he would have accepted.
As for Davis, his contract really has hampered the team w both Machado and Jones, since in their minds (and rightfully so) they are far better players…. it’s a real problem that they are stuck with and it will cost them Jones, Machado and Schoop eventually…
They blew an opportunity to move Machado and Britton 2 years ago that would have given them a return of really good controllable Starting Pitchers that would have put them in a vastly better situation than they are in now. It is attributable solely to the lack of vision of their recalcitrant owner…sad!
The Orioles and, most importantly, their owner, are obsessed with home runs. They should have let Davis walk and used the money to balance out the roster with pitching and speed.
There’s another reason the owners are balking at spending the high dollars this winter. A true contract issued by the heart instead of their heads.
To bad Jordan Walden’s career as a cardinal was plagued with injury. If he didn’t get injured I think our bullpen would be better than it has been the last 2 years.
Wasn’t he that dude with the weird hop off the rubber? Yea, would have been nice to something out of him
Nope that’s carter Capps of the Padres
Walden had the hop on his delivery.
There is no way DD wants to stay. He’d rather hit the Front Office FA Market at seasons end than have all his decisions overturned by Angelos. Cant obviously say that at Fanfest, but he was intrigued at the notion of the Blue Jays job 2 years ago.
We may have a thing or two in common…
Jones’ wanting to stay in center for a couple years and wanting to prioritizing winning over money are contradictory statements.
The Orioles really have no clue what they are doing. If they were smart they would trade him today to the highest bidder and move on.
Gotta say stupid is that stupid does…. disfunctional O’s
Yeah those high demands will bite your ass when he ends up leaving after this year
I don’t get why you do t take the best offer. The offer doesn’t get better at mid season. Now you lose a great player for a comp pick? I’m sure the trade offers were way better than what they will draft.
Sometimes offers do improve:
1. If the player is doing really well
2. If they have one hole in their roster that they can fill to become legit title contenders
3. If the pressure is on to make a general improvement
That may be true but your also losing a lot by going from a 1 year rental to a 2-3 month rental. If they really think they can compete for a playoff spot I don’t blame them for not selling. Take the draft pick and move on. However, if they’re not sure (which by reading the gms starting pitching comments) they should trade while the price is highest…
Braves fan here…you need a LH OF…How about a reunion w/ Nick Markakis ? You need starting pitching ? How about cost-controlled Julio Teheran?
Trade: Teheran / Markakis for your #2 prospect OF Austin Hays ?
Keep dreaming
Why not cargo? Yeah his numbers been inflated by coors field but it gives them that left hand outfielder who has a better glove than trumbo. They had interest in him in the past why not sign him.
I can see why the Orioles would want to emulate the Heyward trade. That trade was the gift that keeps on giving to the Braves. Basically 1 year of Heyward brought them Shelby Miller, which in turn landed them Enciarte, Swanson, and Blair. Plus, Machado is better than Heward ever was, so a good reliever like Walden shouldn’t have to be included.
Duquette needs to find another job.