Orioles Rumors

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Marlins, Red Sox, Calero

By Zachary Links | April 4, 2010 at 10:49pm CDT

Sunday night links..

While other clubs did some last minute tinkering today, Brewers GM Doug Melvin decided to stand pat with his lineup, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
For the first time in three years, the Marlins won't have the lowest payroll in baseball on Opening Day, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Florida's payroll of $46MM ranks ahead of the Padres and Pirates.
Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter) didn't expect Scott Schoeneweis to make the BoSox roster after being released by the Brewers. Edes adds that he expects Alan Embree to make his way to the big league squad after he puts in more work in the minors.
The Mets have demoted reliever Kiko Calero to their Triple-A affiliate, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Calero's deal – which he signed in early March – does not allow Calero to opt-out upon being assigned to the minors.
Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun write that O's outfielder Nolan Reimold took ground balls at first base yesterday. Orioles GM Andy MacPhail told the Sun not to read too much into it, as they were only seeking to increase the 26-year-old's versatility. However, an item on ESPN's rumor page wonders aloud if the fielding practice could be about the club's future plans at the position without Luke Scott and Garrett Atkins.
A major league insider told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com that the extension given to Adam Lind is a good deal for both parties. The Blue Jays signed Lind to a four-year, $18MM pact yesterday morning.
Ken Gurnick of MLB.com points out that Carlos Monasterios is just the fourth Rule 5 draftee to make a Dodgers Opening Day roster.

Odds & Ends: Posey, Jamey Wright, Lugo, Hart

By Luke Adams 2 | April 2, 2010 at 9:20pm CDT

Let's take a look at a few more assorted Friday links….

After seeing Mike Leake earn a spot in the Reds' rotation without pitching in the minors, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon lists the other 20 drafted players who once made the leap straight to the show.
The Giants officially optioned Buster Posey to Triple A Fresno, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Earlier today, we looked at a potential timeline for when we could see Posey in the majors.
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians will pay $900K to purchase Jamey Wright's minor league contract. Wright had a provision in his deal that allowed him to opt out if he wasn't on the big league roster by today.
Julio Lugo expects to see a good deal of playing time in Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas says that the Rangers anticipate a "continued improvement" from Scott Feldman over the course of the contract they signed him to today. In a separate piece, MacMahon notes that recent addition Ryan Garko will have his playing time dictated, to a certain extent, by how Chris Davis fares early on against lefties.
Corey Hart doesn't intend to let recent trade rumors involving him become a distraction, according to Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Robert Andino’s Uncertain Future

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 2, 2010 at 4:00pm CDT

Robert Andino is out of options and the Orioles just added Julio Lugo, so as MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli reports, Andino's future with the Orioles is anything but certain. The Orioles aren't likely to carry two middle infield backups, but they would have to pass Andino through waivers before sending the 25-year-old to the minors. The O's have two days to set their Opening Day roster and that makes Andino a trade candidate. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Ghiroli that the club is considering a number of options.

"We will see how that plays out," MacPhail said. "We still have some moving pieces, and we will see how that shakes out here in the next week."

A week ago, the Rangers would have seemed like a logical fit for Andino, who has experience around the infield. The Rangers have since added Andres Blanco, who promptly won the team's utility infield job. At this point, the Rangers' interest in Andino presumably depends in part on the team's confidence that Ian Kinsler's sprained ankle will soon heal.

Orioles Release Mike Costanzo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 2, 2010 at 11:05am CDT

The Orioles released Mike Costanzo, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles offered him the chance to stay in the organization as a pitcher, but the corner infielder asked for his release instead.

The 26-year-old hit a combined .202/.304/.316 in the upper levels of the Orioles' system last year. Costanzo, a 2005 second round selection by the Phillies, came over to Baltimore in the 2007 deal that sent Miguel Tejada to Houston.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hendry, Lugo, Towers

By Mike Axisa | April 2, 2010 at 10:00am CDT

On this day back in 2003, the Tigers became the first team in baseball history to have four pitchers make their Major League debut in the same game. The starter was 20-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, who gave way to 22-year-old Wil Ledezma, 25-year-old Chris Spurling, and 23-year-old Matt Roney before "veteran" closer Matt Anderson entered the game. Anderson was just 25-years-old at the time, but the first overall pick of the 1997 draft already had 210 big league appearances to his name.

The Tigers went on the finish the season 43-119, and were rewarded by selecting Justin Verlander with the second overall pick the following season. Here's this week's set of links from around the web…

A Cubbies Consilience throws some kudos Jim Hendry's way for his offseason.
Camden Crazies calls the O's trade for Julio Lugo an okay one.
The Kept Faith finds some players Kevin Towers passed on while he was the Padres' GM.
1 Blue Jays Way remembers Roy Halladay's time in Toronto.
Meanwhile, Around The BasePath looks at some expectations for Halladay's first year in Philadelphia.
Drunk Jays Fans wonders why Lyle Overbay was named the team's every day first baseman when he can't hit lefties.
Lookout Landing compares Eric Byrnes and Ryan Langerhans with regards to the Mariners' spare outfielder's job.
Bronx Bombers Beat examines the Yankees' plan for Phil Hughes.
More Hardball lists the players who will begin the season on the disabled list.
Capitol Avenue Club rounds out the Braves' roster.
Crashburn Alley looks at the Phillies' winners and losers from Spring Training.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Orioles Designate Michael Aubrey For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 11:34am CDT

The Orioles designated first baseman Michael Aubrey for assignment to make room for Julio Lugo, according to a team press release. Officially, the O's acquired Lugo and cash from the Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash.

Aubrey, 28 in a few weeks, hit .290/.323/.436 in 407 Triple A plate appearances last year and .289/.326/.500 in a 95 plate appearance stint in the bigs.

Aubrey was drafted 11th overall by the Indians in 2003 out of Tulane. He dealt with back and hamstring injuries in the Indians' organization, and was eventually designated for assignment in January of '09. He cleared waivers, but was traded to the Orioles for a player to be named later in June.

Offseason Questions For The AL East

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 9:53am CDT

You've laughed, cried, nodded, and shaken your head in disbelief as you read my offseason reviews for all 30 teams. Now it's time to pose a question or two for each club, starting with the AL East.

Was there a way for the Orioles to add sufficient veteran respectability for 2010 for less than the $33MM spent on Kevin Millwood, Mike Gonzalez, Miguel Tejada, Garrett Atkins, and Mark Hendrickson? Did giving up two years of Chris Ray and the #53 pick in this year's draft fit with the long-term plan?
Will Boston's defensive improvements really add eight or nine wins? Will Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre, and Marco Scutaro contribute enough offensively?
Can Nick Johnson, Brett Gardner, and Randy Winn adequately replace Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui? Will Javier Vazquez match his 3.72 ERA projection?
Will Mitch Talbot blossom with the Indians, as other ex-Rays Jason Hammel and Edwin Jackson did with their new clubs? Will the Rays regret failing to upgrade at designated hitter? Will their bullpen be crippled by a Rafael Soriano injury?
Did the Blue Jays waste $2.75MM on Kevin Gregg? Will Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud, and Brett Wallace justify the Jays giving up a year of Roy Halladay and $6MM?

Orioles Release Chad Moeller

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 9:31am CDT

The Orioles granted catcher Chad Moeller his request to be released, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles re-signed Moeller to a minor league deal in December, but recently chose Craig Tatum to back up Matt Wieters. Moeller refused a minor league assignment. The Sun's Peter Schmuck questioned the Tatum selection in an article yesterday.

Zrebiec notes that the Orioles are now in the market for a backup catcher to help out at Triple A.

Odds & Ends: Offenses, Ben Snyder, Kelly Johnson

By Tim Dierkes | March 31, 2010 at 1:45pm CDT

Action-packed links for Wednesday…

NL offense rankings are up at RotoAuthority, courtesy of CHONE projections and the Baseball Musings lineup analysis tool. The Rockies are on top and the Padres bring up the rear, but plenty will change as the season unfolds.
Two closers were named in recent days, and our Twitter account @CloserNews passed along the info instantly to allow you to make the winning fantasy pickups.
The Rangers are attempting to work out a trade with the Giants that will allow them to retain Rule 5 lefty Ben Snyder, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Snyder already cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sullivan also notes that Matt Treanor chose not to exercise his out clause; he's headed to Triple A.
WEEI's Rob Bradford writes that although the Rangers are scouting Mike Lowell today and they're more interested in him than any other club, a deal is unlikely now and the Rangers would want the Red Sox to pay almost all of his salary. Bradford also notes that earlier this offseason, the Rangers expressed interest in Jed Lowrie.
Free agent Kevin Millar hopes to continue his playing career, he explained on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy show.
Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson strongly considered offers from the Blue Jays, Pirates, and Indians, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
The A's feel that out of options players Eric Patterson and Jake Fox would not clear waivers, so they're likely to send Landon Powell and Adam Rosales down (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reporting).
Baseball America's Matt Eddy offers analysis and predictions for seven out of options pitchers.
The Orioles are looking for a suitor for catcher Chad Moeller, who is "shocked and disappointed" about not making the team according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltmore Sun. Peter Schmuck feels that Moeller was a better choice than Craig Tatum.
Jeff Suppan explained to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that he's not dealing with a phantom neck injury, despite the convenient timing.
Though they could've saved $750K, the Nationals chose not to cut Scott Olsen according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs knows the Mariners, and he analyzes the organization's health in this article.

Odds & Ends: Padron, Washburn, Moeller, Chapman

By Tim Dierkes | March 30, 2010 at 4:15pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

I joined Jeff & Jeff on KNFS 590 St. Louis today; click here to listen to audio.
Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald tweets that the Red Sox signed 22-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Padron to a minor league deal with a $350K bonus. Cuban Ball Players has a bit on Padron here.
SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Royals will join the Mariners in the Jarrod Washburn bidding. Heyman first made the Royals-Washburn connection on January 11th, but nothing much came of it.
Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times spoke to Orlando Cabrera, Tony Reagins, and Walt Jocketty about the decline in multiyear free agent contracts.
Rays first baseman Dan Johnson cleared waivers and accepted a Triple A assignment, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun feels that Orioles catcher Chad Moeller is unlikely to accept a minor league assignment now that the team has chosen Craig Tatum to back up Matt Wieters.
Aroldis Chapman is expected to begin the season in the minors, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs praises the Rockies for their player development, but questions their offseason tweaking. For more on that topic, check out our Rockies offseason in review.
Rich Hill, recently reassigned to Triple A, can elect free agency around June if he's not in the Majors according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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