Orioles Rumors

Orioles Notes: Martinez, Wieters, Jones

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 7, 2011 at 8:20am CDT

The Orioles will attempt to recover from their first loss of the season tonight when they face Brad Penny and the Tigers. In the meantime, here are some links…

Victor Martinez tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he appreciated the Orioles' interest in him this offseason, when they offered $48MM over four years to become their first baseman. "It was a pretty tough decision," Martinez said. Instead, he signed with the Tigers for $50MM.
Orioles pitching coach Mark Connor told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that catcher Matt Wieters is "by far the most amazing 'feel' guy at that age" he has ever seen. Wieters' tempo and game-calling are impressing the Orioles. Those skills were a big reason the Orioles weren't interested in Martinez as a catcher.
Peter Schmuck of the Sun isn't looking to nitpick, but he says Adam Jones' approach at the plate is one potential area of concern for the Orioles early on.
After a surprising 4-1 start thanks to their impressive pitching, the Orioles are 15th on WEEI.com's power rankings.

Orioles Eyeing Rotation Depth

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 5, 2011 at 8:35pm CDT

Baltimore's front office is 'poking around' for No. 5 starter types, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The undefeated Orioles have allowed just one run in each of their first four games, but now that Brian Matusz is on the 15-day disabled list with an intercostal strain, the team's rotation is thinner than expected.

Jeremy Guthrie, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman and Zach Britton have impressed so far and Brad Bergesen will start against the Tigers tomorrow. It's a promising, but inexperienced group, so it's not surprising to see that president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has some interest in adding depth.

Potentially available starters include Kevin Slowey, free agent Carlos Silva, Jo-Jo Reyes and former Orioles starter turned Braves minor leaguer Rodrigo Lopez. Though there's no indication that the Orioles are interested in those arms, their names could come up in conversation.

Quick Hits: Pelfrey, Wandy, Beato, Bennett

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 5, 2011 at 4:15pm CDT

Links for Monday, before Josh Beckett makes his 2011 debut. Will he live up to his extension?

Rival executives don’t expect Mariners ace Felix Hernandez to be available this summer, but they’re eyeing Wandy Rodriguez and Mike Pelfrey as potential trade targets, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.
If you want to look a little further ahead, check out Tim Dierkes' preview of which starters will be available next offseason.
ESPN.com's Keith Law suggests the Orioles will regret leaving Pedro Beato off of their 40-man roster last fall. The Mets nabbed the reliever in the Rule 5 draft and he's now on the team's active roster.
Former Braves reliever Jeff Bennett is trying to revive his career after seeing it hit rock-bottom, as Greg Sullivan of the Tennessean writes.

AL East Notes: Cole, Penny, Davis, Vlad

By Tim Dierkes | April 4, 2011 at 2:48pm CDT

A few AL East links, as the Orioles enjoy first place…

Check out some interesting quotes from Yankees executives Brian Cashman and Damon Oppenheimer in Tyler Kepner's profile of potential #1 draft pick Gerrit Cole for the New York Times. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith spoke to Cole in March.
The Rays and other teams approached Brad Penny during the offseason about becoming a closer, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Three club options "are far too many" from a player's point of view, writes SI's Jon Heyman in reference to Wade Davis' new contract with Tampa Bay. Davis' agent B.B. Abbott explained to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith on Thursday that the pitcher felt the contract represented a worthwhile tradeoff.
Not much is known about Vladimir Guerrero's personal life, but Kevin Van Valkenburg and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun shed a little light on his personality.

Quick Hits: Zito, Orioles, Meyer, Cardinals

By Luke Adams 2 | April 3, 2011 at 4:00pm CDT

Links for Sunday, as Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler become the first set of teammates in MLB history to homer in each of their team's first three games…

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) knows that the point has been made before, but he finds it unfathomable that the Giants thought it smart to give $126MM to Barry Zito.
The Orioles released minor league outfielder Danny Figueroa, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
The Phillies have released Dan Meyer from their minor league camp, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.
Within his Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the Rangers "haven't closed the door" on a Michael Young trade. Cafardo says not to rule out the Phillies, though the Phils are a little more optimistic about Chase Utley's health than they were a couple weeks ago.
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. says his club has room to add payroll this season "if the right situation develops," according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier discusses former first round pick Jason Place, who the Red Sox released yesterday.
In an article for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto takes a look at the Indians' future infield.

East Notes: Simon, Red Sox, Feliciano, Mets

By Zachary Links | April 2, 2011 at 8:31pm CDT

Let's take a look at some items from the AL and NL East..

An Orioles source confirmed to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun that Alfredo Simon arrived in Tampa on Saturday afternoon and will work out at the team’s minor-league complex within the next few days.
Don't get accustomed to the Red Sox signing $100MM players, cautions Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon hasn't been totally cleared of wrongdoing in a fatal shooting, but he has been able to secure a visa which allowed him to travel to the United States. Simon's agent, Phil Issac, says that Simon will arrive in Florida this afternoon, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec writes that it's too early to speculate about his availability, but the veteran will begin a throwing program and start preparing for the 2011 season.
Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez wants to stay with the club beyond 2011, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The catcher has been brought up in trade rumors as some believe that the club could make Jesus Flores the backup after handing the keys over to Wilson Ramos behind the plate.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Pedro Feliciano was "abused" by the Mets' use of him in recent years, tweets Jim Baumbach of Newsday.
One group of bidders interested in buying a share of the Mets includes Tampa Bay Rays minority owner Randy Frankel, writes Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News.

Lame Duck General Managers

By Mike Axisa | April 2, 2011 at 11:10am CDT

By now, I'm sure you've looked over our list of players that will be free agents after the 2011 season numerous times, but what about general managers? With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, here's the list of GMs without contracts for 2012…

Andy MacPhail, Orioles – Technically, MacPhail isn't the GM, he's the president of baseball operations. He's still the guy calling the shots though. Last October we heard that he doesn't have any plans to approach owner Peter Angelos about a new deal before his current one expires.
Neal Huntington, Pirates – Team president Frank Coonelly said he expects Huntington to be in Pittsburgh "for a long time" earlier this year.
Walt Jocketty, Reds – Cincinnati is clearly a team on the rise, so it seems likely that ownership would want to bring Jocketty back after the season.
Dave Dombrowski, Tigers – A few months ago we heard that the fates of Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland could be a package deal based on the team's performance in 2011.
Brian Cashman, Yankees – The third longest-tenured GM in the game would seem to be on rocky ground after being over-ruled by ownership on the Rafael Soriano signing, but we heard afterwards that he still has the "full backing" of the Steinbrenners.

Matusz Injury Could Change Britton’s Time Frame

By Mike Axisa | April 1, 2011 at 8:43pm CDT

8:43pm: Connolly reports that Matusz has been placed on the disabled list and could miss anywhere from three to six weeks (Twitter links). Britton will be called up and start on Sunday.

8:21pm: The Orioles received some bad news before their first game of the season this evening, as young lefty Brian Matusz will miss tomorrow's start with an injury to the intercostal muscle on the left side of his back. Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun caught up with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who indicated that the injury could accelerate the team's timetable for top prospect Zach Britton.

"It could depending on what kind of news we get [about Matsuz] and how long term we’re looking," said MacPhail. "I was hoping [the injury] was an April Fool's joke."

As Tim Dierkes explained a week ago, the Orioles will have to wait until April 21st to call Britton up if they want to delay his free agency by a year. The 23-year-old southpaw was named the 28th best prospect in the game by Baseball America before the season, and they said he owns the "best sinker in the minor leagues" in the 2011 edition of their Prospect Handbook.

Britton split last season between Double and Triple-A, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9, though he generated 2.8 ground outs for every fly out. He also opened eyes with a stellar showing in Spring Training. Chris Tillman will start in Matusz's place on Saturday.

Procedural Notes: Abreu, Blanco, Evans, Hernandez

By Tim Dierkes | March 30, 2011 at 5:18pm CDT

The latest procedural notes…

D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011. The AP has details.
Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie. According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart." The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Quick Hits: Orioles, Montero, Silva

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 29, 2011 at 8:59pm CDT

We've seen four trades already today, but there's still more news on possible deals and free agent signings. Here it is…

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that there's no late trade in the offing this spring (Twitter link). Baltimore made late-spring trades in 2009 (Robert Andino) and '10 (Julio Lugo, Steve Lerud).
Yankees catching prospect Jesus Montero failed this spring, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees wanted him to become their backup catcher and to pretend now that they didn't plan on that is disingenuous, writes Sherman.
Carlos Silva cleared waivers and is now a free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

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