By Tim Dierkes | at
Catcher Chad Moeller agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles had declined Moeller's $850K option, preferring to have him on a minor league contract. Zrebiec says Moeller will battle recent pickups Craig Tatum and Michel Hernandez for the chance to be Matt Wieters' backup.
Moeller, 35 in February, hit .258/.313/.438 in 100 plate appearances this year while catching 239 innings.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Braves fully expect relievers Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez to turn down the team's arbitration offers and explore the market. The Braves, who surrendered a top pick when they signed Billy Wagner, stand to gain four picks if Soriano and Gonzalez sign elsewhere.
That seems likely, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. One GM told Heyman that the former Braves are "the two most sought-after relievers on the market," so their Type A status doesn't seem to be scaring teams away.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Orioles and Nationals are believed to have interest in the pair.
However, one high-ranking executive tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Soriano would be "insane" to turn down arbitration, which could net him a deal worth about $8MM.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
By Mark Polishuk | at
Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles aren’t offering arbitration to any of their four free agents, the most notable of whom is Type B free agent Melvin Mora. The move comes as no surprise given that Mora made $8MM last season and Baltimore declined to pick up his option for 2010.
By Howard Megdal | at
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com are reporting that the Orioles have called the Rangers about Kevin Millwood, though talks are not serious, according to one source.
The source said the Rangers would like to move Millwood's $12MM salary for 2010 in order to sign Jermaine Dye.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, however, reports that the Rangers are not interested in moving Millwood.
Millwood pitched to a 3.67 ERA in 198 2/3 innings in 2009, but his strikeout rate dropped from 6.7 per nine innings in 2008 to 5.6 in 2009.
Dye, meanwhile, hit .250/.340/.453 in 2009. He's indicated a willingness to move to first base, but that kind of offensive production wouldn't be enough for the position.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Links for Monday…
By Luke Adams 2 | at
As usual, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe brings us a Sunday morning column with some info from around the league. Let's check out a few highlights….
By Mike Axisa | at
The Orioles have Jeremy Guthrie and three young starters already penciled into their 2010 rotation, but they haven't ruled out added a quality pitcher with a recent injury history, according to Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com. When asked about Ben Sheets and former Oriole Erik Bedard, team president Andy MacPhail said:
"We would consider them. They would have to be vetted medically. They don't get excluded from consideration. We recognize there is a risk that goes with it, but if the potential reward is just as great or greater than the risk, it's something you have to look at.
"We are in a position where we can consider some risk."
We already know that the Orioles aren't opposed to pursuing top tier free agents this winter, though both Sheets and Bedard shouldn't require long-term commitments given their health records.
By Zachary Links | at
Here are some links on an understandably slow Thanksgiving night…
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Orioles president Andy MacPhail tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that he sees a "critical mass" of talented young players ready to contribute to Baltimore's next great team.
"The improvement in the standings, like Tampa Bay showed, can come overnight," MacPhail said.
The O's expect to supplement their young core with some free agents. The team has uncertainty at the corner infield positions, but MacPhail expects to be able to find answers on the market, since there are lots of options at first and third. Miguel Tejada and the Astros have interest in extending the infielder's stay in Houston, but in theory, Tejada could return to the O's.
MacPhail, who values shut-down relievers, expects the relief market to develop slowly and sounds confident that the O's will find a late-inning arm. Billy Wagner is one of the relievers the Orioles have some interest in. His Type A status won't scare the O's off, since they're prepared to surrender a draft pick for the right free agent.
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