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Orioles Notes: Chen, Roberts, Peterson

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Luke Scott hit 84 home runs with the Orioles from 2008-11, but his next homer will come as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. The 33-year-old agreed to terms with the Rays earlier today. Here's the latest on his former team… 

  • Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen has “a good fastball and very good control and a good breaking ball,” GM Dan Duquette told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Chen is a polished pitcher with the physical skills to become a frontline starter, Duquette said. The GM is looking to add durable arms to his rotation, since Jeremy Guthrie was the lone Baltimore pitcher to reach the 200-inning threshold in 2011.
  • The Orioles remain concerned about Brian Roberts’ health and are looking for a leadoff hitter, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. He suggests Endy Chavez projects as the team’s leadoff hitter at this point.
  • The Orioles have been negotiating with former Mets, Brewers and Athletics pitching coach Rick Peterson for more than a week about a pitching role within the organization, Connolly tweets. Duquette remains hopeful that the sides will agree to a deal.

Melvin Mora Intends To Play In 2012

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January 11th: Mora has not retired and he intends to play in 2012, agent Eric Goldschmidt told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

December 29th: Utilityman Melvin Mora has announced his retirement, reports Rafael Rojas Cremonesi of Meridiano Deportes (via Twitter).  The 39-year-old Mora was released by the Diamondbacks in June and had hoped to play for the Orioles or another east coast team in 2012, but instead has hung up the cleats after 13 Major League seasons.

Mora signed an amateur contract with the Astros in 1991 and finally reached the Majors in 1999 as a New York Met.  He made an immediate impression in his rookie year, posting a 1.143 OPS in 16 plate appearances in the 1999 NLCS as the Mets lost in six games to the Braves. 

After being dealt to the Orioles in July 2000 as part of a four-player package for Mike Bordick, Mora became a Baltimore fixture for much of the decade.  Mora was a two-time All-Star for the O's, hitting .294/.366/.469 between 2003-08 (including a league-best .419 OBP in 2004) and settling in as the Orioles' third baseman in 2004 after playing all over the diamond in his first four seasons with the team.  The O's declined his contract option after the 2009 campaign and Mora went on to play a season each with the Rockies and D'backs.

Mora retires with 1503 hits, 171 homers, and a .277/.350/.431 slash line in 1556 Major League games. According to Baseball Reference, Mora made just under $40.5MM during his career.

Orioles Notes: Johnson, Jones, Scott

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The Orioles announced a three-year deal with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen today, but that’s far from the only news to trickle out of Baltimore today. Here’s the latest on the club…

  • Now that they’ve signed Chen, the Orioles are going forward with Jim Johnson in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweets. Johnson, 28, posted a 2.67 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 91 innings of relief for Baltimore in 2011 and there's been talk of moving him to the rotation.
  • The Orioles haven’t discussed a possible contract extension with Adam Jones, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Jones projects to earn $5.8MM or so in 2012 as a second time arbitration eligible player
  • GM Dan Duquette has had contact with free agent Luke Scott, Ghiroli tweets. However, no deal appears to be brewing between the Orioles and Scott, who got non-tendered in December.
  • Kubatko suggests Chen, Jeremy Guthrie and Tommy Hunter will be in next year's rotation and that hopefuls such as Zach Britton and Brian Matusz will have to earn their rotation spots by pitching well in Spring Training.

Orioles Sign Wei-Yin Chen

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The Orioles reached an agreement with lefty Wei-Yin Chen on a three-year deal worth less than $12MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The Orioles have since announced the deal, noting that Chen is the first Taiwanese player in team history and the contract includes a club option for 2015.

As a Taiwanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball, Chen had free agency negotiated into his contract with the Chunichi Dragons.  Last year in Japan, Chen posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings.  He ranked 19th on Keith Law's top 50 free agents list.  Law offered a positive scouting report, concluding that Chen "offers more upside than the typical NPB refugee, both due to age and the chance for the slider to become a consistently plus pitch."  Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette described Chen in a statement: "Chen works off of a 92-94 mile per hour fastball and he uses a hard, slurve-like breaking ball as an out-pitch.  He has exceptional command and we like the quality of his pitches to help our team."

Duquette has gone the international route to supplement his rotation, having already added an NPB starter in December in Tsuyoshi Wada.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Orioles were close to a multiyear deal with Chen.

Orioles Designate Kyle Hudson For Assignment

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The Orioles announced they've designated outfielder Kyle Hudson for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for newly-signed lefty Wei-Ying Chen.

In the minors Hudson hit .296/.375/.336 in 485 plate appearances, ascending from High-A to the Majors with stops at each level along the way.  Hudson, 25, played mostly center and left field.  In a chat yesterday, Baseball America's Will Lingo wrote that the speedy Hudson is "a premium athlete, but he's still refining his baseball skills, particularly his swing."

Orioles Re-Sign Willie Eyre

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The Orioles re-signed righty reliever Willie Eyre to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.  The Orioles had designated Eyre for assignment upon acquiring Dana Eveland in December, and non-tendered him a few days later.

Eyre, a 33-year-old Sosnick Cobbe client, had 18 1/3 big league innings in 2011.  For the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, he posted a 3.48 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 0.73 HR/9 in 62 innings.

Orioles Close To Deal With Wei-Yin Chen

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The Orioles are close to a multiyear deal with Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  As a foreign player in Nippon Professional Baseball, Chen had free agency negotiated into his contract with the Chunichi Dragons.

Last year in Japan, Chen posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings.  He ranked 19th on Keith Law's top 50 free agents list.  Law offered a positive scouting report, concluding that Chen "offers more upside than the typical NPB refugee, both due to age and the chance for the slider to become a consistently plus pitch."  Chen, 26, throws relatively hard for a southpaw, as high as 92-94 when he's right according to Law.

New Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has gone the international route to supplement his rotation, having already added an NPB starter in December in Tsuyoshi Wada.

AL East Notes: Smith, Hanigan, Yankees, Orioles

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Exactly one year ago, the Rays and Cubs finalized an eight-player deal that sent Matt Garza to Chicago. 365 days later, Garza is on the block again, though so far teams have balked at the Cubs' asking price. Could Garza be back in the AL East before Opening Day? While we wait to find out, here are a few links from the division:

  • Although we heard in recent weeks that Tampa Bay was interested in Rockies' outfielder Seth Smith, the Rays may not have held onto Smith had they acquired him. According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link), one deal discussed earlier in the winter involved the Rays trading for Smith and flipping him to the Reds in exchange for catcher Ryan Hanigan.
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains why the Yankees haven't made a move for one of the top starting pitchers (including Garza) available via free agency or trade.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com looks into the Orioles' search for a designated hitter.
  • Check out this morning's Red Sox notes here and last night's AL East notes here.

AL East Notes: Damon, Ramirez, Scott, Oliver, Theriot

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Here are some items out of the American League East..

  • Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman continues to comb the market for a pair of bats but is confident that the right deals will present themselves, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Friedman says that both Johnny Damon and Casey Kotchman are candidates to return, but Topkin writes that they would only look to bring one back if they wanted to improve at either spot.
  • Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette wouldn't say much when asked about the club's interest in Manny Ramirez, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  However, Duquette did confirm that the club still has interest in Luke Scott, who they non-tendered last month.  At least eleven teams have expressed some level of interest in the 33-year-old.
  • Blue Jays skipper John Farrell won't comment on what's holding up the official announcement of the club's deal with Darren Oliver, but it's likely related to finding spot on the 40-man roster, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.  Toronto agreed to sign the reliever to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013 earlier this week.
  • The Rays wanted Brooks Conrad on a minor-league deal but Conrad ultimately chose the Brewers because they offered greater potential for at-bats, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal adds (via Twitter) that the Rays also like Ryan Theriot as they seek out a utility infielder.

Orioles Notes: Soriano, Pitching, Ramirez, Miller

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Yesterday, we heard that the Orioles and Cubs talked about a deal involving Alfonso Soriano.  In order to ship the outfielder elsewhere, the Cubs would have to eat a substantial portion of the $54MM remaining on his contract.  Here's more on Soriano and the Orioles..

  • Talks between the Orioles and Cubs were probably not very serious, sources told Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com.  Dan Duquette doesn't want to spend heavily on a designated hitter and even if the Cubs ate about 80% of the $54MM owed to Soriano, the O's would still be on the hook for $3-4MM for each of the next three seasons.
  • Dubroff adds that if Duquette shells out a big contract this winter, it'll be for a pitcher, not for a one-dimensional DH.  Former O's reliever Mike Gonzalez is still on the open market, but it's not likely that he'll get the chance to redeem himself in Baltimore.
  • The Orioles and Blue Jays have both evaluated Manny Ramirez, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link).  According to a source, both clubs sent scouts to watch Ramirez hit in an indoor cage in Miami.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter) writes that executive director of international recruiting Fred Ferreira and manager Buck Showalter watched Ramirez take batting practice shortly after the Winter Meetings.
  • The Orioles didn't trade for Jai Miller because of concerns over Nick Markakis' health, writes Kubatko.  Miller is seen as an upgrade over former first-round pick Brandon Snyder, and a better overall player than Matt Angle.  The O's acquired Miller for $45K from the Athletics on Tuesday.
  • The Orioles signed Korean right-hander Eun Chul Choi to a minor league deal, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.  Not much is known about the 6-foot-5 hurler, but based on comments from Duquette, it seems that his signing marks the beginning of a serious push into Korea by the organization.
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