Orioles Rumors

Orioles Hoping To Deal Before Deadline

By Brian Shephard | July 15, 2009 at 6:51pm CDT

According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, "The Orioles are one of only a handful of teams entrenched as sellers." Here's a summary of his breakdown of what the Orioles can offer:

George Sherrill "has been the most popular target." The Orioles have him under control for two more years and are looking for a pitcher with "closer" value in return.
The Marlins "still look like the best fit" for Sherrill. They need a bullpen arm and have "a number of corner infield prospects that intrigue the Orioles."
Danys Baez "is probably the most likely Oriole to be moved." Zrebiec notes that the Orioles will have to eat "a good portion" of his contract if they want to get anything substantial in return.
Melvin Mora is available, but has a blanket no-trade clause. According to Zrebiec, Mora "may want a team to pick up his 2010 option in order to approve a trade."
The compensatory draft picks the Orioles might get if Aubrey Huff left via free agency "may be worth more to the club than what they could get for him in a trade."

Zrebiec quotes Orioles President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail as saying, "I would hope that we'd do something [before the deadline], I really would. But as I've said before, we're not a farm system for contending teams."

Odds And Ends: Strasburg, Huff, Pedro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 15, 2009 at 2:24pm CDT

Some links to read through this afternoon…

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Nats "absolutely, positively must sign" Stephen Strasburg this summer. The Strasburg saga is just one of Crasnick's nine stories to watch in the second half.
Stan McNeal of the Sporting News says a fringe prospect should be enough for the O's to ship Aubrey Huff and his $8MM salary away.
Pedro Martinez said he was pitching hurt with the Mets, but feels better now, according to the AP (via ESPN).
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says the Yankees would have to be prepared to give up a painful amount in a possible Roy Halladay deal.
Pirates reliever Tyler Yates had Tommy John surgery, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Check out my thoughts on the market for outfielders this offseason at NESN.com. Evans Clinchy of NESN.com believes it's now time for the Red Sox to lock Jason Bay up.

Odds And Ends: Sano, Gonzalez, Royals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 14, 2009 at 4:14pm CDT

Here's some more reading material for the afternoon…

ESPN.com's Buster Olney runs through his first half surprises, including Ben Zobrist and the Tigers. He also says Roy Halladay and the Phillies are a perfect fit.
As Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, Miguel Angel Sano's future is still up in the air. The Orioles and Pirates and the favorites to sign the Dominican shortstop, but the Twins, Rangers and a couple other teams could still be interested.
Adrian Gonzalez told WEEI.com's Alex Speier that winning matters most of all to him. Gonzalez is one of the players Speier looks at as potential fits in Boston, along with Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez.
Here, Speier says Tim Wakefield has been one of the best bargains in baseball since 2002.
Cameron Smith of the Washington Post says B.J. Ryan could be a nice addition for the Cubs.
Dave Sheinin of the Post reports that Bud Selig said the Nats are "on the right track."
Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star says Royals GM Dayton Moore needs a better grasp of the game's statistical side.

Price’s Latest: Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers

By Steve Adams | July 12, 2009 at 2:13pm CDT

Ed Price's Baseball Brunch column is up over at fanhouse.com. Let's take a look at the highlights:

Price names several amusing first-half awards, including the "Bg Hitter" award for Albert Pujols, in honor of Albert's mammoth home run that took out the "I" in the Big Mac Land sign at Busch Stadium.
The Red Sox's strategy as the deadline approaches is dependent on Mike Lowell's health. The Sox have looked at Garrett Atkins, but have found Colorado's asking price to be too much. Colorado apparently isn't impressed with Takashi Saito. If Lowell is to miss an extended period of time, Price writes that the Red Sox would have an easier time getting a first baseman and putting Kevin Youkilis at third.
The Orioles know they're sellers, and have good trade pieces in Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez. However, Andy MacPhail has said he wants his team to be competitive in the second half, given the September slides his team has seen the past two seasons. Price briefly speculates that Baez could intrigue the Twins.
The O's would have to be overwhelmed to move George Sherrill, and Jeremy Guthrie is no longer a trade candidate, with Koji Uehara ailing.
Huff may interest Detroit, who needs some left-handed help in the order. They'd like someone who could play in the outfield, however. Price says that the Tigers inquired on Adam Dunn, but the finances didn't line up.
The Rockies are in need of a quality setup man, as they've been using Joel Peralta and Matt Daley to get to Huston Street.
The rumors of Doug Davis going to Milwaukee have died down for now.
The Rays would like to upgrade in right field; they're currently using a platoon of Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler.

Odds & Ends: Halladay, Rays, Indians, Rockies, Draft

By Mike Axisa | July 10, 2009 at 8:01pm CDT

With another round of deals today, we're reminded that the trade deadline is just three weeks away. Here's some evening linkage…

Joe Haggerty rounds up Peter Gammons' weekly appearance on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike this morning. Among many other topics, Gammons touched on Roy Halladay, saying that he believes "there’s about a 20 percent chance that Halladay gets traded."
MLB.com's Zach Schonbrun writes that Rays owner Stuart Sternberg says the team is unlikely to cut payroll during the season, assuming they stay in the hunt of course.
The Indians aren't so lucky. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that when "it comes to setting next year's payroll, the Indians are going to be looking to cut corners because of the economy." He mentions Rafael Betancourt and Kelly Shoppach as candidates to be moved because of their salaries.
The Denver Post's Troy Renck says the Rockies are unlikely to move Ryan Spilborghs and "aren't in a hurry" to trade Garrett Atkins.
Team president Frank Coonelly refuted a report saying that the Pirates had "essentially completed a deal" with fourth round pick Zack Dodson, according to Dejan Kovacevic.
Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that the Orioles have signed four more draft picks.

O’s Could Offer Sano A Deal Soon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2009 at 2:08pm CDT

The Orioles may be close to offering Miguel Angel Sano a deal that could surpass the $2.4MM they awarded top pick Matt Hobgood this year, according to Steve Melewski of MASN.com. ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. said Monday that the Orioles were not going to award Sano more than Hobgood or 2008 draftee Brian Matusz, who received $3.2MM. Now, Melewski says the O's could offer Sano more than $2.4MM, as they value him more than a late first rounder.

The Orioles are expected to wait for confirmation that Sano is 16 years old before committing to the Dominican prospect, who's also being courted by the Twins and Pirates.

Orioles Explore Deals for Pie, Salazar

By Eddie Schmid | July 7, 2009 at 9:26pm CDT

According to Jeff Zrebiec at the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles have a roster decision to make when Cesar Izturis returns from the disabled list, and thus have considered dealing Oscar Salazar and Felix Pie. Both players are out of options and are likely to get claimed if put on waivers, so a deal makes sense, Zrebiec says.

Sources say that the Orioles have discussed Pie in a potential deal for Sox corner infielder Josh Fields, who has struggled this season, though it's not clear if the Sox would still agree to such a trade. Salazar reportedly has drawn interest from some NL teams who value his positional flexibility and bat off the bench.

Marlins Won’t Move Top Prospects For Relief

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 7, 2009 at 4:16pm CDT

The Marlins are about to sign Scott Williamson to a minor league deal, and they have also shown interest in big league relievers, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Every potential trade partner has asked for Logan Morrison or Mike Stanton in return, but the Marlins consider the two prospects untouchable.

The Marlins discussed dealing for George Sherrill or Danys Baez of the Orioles, but recently slowed their pursuit of Baez.

Odds And Ends: O’s, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 7, 2009 at 12:45pm CDT

Odds And Ends: Bedard, Astros, Marquis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 7, 2009 at 10:08am CDT

Links for Tuesday morning…

Be here at 2pm CST for this week's chat.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles controversial acquisition Lastings Milledge, who seems energized and motivated.
It would be hard to argue with Amber Theoharis of MASN.com, who says the Orioles won the Erik Bedard deal since they acquired two All-Stars in George Sherrill and Adam Jones.
As MLB.com's Christian Caple reports, Bedard will be on a 60 pitch limit as he returns to the hill tonight against his former team.
Nomar Garciaparra told Mike McDermott of the Providence Journal that he didn't turn down $60MM from the Red Sox.
Experts consider the Astros' system weak, but at least they have Bud Norris and Yorman Bazardo in Triple A, as Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The Jason Marquis deal has worked out better-than-expected for the Rockies, but, as Dave Krieger of the Denver Post notes, the Rockies have made plenty of smart deals over the years.

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