Orioles Rumors

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Pedro, A’s, Padres

By Tim Dierkes | March 11, 2009 at 8:03pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Orioles president Andy MacPhail doesn’t seem interested, but Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun quizzed various players on the team about the possibility of signing Pedro Martinez.
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says Pedro was hitting 92 yesterday and his fastball had the old-school tail on it.
The AP reports that MLB is investigating the ages of 42 Dominican prospects.
RotoAuthority names 20 undervalued hitters for 2009 fantasy drafts.
Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo spoke highly of Stephen Strasburg, talking to Ben Goessling of the Washington Times.
ESPN’s Buster Olney learned that the A’s are open-minded to Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and/or Vin Mazzaro cracking the Opening Day rotation. Jerry Crasnick has more on Oakland’s next Big Three.
Olney also says the Padres will be "scouring the earth for pitching" over the next few weeks. This jives with Tom Krasovic’s recent article.

Rosenthal On Pedro, A-Rod, Beimel, Ohman

By Tim Dierkes | March 10, 2009 at 9:12am CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

One executive tells Rosenthal Pedro Martinez seeks a contract similar to the one John Smoltz received (a $5.5MM base plus $5.5MM incentives). Rosenthal’s speculative candidates for Pedro include the Dodgers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. He says the A’s, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are out.
Rosenthal does not expect a major acquisition by the Yankees to cover for Alex Rodriguez. He adds that the Yanks will not collect insurance on A-Rod’s salary.
In addition to Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez has a clause in his contract prohibiting his team from offering arbitration if he’s a Type A free agent after the season. Orlando Hudson and Bobby Abreu do not have such clauses.
Two GMs told Rosenthal Joe Beimel wants a one-year, $2.5MM deal, but the pitcher’s agent Joe Sroba says they have’t gotten that specific. Sroba says new teams are in the mix for Beimel and he’s waiting for one to be "aggressive and sincere in their pursuit."
The White Sox and Dodgers are two teams in on free agent lefty Will Ohman.

Orioles Agree To Terms With 23

By Steve Adams | March 8, 2009 at 4:24pm CDT

According to a press release, the Orioles have agreed to terms with 23 of their pre-arbitration players.

Some of the more recognizable names on the list include Jeremy Guthrie, Rich Hill, Adam Jones, and Felix Pie. We already heard about Guthrie’s deal earlier today. He’ll take a pay cut heading into the 2009 season.

Peter Schmuck has the entire list.

Orioles, Guthrie Agree To Terms

By Nat Boyle | March 8, 2009 at 11:18am CDT

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun reports the Orioles have agreed to terms on a $650,000 one-year deal with Jeremy Guthrie.

Guthrie earned $770,000 last year and has taken a pay cut on account of his salary being incommensurate with his service time. To contrast, Schmuck notes Nick Markakis made $455,000 in 2008 with similar service time.

Pedro Martinez Unlikely For Orioles

By Tim Dierkes | March 7, 2009 at 5:20pm CDT

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun talked to Orioles president Andy MacPhail, who admitted the team had internal discussions about free agent starter Pedro Martinez. However, Schmuck learned that the O’s are unlikely to sign Martinez and have not been in contact with his agent. Martinez didn’t drum up much interest this winter, and he’s hoping a fine WBC showing will improve his stock. Today in the Dominican Republic’s 3-2 upset loss to the Netherlands, Pedro tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Miguel Tejada Still Fond Of Orioles

By Tim Dierkes | March 5, 2009 at 8:37am CDT

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, who said:

"I always enjoyed to be with the Orioles. I’m a free agent this year. You never know. I might come back."

The Orioles’ shortstop situation will depend on the performance of Cesar Izturis, who they signed at $2.4MM for ’09 and $2.6MM for ’10. But even if Izturis meets expectations, the Orioles will have a vacancy at third base since Melvin Mora’s contract will be up.

Offseason In Review: Baltimore Orioles

By Tim Dierkes | March 4, 2009 at 2:57pm CDT

The Orioles are next in our Offseason In Review series. Click here to see what we wrote about the team on September 4th.

Additions: Koji Uehara, Ty Wigginton, Rich Hill, Felix Pie, Cesar Izturis, Gregg Zaun, Ryan Freel, Adam Eaton, John Parrish, Mark Hendrickson, David Pauley, Brad Hennessey, Robby Hammock, Chad Moeller, Chris Gomez, Donnie Murphy, Jolbert Cabrera, Lou Palmisano

Subtractions: Kevin Millar, Ramon Hernandez, Daniel Cabrera, Adam Loewen, Jay Payton, Juan Castro, Alex Cintron, Freddie Bynum, Brandon Fahey, Garrett Olson, Brian Burres, Lance Cormier, Chad Bradford (midseason), Steve Trachsel (midseason), Randor Bierd

In September, I said that I didn’t see the need for the Orioles to throw away $5MM+ on a veteran innings eater despite their rotation uncertainty. They did just that on Uehara (assuming he can indeed eat innings). I don’t mind the signing though – the dollars weren’t huge and the team entered the Japanese market. And maybe there’s something to be said for adding a little stability behind Jeremy Guthrie.

The Orioles’ rotation, dead last in the AL in ERA last year, almost can’t help but be better after subtracting the 6.00+ ERAs of Burres, Olson, and others. What can we say about Uehara, Hill, Eaton, Hendrickson, Parrish, Pauley, and Hennessey? They’re different, at least, and aside from Uehara they cost next to nothing. Even if one works out it’s a win. In a perfect world the Orioles will have Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and Jake Arrieta in the 2010 rotation, so most of this winter’s imports are placeholders. Wigginton, Zaun, and Izturis also fit the placeholder mold; they weren’t terribly expensive.

Over $30MM will come off the books for the O’s after the ’09 season, so Andy MacPhail can make a surgical free agent strike if the team is ready to contend. Matt Wieters may be an offensive force in the bigs by then, and you have to love Baltimore’s outfield. MacPhail’s biggest needs will be the positions easiest to fill – the infield corners and the DH spot.

MacPhail’s Nick Markakis extension should be commended; such deals are usually favorable to the team. Aspects of the Brian Roberts extension can be questioned, but it’ll hardly cripple the team.

Bottom line: 2009 is a year of transition for the Orioles, a team that is getting younger, better, and cheaper. MacPhail’s offseason additions didn’t set the club back and a few could turn into long-term pieces.

Orioles Sign Adam Eaton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 1, 2009 at 2:53pm CDT

According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports the Orioles signed Adam Eaton to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training. Eaton, 31, was released by the Phillies Friday.

Scott Lauber of the Wilmington News Journal adds that Eaton, who cleared waivers, will only cost the O’s $400K if he makes the club. The Phillies are responsible for the rest of the $8.65MM owed to Eaton.

Odds And Ends: Orioles, Bowden, Nathan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 1, 2009 at 2:35pm CDT

A few links for Sunday afternoon…

According to MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin the Orioles used "number crunching and statistical analysis" to compare Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis to similar past and present players before locking them up to deals worth $40MM and $66MM, respectively.
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Joe Nathan’s happy to see Jonathan Papelbon making lots of money this year ($6.25MM) because it’s good for closers in general.
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out the absurdity of the Manny Ramirez negotiations and suggests the structure of a deal that could work for both sides. It’s been nearly four months since the Dodgers made their initial offer of two years and $45MM.
Pete McElroy of MASN Sports reports that Dmitri Young’s "shocked" to see Jim Bowden resign. Young, who first dealt with Bowden on the Reds, spoke glowingly of his former GM.
According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck Jim Leyland confirmed that the Tigers had some offseason discussions about Juan Cruz.
The draft’s still three months away, but Keith Law of ESPN.com is already putting together scouting reports about some top amateur players.
MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer dreams up a deal that sends Adrian Gonzalez and Jake Peavy to the Angels for 10 players.

Odds and Ends: Bordick, Sheets, Bowden

By | February 26, 2009 at 11:32am CDT

Here are your Thursday links…

Former MLB shortstop Mike Bordick has been hired by the Blue Jays as a minor league infield instructor.
Richard Durett of the Dallas Morning News has the transcript of a radio interview with Rangers owner Tom Hicks. It sounds like his club will make another run at Ben Sheets once he’s back to full health.
The Orioles and Cardinals might share players this spring, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. "My gut is there would be nothing wrong with it,” said St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. "We’re in different leagues." UPDATE: That idea was shot down pretty quickly.
Mark DeRosa told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that he left the Cubs on good terms. There were rumors of a feud between he and manager Lou Piniella.
Contrary to some reports, the Nationals have absolutely not contacted Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava about possibly replacing Jim Bowden.
Check out Tim’s interview with "The Yankees: Minors to Majors," a blog.

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