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Orioles Notes: Free Agents, Davis, Machado

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Orioles baseball operations chief Dan Duquette acknowledges that the pressure is on to add a free agent with Spring Training on the horizon, according to Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun, but warns that the club aims to build from within. "If people have the expectation that we're going to sign a lot of high-profile free agents and that's going to be the answer, that is not who the Orioles are about," Duquette cautioned. Schmuck feels, however, that the O's are likely to sign "at least one" of the remaining veteran free-agent starters. Here's more Orioles notes, as the club wraps up its FanFest: 

  • Chris Davis appeared to be excited by Duquette's disclosure earlier today that the club had offered him an extension. "Really? Did he say anything else? … Keep me up to speed on that," the slugger said while speaking with Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com and other reporters. Davis, who will earn $10.35MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, figures to be expensive to lock up long-term. 
  • While Duquette wants to bring more pitching into the fold, skipper Buck Showalter doesn't think it's essential, reports Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com. “I don’t think it has to happen," the manager said. "Just because somebody has played X number of years doesn’t make him a good presence."
  • Manny Machado says he may have to relearn now to run as he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery, according to a Kubatko report. "I've run my entire life how I did last year and I've had two injuries in the past three years," Machado said. "That's definitely not right." The infielder underwent testing yesterday to analyze his running technique.
  • Charlie Wilmoth rounded up more Orioles links in a post this afternoon.

AL East Notes: Burnett, Jays, O’s, Bonifacio, Yankees

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It might not be likely that the Blue Jays will sign A.J. Burnett, but in some respects, he would be a very good fit for them, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca. Burnett won't require the team that signs him to forfeit a draft pick and likely wouldn't want a long-term deal, and he arguably performed better in 2013 than all the other remaining free-agent pitchers, like Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez and Bronson Arroyo. A return to Toronto might be a longshot for Burnett, though — he would likely prefer to be closer to his home in Maryland, and had previously said he was deciding between pitching for the Pirates and retiring. Here are more notes from the AL East.

  • Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette brushed aside a report that his team was "all-in" on Burnett, saying that he was "not sure where that report came from," MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reports. The Orioles do, however, remain very interested in signing a veteran starting pitcher. "Some of these young pitchers who we really like should be able to help us later on in the season, but if we could sign a veteran starter, I think that would help fill out our ballclub," he said.
  • Emilio Bonifacio, who the Royals designated for assignment in a surprise move today, could make an interesting candidate for the Yankees' open bench infielder job, Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues writes. If they want to acquire him, though, they'll likely need to do so via trade, since the Dodgers also need infield help and could make a trade for him themselves.

Orioles Notes: Hardy, Wieters, Davis

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Here are a few notes from Orioles FanFest this morning.

  • Before the start of the season, the O's will try to engage shortstop J.J. Hardy in extension discussions, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Hardy is in the final year of a three-year, $22.25MM deal.
  • The Orioles have tried to extend Chris Davis, but with no success so far, Kubatko tweets. Davis is due to become a free agent after the 2015 season. He will make $10.35MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility after a monster .286/.370/.634 season in 2013.
  • Orioles executive Dan Duquette says the O's have not tried to deal catcher Matt Wieters this offseason, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Like Davis, Wieters is eligible for free agency following the 2015 season.

Free Agent Notes: Orioles, Arroyo, Capuano

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Here are a few updates on some free agent situations around baseball:

  • The Orioles expect their payroll to top $100MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, though it remains to be seen how much over that threshold the club will go. As things stand, Baltimore's player salaries add up to about $85MM, leaving plenty of room to add.
  • Right now, the O's remain in contact with Nelson Cruz, A.J. Burnett, and Fernando Rodney, Rosenthal tweets. The team could also be involved on Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana if they fail to land Burnett, says Rosenthal.
  • Free agent starter Bronson Arroyo has asked at least one club for a three-year deal within the last two weeks, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. The durable veteran recently said he had yet to receive an offer, though it could be that he is only willing to field longer-term offers at the present time.
  • Lefty Chris Capuano has dropped his ask from two years to one, Olney tweets. The 35-year-old should be an attractive option on a single-season commitment.

Orioles To Sign Alex Gonzalez

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The Orioles have agreed to sign shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The 15-year MLB veteran turns 37 in two weeks.

Gonzalez has seen just over 200 plate appearances for the Brewers over the past two seasons. He was off to a nice start to the 2012 campaign when a knee injury ended his year. He struggled to a .177/.203/.230 line in 118 plate appearances last year before Milwaukee cut ties.

Latest On Nelson Cruz

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Just yesterday, the reports indicated that the Mariners were "back in business" in their pursuits of Nelson Cruz and Fernando Rodney, and their pursuit of Cruz appears to be picking up. MLB Network Radio's Jim Bowden said on the air today that the Mariners could make an offer to Cruz as early as today (Twitter link from MLBN Radio).

Bowden also tweeted earlier today (prior to the above report) that the market for Cruz currently consists of the Mariners, Orioles and Rangers, with Texas only serving as a fallback option for Cruz should his market completely crash. Seattle is "clearly the best fit" for Cruz in Bowden's mind, he added.

Reports on the Mariners' ability to spend (or lack thereof) have gone back and forth since the team's blockbuster signing of Robinson Cano earlier this offseason. GM Jack Zduriencik quickly followed that mega-deal up by signing Corey Hart and swinging a trade for Logan Morrison, but since that time all has been quiet for the Mariners in terms of significant additions. Cruz is the most powerful bat left on the market, which would make him a welcome addition to a Mariners lineup that is in need of some thump even after the Cano deal.

Cruz would add another corner/DH bat to a mix that already includes Hart, Morrison and Justin Smoak, and his questionable defensive reputation would be magnified by the fact that other corner outfield options (such as Hart and Morrison) aren't considered strong defenders either. Mariners right fielders combined to bat just .239/.290/.400 in 2013, however, so Cruz's bat would be a clear upgrade.

As for the Orioles, they lack an obvious answer in left field and could also upgrade at designated hitter, though they recently signed Delmon Young to a minor league deal and could be looking at him as a potential platoon partner for David Lough in left field. From an offensive standpoint, however, Cruz would likely be an upgrade over that platoon or Baltimore's in-house candidates at designated hitter.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Mets, Phillies, Orioles

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Here are some notes from around the game's eastern divisions: 

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos hopes his club can benefit from the qualifying offer system given its array of draft picks, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports. With two protected first rounders, the Jays would stand to lose only a second-round choice by signing a free agent who comes burdened with draft pick compensation. "It's significant," said Anthopoulos. "I think if we had to give up a first round pick, it would changes thngs in a significant manner. I think that's where the draft pick compensation component is impacting some of these clubs." Though he said that "there's still value with the second round pick … and you still build that into an offer," Anthopoulos explained that "it's not close to the value of round one."
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson says he is "still looking for more players," reports ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin, but emphasized that he likes the club as currently constituted. "I think we've spent the fifth-most of any team in Major League Baseball on free agents this offseason," said Alderson. "And we might do something else before Spring Training starts."
  • Meanwhile, two New York starting pitching options — the recently signed John Lannan and Daisuke Matsuzaka — have opt-out provisions in their contracts, Rubin reports. Lannan has a June 14 date in his deal, while Matsuzaka has the standard Type XX(B) contract (for minor league free agents with six-plus years of service), which includes a June 1 opt-out. 
  • The Phillies should act on their reported interest in free agent starter A.J. Burnett, opines Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. With Roberto Hernandez a puzzling addition and international signee Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez still a "huge wild card," in Zolecki's view, the Phils should go hard for Burnett unless the club really does not believe it is a likely contender.
  • We heard earlier today that the Orioles and Rays are also possible contender's for Burnett's services.
  • The Orioles are interested in bringing back Jason Hammel, but probably are not his likely landing spot since they would not guarantee him a starting role, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore executive VP Dan Duquette also acknowledged that "it would be nice" if the club could announce a significant addition at the team's fan event on Saturday, but of course emphasized that the event would not sway the decisionmaking.
  • Baltimore announced a pair of international signings: 17-year-old Mexican Carlos Diaz and 16-year-old Dominican Jomar Reyes. As MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli reports (Twitter links), both teenagers are expected to start out in the Gulf Coast League. Duquette said that multiple other clubs were involved, and labeled Diaz and Reyes as "potential everyday major league players that can hit in the middle of the lineup." The indicated said that the two received "substantial" bonuses, Connolly reports on Twitter.

Orioles “All In” On Burnett, Rays Also Interested

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The Orioles are "all in" on free agent starter A.J. Burnett, reports Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (via Twitter). Also in the mix are the Rays, according to Gammons.

Burnett's reported decision to enter the open market promises to have a major impact on how the remaining free agent starting pitching situation plays out. In certain respects, Burnett is the most attractive remaining starter. (In particular, he was outstanding last year and figures to be had on a short-term deal.) As the newly reported interest of the Rays demonstrates, he could appeal to a variety of clubs, including those that had not been rumored to be players on the rest of the market.

But, as Gammons says, Burnett has only just begun the process of chosing a club. With pitchers and catchers reporting within a matter of weeks, and the starting pitching market still de-thawing from its Tanaka freeze, Burnett could potentially create further hold-up on the rest of the market. Teams like the Orioles, for instance, might conceivably hold off on other top options like Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana until Burnett has made his decision. And, as I noted previously, if Burnett lands with a club that had intended to add a starter, there could be less demand left for the other best open-market arms.

Quick Hits: Yoon, Hardy, Arroyo, Wells

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After nine seasons with the Tigers, Kirk Gibson left Detroit for free agency, signing a three-year, $4.5MM deal with the Dodgers on this day 26 years ago.  The Dodgers immediately got a return on their investment as Gibson won the 1988 NL MVP Award (hitting .290/.377/.483 with 25 homers and 106 runs) as he and Orel Hershiser led Los Angeles to the pennant.  Knee and hamstring injuries left Gibson questionable for the World Series, however, and Gibson made just one plate appearance in the 1988 Fall Classic…but it was certainly a big one.  Ironically, Gibson is today firmly aligned against the Dodgers in his current role as the Diamondbacks' manager.

Here are some items from around baseball…

  • Scott Boras, Suk-min Yoon's agent, said that "many teams," including the Red Sox, were interested in his client, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link).  The Sox were linked to Yoon earlier this month though it's unknown if Boston is one of the four clubs who have made contract offers to the Korean righty.  Boras said that "we'll know more in 10 days," which would seemingly give credence to rumors that Yoon will soon sign with a team.
  • The Orioles were rumored to be considering a contract extenson for J.J. Hardy this winter, though there has been a lack of movement on this front.  CSNBaltimore.com's Rich Dubroff wonders if the O's are waiting for Stephen Drew's free agent situation to be resolved since the two shortstops have comparable career numbers.  Hardy is scheduled for free agency next winter and his long-term future in Baltimore is in some question given that shortstop is Manny Machado's natural position.
  • A source with direct knowledge of Bronson Arroyo's negotiations tells MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo (Twitter link) to "don't believe everything you read" in regards to Arroyo's claim that he hasn't received a firm contract offer this winter.
  • Vernon Wells is guaranteed $21MM for the 2014 season after being released by the Yankees, and since Wells lives in a state (Texas) with no income tax, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal notes that Wells could actually end up losing money if he plays for another team this season.  Of course, losing a little more than $1MM in taxes may not be a major concern for Wells (who has banked over $110MM for his career, according to Baseball Reference) if he wants to continue his career.
  • For the first time, MLB teams could sign more free agents to multiyear contracts than one-year deals, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron writes.  With more money (particularly from TV deals) coming into the game, Cameron theorizes that teams are more willing to make longer commitments to players.

Minor Moves: Chad Tracy

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Here are today's minor moves from around the league…

  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (via Twitter) that the Orioles have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran minor leaguer Chad Tracy. Tracy, the son of former big league manager Jim Tracy, does not receive an invite to Spring Training. Not to be confused by the former Diamondbacks and Nationals third baseman of the same name, the 28-year-old Tracy split last season between the Royals' Triple-A affiliate and the independent Atlantic League's York Revolution. A career .256/.332/.448 hitter at the Triple-A level, Tracy has experience at first base, in left field and at catcher.
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