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Orioles Have Interest In Johnny Damon

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The Orioles appear to have some interest in Johnny Damon, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Luke Scott's deal with the Rays likely means Damon won't return to Tampa Bay, but the Orioles might have room for the designated hitter.

Damon, 38, is just 277 career hits away from 3,000, so the milestone is within reach. He hit .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers and 29 doubles in 582 plate appearances as the Rays' DH in 2011. Relative to the league as a whole, he hit well (110 OPS+), but DHs averaged a better batting line this past season: .265/.340/.429. It's worth noting Damon has played in at least 140 games every season since 1996. 

I examined Damon's free agent stock in November, concluding that another modest one-year deal is likely. This is the first public indication that a team other than the Rays has interest in Damon. A return to the Athletics could also be possible in my opinion. As Heyman pointed out on Twitter yesterday, Damon is 'nomad' spelled backwards, which is appropriate for a player who's about to join his fourth team in as many seasons.

Adam Jones Talks Extension

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Orioles center fielder Adam Jones has appeared in more than his share of trade rumors this offseason, but there’s a chance he’ll stay in Baltimore long-term. Jones told WBAL 1090 in Baltimore this week that he’s not ruling out an extension should the Orioles pursue one with him.

“That has not been presented,” he said. “It’s kind of like looking into the future, which is a hard thing to do.”

Jones projects to earn $5.8MM or so in 2012 as a second time arbitration eligible player. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested in August that a four-year extension in the $40MM range could work for the Orioles and the CAA client. Jones, 26, is on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season. He posted a .280/.319/.466 line with 25 homers last year.

AL East Notes: Damon, Maddon, Scott, Kuroda

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On this date in 2009, the Red Sox signed John Smoltz to a one-year contract. He struggled through 40 innings in Boston before moving on to St. Louis, where he pitched to considerably better results in seven starts. Here's the latest on the AL East…

  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wonder if Johnny Damon could be a fit for the Orioles in 2012.
  • The Rays and Joe Maddon have made progress in extension talks for the skipper, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Maddon’s contract expires after the 2012 season, but both sides have expressed interest in working an extended agreement out before then.
  • Luke Scott told reporters that he won’t be ready to play the outfield until May or June, because his shoulder injury is still healing, Topkin tweets. Scott, whose deal with the Rays became official today, will DH right away and may play some first base.
  • Scott says the Orioles never made him a firm offer after non-tendering him, Kubatko tweets.
  • The Red Sox are still in talks with the agent for Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
  • Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein addressed his departure from Boston and other related topics on WEEI this morning and we have the details here.

Orioles Notes: Chen, Roberts, Peterson

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Luke Scott hit 84 home runs with the Orioles from 2008-11, but his next homer will come as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. The 33-year-old agreed to terms with the Rays earlier today. Here's the latest on his former team… 

  • Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen has “a good fastball and very good control and a good breaking ball,” GM Dan Duquette told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Chen is a polished pitcher with the physical skills to become a frontline starter, Duquette said. The GM is looking to add durable arms to his rotation, since Jeremy Guthrie was the lone Baltimore pitcher to reach the 200-inning threshold in 2011.
  • The Orioles remain concerned about Brian Roberts’ health and are looking for a leadoff hitter, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. He suggests Endy Chavez projects as the team’s leadoff hitter at this point.
  • The Orioles have been negotiating with former Mets, Brewers and Athletics pitching coach Rick Peterson for more than a week about a pitching role within the organization, Connolly tweets. Duquette remains hopeful that the sides will agree to a deal.

Melvin Mora Intends To Play In 2012

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January 11th: Mora has not retired and he intends to play in 2012, agent Eric Goldschmidt told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

December 29th: Utilityman Melvin Mora has announced his retirement, reports Rafael Rojas Cremonesi of Meridiano Deportes (via Twitter).  The 39-year-old Mora was released by the Diamondbacks in June and had hoped to play for the Orioles or another east coast team in 2012, but instead has hung up the cleats after 13 Major League seasons.

Mora signed an amateur contract with the Astros in 1991 and finally reached the Majors in 1999 as a New York Met.  He made an immediate impression in his rookie year, posting a 1.143 OPS in 16 plate appearances in the 1999 NLCS as the Mets lost in six games to the Braves. 

After being dealt to the Orioles in July 2000 as part of a four-player package for Mike Bordick, Mora became a Baltimore fixture for much of the decade.  Mora was a two-time All-Star for the O's, hitting .294/.366/.469 between 2003-08 (including a league-best .419 OBP in 2004) and settling in as the Orioles' third baseman in 2004 after playing all over the diamond in his first four seasons with the team.  The O's declined his contract option after the 2009 campaign and Mora went on to play a season each with the Rockies and D'backs.

Mora retires with 1503 hits, 171 homers, and a .277/.350/.431 slash line in 1556 Major League games. According to Baseball Reference, Mora made just under $40.5MM during his career.

Orioles Notes: Johnson, Jones, Scott

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The Orioles announced a three-year deal with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen today, but that’s far from the only news to trickle out of Baltimore today. Here’s the latest on the club…

  • Now that they’ve signed Chen, the Orioles are going forward with Jim Johnson in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweets. Johnson, 28, posted a 2.67 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 91 innings of relief for Baltimore in 2011 and there's been talk of moving him to the rotation.
  • The Orioles haven’t discussed a possible contract extension with Adam Jones, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Jones projects to earn $5.8MM or so in 2012 as a second time arbitration eligible player
  • GM Dan Duquette has had contact with free agent Luke Scott, Ghiroli tweets. However, no deal appears to be brewing between the Orioles and Scott, who got non-tendered in December.
  • Kubatko suggests Chen, Jeremy Guthrie and Tommy Hunter will be in next year's rotation and that hopefuls such as Zach Britton and Brian Matusz will have to earn their rotation spots by pitching well in Spring Training.

Orioles Sign Wei-Yin Chen

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The Orioles reached an agreement with lefty Wei-Yin Chen on a three-year deal worth less than $12MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The Orioles have since announced the deal, noting that Chen is the first Taiwanese player in team history and the contract includes a club option for 2015.

As a Taiwanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball, Chen had free agency negotiated into his contract with the Chunichi Dragons.  Last year in Japan, Chen posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings.  He ranked 19th on Keith Law's top 50 free agents list.  Law offered a positive scouting report, concluding that Chen "offers more upside than the typical NPB refugee, both due to age and the chance for the slider to become a consistently plus pitch."  Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette described Chen in a statement: "Chen works off of a 92-94 mile per hour fastball and he uses a hard, slurve-like breaking ball as an out-pitch.  He has exceptional command and we like the quality of his pitches to help our team."

Duquette has gone the international route to supplement his rotation, having already added an NPB starter in December in Tsuyoshi Wada.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Orioles were close to a multiyear deal with Chen.

Orioles Designate Kyle Hudson For Assignment

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The Orioles announced they've designated outfielder Kyle Hudson for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for newly-signed lefty Wei-Ying Chen.

In the minors Hudson hit .296/.375/.336 in 485 plate appearances, ascending from High-A to the Majors with stops at each level along the way.  Hudson, 25, played mostly center and left field.  In a chat yesterday, Baseball America's Will Lingo wrote that the speedy Hudson is "a premium athlete, but he's still refining his baseball skills, particularly his swing."

Orioles Re-Sign Willie Eyre

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The Orioles re-signed righty reliever Willie Eyre to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.  The Orioles had designated Eyre for assignment upon acquiring Dana Eveland in December, and non-tendered him a few days later.

Eyre, a 33-year-old Sosnick Cobbe client, had 18 1/3 big league innings in 2011.  For the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, he posted a 3.48 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 0.73 HR/9 in 62 innings.

Orioles Close To Deal With Wei-Yin Chen

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The Orioles are close to a multiyear deal with Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  As a foreign player in Nippon Professional Baseball, Chen had free agency negotiated into his contract with the Chunichi Dragons.

Last year in Japan, Chen posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings.  He ranked 19th on Keith Law's top 50 free agents list.  Law offered a positive scouting report, concluding that Chen "offers more upside than the typical NPB refugee, both due to age and the chance for the slider to become a consistently plus pitch."  Chen, 26, throws relatively hard for a southpaw, as high as 92-94 when he's right according to Law.

New Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has gone the international route to supplement his rotation, having already added an NPB starter in December in Tsuyoshi Wada.

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