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Latest On Orioles’ GM Search

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The Orioles decided to expand their GM search this week, after learning that Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava declined their offer in favor of Toronto. Here's the latest on Baltimore's candidates… 

  • De Jon Watson has removed his name from consideration for the job, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman.
  • The team would like to have the new general manager in place by Monday, tweets Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.
  • The Orioles only plan to interview four more candidates, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun: Allard Baird, Dan Duquette, Damon Oppenheimer and Mike Radcliff.  The O's haven't asked permission from other teams to speak to any other executives, which would seem to eliminate others on the Orioles' list such as Andrew Friedman and Rick Hahn.
  • The O's have contacted the Yankees about talking to director of pro scouting Billy Eppler, reports MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko (Twitter link).  Kubatko says the Orioles also plan to talk to the Rangers about permission to interview executives Thad Levine and A.J. Preller, and to the Athletics about assistant GM David Forst.
  • Former Expos and Red Sox GM Dan Duquette will interview with the Orioles on Friday, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
  • The Orioles are looking at Mike Arbuckle of the Royals and Allard Baird of the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). 
  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com repeats that Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson won’t get the job (Twitter link).
  • Watson and Orioles director of player development John Stockstill have interviewed for the position and Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock will interview as well. The Orioles also appear to have interest in Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, Rick Hahn of the White Sox and Mike Radcliff of the Twins.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney weighed in on the Orioles' GM search earlier today, explaining that Baltimore has a perception problem.

Olney On Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs

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The Orioles have a significant perception problem, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Executives on other teams believe Baltimore’s next general manager will have less power than any other GM in baseball. Here are the details, plus other notes from around MLB:

  • Orioles owner Peter Angelos is less involved in baseball operations than it may seem and manager Buck Showalter would love to work with bright executives, but outside executives don’t see Baltimore as an attractive place to work.
  • Jerry Dipoto and Tony LaCava have turned away the Orioles in favor of other teams and some other highly-regarded assistant GMs have said they wouldn’t be interested if Baltimore called.
  • One executive suggested Showalter should take over as GM and hire a new field manager, according to Olney.
  • Red Sox executive Allard Baird has come up in the Orioles’ GM conversations, according to Olney (on Twitter). Here are the latest details on Baltimore’s search.
  • Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum has a good chance of obtaining his first permanent job as an MLB manager, since the Cubs and Red Sox are both interested in his services. As Olney notes, the Red Sox and Cubs are working from similar managerial lists.

Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Friedman, Hahn

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Orioles director of player development John Stockstill and Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson are candidates to become Baltimore's next GM, but they aren't alone. Jerry Dipoto is now the Angels' GM and Tony LaCava turned down an offer from the Orioles to remain in Toronto, so the Orioles are expanding their search. Here's the latest, with the most recent updates up top:

  • The Orioles would like to interview Dodgers GM Ned Colletti if he leaves Los Angeles, according to Kubatko.
  • The Orioles have requested permission to interview Andrew Friedman of the Rays, Rick Hahn of the White Sox and Mike Radcliff of the Twins, according to Kubatko (on Twitter).
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that the Orioles haven't yet contacted the Rangers about executives such as Thad Levine or A.J. Preller. Connolly suggests former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette and current Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer could be candidates for the position.
  • Scott Proefrock, the Phillies' assistant GM, will interview for the Orioles' GM vacancy, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Proefrock is the Orioles' former assistant GM.
  • LaCava said his decision to stay in Toronto was about the Blue Jays, not the Orioles. But Danny Knobler of CBS Sports hears that his decision was about the Orioles. LaCava wanted to make front office changes that owner Peter Angelos refused to approve, according to Knobler. LaCava would have obtained a competitive salary from the Orioles.
  • Knobler hears that Watson and Stockstill are “very unlikely” to be offered the job.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, who reported this morning that the Orioles are expanding their search, notes that manager Buck Showalter and director of baseball operations Matt Klentak are handling the front office responsibilities for now.
  • Kubatko adds that the Orioles have contacted the Rays, White Sox, Twins and Phillies for permission to interview GM candidates from the teams' front offices.
  • For a complete look at MLBTR's GM Candidates, click here. Two people on the list, Jerry Dipoto (#1) and Ben Cherington (#4), have already landed GM jobs.

Minor Moves: Indians, Dodgers, Jake Fox

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Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves…

  • The Indians announced that outfielder Jerad Head elected free agency. The 28-year-old spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a .284/.338/.526 line with 24 homers.
  • Double-A right-hander Will Savage re-signed with the Dodgers on a minor league deal according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 27-year-old posted a 3.95 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 141 1/3 innings in 2011.
  • Jake Fox refused an assignment to the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate and has elected free agency, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). Baltimore had outrtighted Fox off of its 40-man roster last week. The 29-year-old posted a .756 OPS in 67 plate appearances this year, appearing behind the plate, in left field and at first base.

Orioles Claim Darren O’Day

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The Orioles claimed righty reliever Darren O'Day off waivers from the Rangers, the team announced.

O'Day, 29, struggled with the longball in 16 2/3 big league innings for Texas this year.  The sidearmer tossed another 21 1/3 innings in the minors, mostly at Triple-A.  O'Day will be arbitration eligible for the second time after the season, and we project a very small raise to $1.3MM.

O'Day joined the Rangers via an April 2009 waiver claim from the Mets.  From that point through the end of the 2010 season, he provided the Rangers a 1.99 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 0.61 HR/9 in 117 2/3 innings.  Over the course of his career, he hasn't shown the typical lefty/righty splits of a sidearm pitcher.  

The Orioles' 40-man roster now stands at 38, as Jake Arrieta, Brian Roberts, and Luke Scott were activated from the 60-day DL.  

LaCava Turns Down Orioles’ Offer

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The Orioles offered Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava their general manager job and he turned the position down, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Instead, LaCava will remain Toronto's assistant GM and Baltimore will resume its search for Andy MacPhail's replacement.

The Orioles also interviewed director of player development John Stockstill and Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson for the job. Angels GM Jerry Dipoto had interviewed for the position before accepting his job in Anaheim.

The Blue Jays had been preparing for the possibility that LaCava would leave, according to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. There was major concern in Toronto that LaCava would bring personnel with him to Baltimore if he had accepted the job, according to Ghiroli. He explained his decision to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

“This was about the Toronto Blue Jays more than it is anything about the Baltimore Orioles," LaCava said. "The Orioles were classy in everything they did and I think they are going to go down the right path. For me, it was how much I love the Toronto Blue Jays and I really, really treasure my relationship with my general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, and I really want to see this through with him."

LaCava, Toronto's vice president of baseball operations and assistant General Manager, met with Orioles owner Peter Angelos yesterday. LaCava oversees player development and Latin American operations for the Blue Jays and has also worked for the Angels, Braves, Expos and Indians. He interviewed for GM jobs in Pittsburgh and Seattle in the past. For more on LaCava and Watson check out MLBTR's GM Candidate pieces.

A.J. Preller's name has come up in Baltimore, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes spoke with the Rangers executive in October.

LaCava In Baltimore To Meet With Angelos

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8:46pm: There's no indication that the Orioles are ready to announce a decision and team officials haven't ruled out interviewing more candidates, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.

2:13pm: Orioles GM candidate Tony LaCava is back in Baltimore today to meet with owner Peter Angelos, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  This will be LaCava's first meeting with Angelos.  Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes, "The Orioles are not expected to do a second round of interviews, so the fact that LaCava is back almost certainly means that he and the ownership component of the search committee are discussing the conditions of his employment. It doesn't mean, however, that he has been offered the job officially or will accept it."

Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that Angelos attended the Orioles' initial interview with De Jon Watson of the Dodgers, but missed LaCava's first meeting with the team (Twitter links).  Kubatko hears that the Orioles won't contact Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine about their job opening.

LaCava is currently the Blue Jays' vice president of baseball operations and assistant General Manager; learn more about him by reading Ben Nicholson-Smith's August interview.


Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Brown, LaCava

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The latest on Baltimore's search for a new GM:

  • The Orioles could interview one more candidate and probably won't conduct a second round of interviews, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). If the Orioles conduct another interview, it would probably take place early next week.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun weighs in, pointing out that Dipoto wasn't necessarily Baltimore's preferred candidate.
  • De Jon Watson has met with the Orioles three times and had dinner with manager Buck Showalter on Wednesday, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles are "very likely" to hire Tony LaCava for their general manager job, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Angels are about to hire Jerry Dipoto, one of Baltimore's four candidates, as their next GM. This leaves LaCava, De Jon Watson of the Dodgers and John Stockstill of the Orioles in the mix for the Baltimore job.
  • LaCava is Toronto's vice president of baseball operations and assistant General Manager. He oversees player development and Latin American operations for the Blue Jays and has also worked for the Angels, Braves, Expos and Indians. He interviewed for GM jobs in Pittsburgh and Seattle in the past. Here's my piece on LaCava for MLBTR's GM Candidates series.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Jakubauskas, Fox

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Here are the latest outright assignments…

  • The Orioles announced that they outrighted right-hander Chris Jakubauskas and catcher Jake Fox to Triple-A after the players cleared waivers. Baltimore now has 36 players on its 40-man roster. Jakubauskas posted a 5.72 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 72 1/3 innings in 2011. Fox, 29, posted a .756 OPS in 67 plate appearances this year, also appearing in left field and at first base. 

Astros Claim Craig Tatum

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The Astros claimed catcher Craig Tatum off of waivers from the Orioles, MLBTR has learned. Tatum, 28, has three partial seasons of catching experience at the Major League level and isn't yet eligible for arbitration. He joins backstops Jason Castro, Humberto Quintero and Carlos Corporan on Houston's 40-man roster, which now includes 36 players.

Tatum has a .223/.291/.264 line in 299 MLB plate appearances and has stopped 21% of stolen base attempts against him. In eight seasons as a minor leaguer, the 2004 third round pick has a .249/.316/.377 batting line and has stopped 35% of stolen base attempts.

The Astros have confirmed the move.

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