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East Notes: Bethancourt, Orioles, Yankees

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After having agreed to terms with catcher Tyler Flowers, the Braves seem likely to trade Christian Bethancourt, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. With Flowers likely to share the Braves’ catching duties with A.J. Pierzynski, Bethancourt now appears to be on the outside looking in. The 24-year-old hit just .200/.225/.290 in 160 big-league plate appearances in 2015 (although he did fare much better at Triple-A, batting .327/.359/.480) and struggled with passed balls. He’s still young and spent several years regarded as a top prospect, so one would think he would be an interesting option for a rebuilding club. Of course, the Braves themselves are rebuilding, and the Flowers signing suggests quite strongly that they’re skeptical, at the very least, of Bethancourt’s long-term prospects. Here are more notes from the East Coast.

  • The Orioles have turned to the trade market to find a starting pitcher to replace Wei-Yin Chen, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli writes (Twitter links). They have “a few” standing offers out to teams in return for starting pitching. With Chen gone, the Orioles’ top four currently includes Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez and Kevin Gausman, all of them righties. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reported this week that the team would prefer to add a lefty, although one option could be using lefty reliever Brian Matusz as a starter. “We’d be OK with five righties, but ideally we’d like to get some balance to our lineup and our rotation,” Orioles exec Dan Duquette said.
  • Other teams have asked about Orioles minor leaguers Jomar Reyes, Chance Sisco and Tanner Scott in trade talks, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski tweets. Reyes, an 18-year-old third baseman, ranks fourth on MLB.com’s list of the top Orioles prospects, with the writeup noting his terrific raw power; Sisco, a catcher, ranks eighth, and Scott, a lefty, ranks 21st.
  • The Yankees’ current plan is to trade Brett Gardner or Andrew Miller for a starting pitcher, or to keep them both for next season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Yankees exec Brian Cashman said last weekend that the most likely outcome is that the team will keep both players.

Reactions To The Zobrist Deal & Castro Trade

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Here’s a roundup of reactions to Ben Zobrist’s reported four-year, $56MM pact with the Cubs and their trade of infielder Starlin Castro to the Yankees for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan.

  • The Cubs are hoping Zobrist’s decreased production last year was due primarily to his knee injury and that he can approach the levels of performance he had previously established, ESPN’s Jonah Keri writes. WAR rated Zobrist as one of baseball’s best players from 2009 through 2014 and, as Keri notes, Zobrist’s versatility added value that WAR doesn’t reflect.
  • Zobrist’s deal should help move the markets for hitters like Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton and Alex Gordon, August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs writes. Fagerstrom also notes that the structure of Zobrist’s contract (which only pays him $10MM next season) and the salary-shedding trade of Castro to the Yankees strongly suggest that the Cubs can continue to make moves, particularly given that they were willing to bid heavily on David Price.
  • The Zobrist contract and the Castro deal improve the Cubs, but perhaps not enough to justify the expense, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider-only). Exchanging Castro for Zobrist and Adam Warren should improve the Cubs by “a couple wins” next season, but the end of Zobrist’s contract could be ugly, given that advanced fielding numbers suggest his defense has already declined.
  • Zobrist is a great match for the Cubs, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi writes. Since Zobrist rarely strikes out, he fits well with the strikeout-heavy Cubs offense, and since he can play multiple positions, he’ll help the Cubs find the best spots to use young players like Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez. Meanwhile, they can effectively pay three quarters of Zobrist’s contract with money they previously owed Castro.

Yankees To Acquire Starlin Castro For Adam Warren, Brendan Ryan

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The Yankees and Cubs have agreed to a trade that will send Starlin Castro to New York, pending medical reviews.  The deal will also see right-hander Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan (listed as a player to be named later) heading to the Cubs.

Castro, 26 in March, is a three-time All-Star that struggled mightily for much of the 2015 campaign but had a strong finish to the season and an even better showing in the playoffs. Overall, Castro batted .265/.296/.375 last season, marking the second time in the past three seasons in which he’s delivered a well-below average output on offense. However, the 2014 campaign was excellent, as Castro batted .292/.339/.438 with 14 home runs. The Yankees will be counting on Castro to look more like his 2014 and the late-2015 versions of himself over the course of the next four seasons that remain on his contract.

A total of $38MM remains on the seven-year, $60MM contract extension Castro signed three years ago. With the Yankees, he will, presumably, step in as the everyday second baseman for the foreseeable future. His addition calls into question what the Yanks will do with incumbent second basemen Dustin Ackley and Rob Refsnyder, who had previously been slated to platoon in 2016. While one could remain on the roster as a utility option, it’s tough to envision the club keeping both players and Castro on the active roster next year.

Warren, 28, will give the Cubs a right-hander that was one of the more valuable swingmen in the game last season. The former fourth-round pick appeared in 43 games for the Yankees, making 17 starts and 26 relief appearances en route to a career-high 131 1/3 innings. In that time, Warren posted a 3.29 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 45.2 percent ground-ball rate. Those numbers are more or less commensurate with the production he delivered from 2013-14 while working almost exclusively out of the bullpen (101 relief appearances, two starts) and can be a reasonable expectation for him going forward. (If anything, one could perhaps forecast slightly better results due to the move to the National League.) He can be controlled for another three years in arbitration.

Ryan, 34 in March, exercised his $1MM player option this offseason. Ryan has not been terribly productive since coming to New York, taking just 289 plate appearances and compiling a poor .201/.244/.271 batting line over his three years with the team. Still, he is valued most for his glove and he can contribute at second base and in other infield roles.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter) and ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter) first reported that Castro was New York-bound.  YES Network’s Jack Curry (Twitter link) reported that Adam Warren and a PTBNL were going to the Cubs.   Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that the PTBNL was Brendan Ryan.  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cubs, Yankees Discussing Castro Trade; Gardner Not Involved

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5:08pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that Gardner is not part of the current talks between the Yankees and Cubs. Sherman adds that the two teams are working on multiple scenarios in trade talks. Sherman also tweets that Jacoby Ellsbury isn’t involved in talks. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports characterizes the trade talks as “in early stages” (Twitter link).

4:53pm: The Cubs and Yankees are discussing a trade that would send infielder Starlin Castro to New York, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Rosenthal recently reported that the Cubs were in on Ben Zobrist but needed other moves to come together before they could bring him on board. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reported last month that the Yankees and Cubs had discussed a trade involving Castro and Brett Gardner, though it’s not clear if Gardner is involved in this iteration of talks.

Moving Castro would open up second base to either give Javier Baez a full-time look or to clear a spot for a Zobrist signing. On paper, a swap of Castro and Gardner would make sense. The remaining $38MM on Castro’s contract is an exact match with the remaining $38MM on Gardner’s deal, though Castro is guaranteed that sum over the life of four full seasons, whereas Gardner is promised $38MM over the next three years. Both players have a club option on their deal — a $16MM club option for the 2020 season ($1MM buyout) in Castro’s case and a $12.5MM club option for the 2019 season ($2MM buyout) in Gardner’s case.

Castro signed a seven-year, $60MM extension with Chicago back in August of 2012 at the tail end of what was a second consecutive All-Star season for the then-22-year-old. Since that time, he’s sandwiched an excellent 2014 campaign in between a pair of awful seasons at the plate, leading to a cumulative .265/.303/.383 batting line from 2013-15.

Gardner, meanwhile, had a typically strong first half but wilted in the second half of 2015 as he battled a wrist injury. Yankees hitting coach Alan Cockrell told the Journal News’ Chad Jennings last month that a seemingly innocuous hit-by-pitch early in the season actually submarined Gardner’s production in the second half. Gardner’s bat began to fade once he had received the maximum-allotted three cortisone shots a player can have in any one season.

Infield Notes: Zobrist, Davis, Lind, Moreland, Walker, Angels, Flowers, Reynolds, Matsuda

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The Mets are “pretty optimistic” of landing free agent infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. New York expects a decision today or tomorrow, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). While the team has yet to formally offer a fourth year, says Sherman, it would work out a fourth year if Zobrist indicates he’d like to join the club.

Here are some more updates on the market for infielders:

  • The Orioles are meeting today with agent Scott Boras regarding free agent first baseman Chris Davis, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. As Kubatko notes, Boras also represents Pedro Alvarez, who could theoretically also represent an option for Baltimore — at least if the team misses on Davis.
  • Brewers first baseman Adam Lind appears to have a broad potential market, with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeting that at least 12 clubs have “checked in” on him.
  • One such team is the Orioles, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter), who says that Baltimore has inquired on both Lind and Mitch Moreland of the Rangers. But the O’s don’t appear to “match up” with Milwaukee on Lind, Haudricourt adds via Twitter.
  • There’s no realistic possibility of an extension between Neil Walker and the Pirates, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. GM Neal Huntington says that he feels the team has sufficient internal options — and acquisition possibilities — to “back-fill if Walker is dealt.
  • The Pirates’ talks with the Rangers on Moreland have “cooled” but are still alive, Biertempfel further reports.
  • Though there’s continuing interest, the Angels don’t appear likely to land Howie Kendrick in free agency, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. The veteran second baseman is probably going to be too expensive given the team’s other needs, per Fletcher.
  • The Angels could look to the Diamondbacks’ stockpile of young infielders to fill one of the club’s potential openings, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times suggests. Los Angeles could offer starting pitching in return.
  • Free agent backstop Tyler Flowers is reportedly deciding between the Yankees, Braves, and Rays, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter links). He’d potentially serve as Brian McCann’s backup in New York, says Hoch. That could, in theory at least, make fellow backstops Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine available to utilize in a trade. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported on the Braves interest this morning via Twitter, saying that the club is considering Flowers in an effort to avoid over-exposing free agent addition A.J. Pierzynski. If Flowers goes to Atlanta, it would immediately raise yet more questions about the future of young receiver Christian Bethancourt.
  • Free agent slugger Mark Reynolds is drawing interest from the Rockies, Cardinals, Giants, and Pirates, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Among the teams with interest in Japanese third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda are the White Sox and Padres, Heyman adds on Twitter.

Yankees Notes: Davis, Marlins, Miller, Eovaldi

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The Yankees aren’t known for having quiet offseasons, yet their relative lack of moves this winter isn’t just the calm before the storm, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes.  “There’s a reason they haven’t been attached to any big free agent.  They’re not in on them,” one Major League executive tells Feinsand.  Another exec says the Yankees are being truthful when they say they’re not planning to add to their payroll, as “that’s what they’ve been telling everybody publicly and privately.”  Here’s some more from the Bronx…

  • The Yankees “said they had a real interest in [Chris] Davis” earlier in the year, a source tells George A. King III of the New York Post, but backed off since “he wants Teixeira money.”  Mark Teixeira’s eight-year, $180MM deal would certainly seem to be well above the Yankees’ current comfort zone, and it could be a stretch in general as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Davis for a six-year, $144MM deal.  (Then again, Davis’ agent Scott Boras was also the one who negotiated Teixeira’s contract back in 2008.)  King hears that the Blue Jays have been linked to Davis in “chatter.”
  • Also from King, the Marlins “have liked” Yankees pitchers Bryan Mitchell and Adam Warren, with Miami looking at Mitchell as a starter and Warren in the bullpen.  While both arms are interesting trade chips, King notes that it would obviously take a lot more for the Yankees to obtain a major Marlins player like Marcell Ozuna.
  • If the Yankees are to meet their goal of obtaining a quality starter in his pre-arb years, an AL executive tells King that dealing Andrew Miller might be the only way.  “Nobody else they have, especially if they aren’t going to trade their top prospects, brings that young starter back but Miller,” the exec said.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines that in return for Miller, the Bombers would demand a pitcher at least as well-regarded as Eduardo Rodriguez, who the Red Sox obtained for Miller at the 2014 trade deadline.
  • Also from Sherman’s piece, he hears from a rival executive who asked the Yankees about Nathan Eovaldi this winter, though “talks did not progress far.”  The fact that GM Brian Cashman was willing to discuss Eovaldi at all is a sign, Sherman opines, that the club is truly open to hearing all options to upgrade the roster.
  • Sherman notes that the Cubs still consider Brett Gardner one of several backup options if they’re unable to land another center field target.  A Gardner-for-Starlin Castro rumor surfaced last month though the Yankees were said to want pitching in a Gardner deal.

East Notes: Encarnacion, Nationals, Rollins, Cabrera, Braves, Howard, Giles

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Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion will not entertain extension talks into the regular season, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. If a new deal isn’t worked out, of course, Encarnacion would stand to reach free agency after the 2016 season, where Bradford says he could draw interest from Boston. Toronto executive Tony LaCava said today that he’s not been informed of that stance by Encarnacion’s camp, but would respect the request if it’s made, per MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (via Twitter). LaCava also said “it’s possible” that the Jays could reach new deals with both Encarnacion and fellow power bat Jose Bautista, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained in breaking down the extension candidacy of Bautista, however, it’s worth wondering whether the team will be willing and able to commit to both players.

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • If the Nationals can’t draw Ben Zobrist to D.C., the club could consider Jimmy Rollins as a lower-cost bridge to prospect Trea Turner at short, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. In his comments today, GM Mike Rizzo said that he doesn’t feel compelled to add at the shortstop position, whether or not Zobrist is brought on board to play second. “I have a comfort level that if today were opening day, we have a shortstop on the roster and feel good about it,” said Rizzo, via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
  • The Nationals’ head baseball executive also noted that there’s been some interest in veteran Yunel Escobar, who could factor at short or elsewhere in the infield if he’s not dealt. “There’s been several teams that have inquired about Escobar,” Rizzo said. “He’s a versatile player that’s a good hitter and a really good big-league player, so there have been several teams that have interest in him.” Escobar could be expendable if an
  • The Yankees have at least some level of interest in infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. It’s unclear as of yet how much cash New York will dedicate to free agency, but Cabrera could be an option at second for the club, per Morosi.
  • While the Braves are interested in signing a center fielder, the club isn’t keen on giving up a draft choice to get Dexter Fowler and could find Austin Jackson too expensive, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). Atlanta could instead pursue the trade route, with a fallback of platooning Michael Bourn with a cheaper free agent in the mold of Drew Stubbs.
  • New Phillies GM Matt Klentak sat down recently with first baseman Ryan Howard and his agent to discuss his role with the organization, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. “Everybody was very honest with each other, and he seemed genuinely excited and energized looking forward to next year,” said Klentak. “If Ryan Howard is performing, Ryan Howard is going to play,” Klentak went on to say. “If he’s not, he’ll play less. And that’s not specific to Ryan, that’s true to everyone on our club and probably just about everyone in baseball.”
  • Klentak also acknowledged that the Phillies are drawing plenty of interest in closer Ken Giles, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. Philadelphia is “taking it day by day” in assessing whether to move Giles, but doesn’t — and, in my view, shouldn’t — feel any pressure to force a move. “I don’t know how much I really want to say about that, but, yeah, there’s a lot of interest in him because he’s good, and because he’s young and because he’s cheap,” said Klentak. “We’ll see. I don’t know how that’s going to shake out, [but] if he’s with us we’ll be very happy he’s still with us.”

Latest On Brett Lawrie

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9:00pm: While Los Angeles might have reached out previously regarding Lawrie, the team doesn’t seem to have active interest, Slusser tweets.

6:24pm: The Angels are also looking into a deal for Lawrie and have had talks with the A’s, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

1:40am: The Indians, Tigers and White Sox all have interest in A’s infielder Brett Lawrie, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Trade rumors have swirled around Lawrie and Danny Valencia ever since the A’s acquired Jed Lowrie, with Slusser noting at the time that Lawrie was the more likely of the two to be dealt.

Lawrie, who turns 26 in January, hit .260/.299/.407 with 16 homers over 602 plate appearances in his first season in Oakland and also posted defensive metrics far below his usual standards, adding up to an 0.6 fWAR season.  On the plus side, Lawrie is still young, controllable through the 2017 season (MLBTR projects him for a $3.9MM salary in his second time through the arbitration process), able to play second or third, and he’s not too far removed from his status as one of the game’s top prospects.

With this in mind, Lawrie could provide an upgrade to the three AL Central teams, all of which have needs in the infield.  Giovanny Urshela provides a great glove but no bat for the Tribe at third base, plus Cleveland could also use more right-handed hitting pop in its lineup.  Detroit has a former top prospect of its own at third in Nick Castellanos, though he’s posted sub-replacement fWAR totals in each of his two full MLB seasons and the Tigers may want more production as they look to contend.  Lawrie could fit at either second or third for the White Sox as Chicago as needs at both positions.

As Slusser notes, the Yankees are also thought to be a potential trade partner if they look to improve themselves at second base.  The keystone has been a problem spot for New York since Robinson Cano left, and the Yankees currently have unproven rookie Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley (who’s played only 10 games at second in the last two seasons) as their top options at the position in 2016.

Pen Notes: O’Day, Cishek, Thornton, Cotts, Miller, Astros, Rockies, A’s, Tigers

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Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette said today that his club is hoping to tie up an agreement with top free agent reliever Darren O’Day in short order, as Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com tweets. “We’re continuing to work on that Darren O’Day project,” said Duquette. “We’re going to try to bring that to a head here in the next couple of days.”

Here’s more on an active market for relievers:

  • About a dozen teams have “checked in” on free agent righty Steve Cishek, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. Non-tendered southpaw Cesar Ramos is also drawing wide interest he notes. But the Twins haven’t looked into either of those options. The club is set to meet with the representatives of Fernando Rodney and has some interest in lefty Tony Sipp as well.
  • 39-year-old lefty Matt Thornton has drawn interest from six clubs, including the Twins, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links). Thornton still brings a big fastball, and agent Adam Hubble says his client still hopes to pitch for another three or four seasons despite his advanced age.
  • As has previously been reported, and Twins GM Terry Ryan confirmed today, Minnesota has interest in a reunion with lefty Neal Cotts, Berardino tweets. “We still have interest,” said Ryan.
  • The Astros “have remained interested” in Yankees closer Andrew Miller, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. It remains far from clear, of course, whether any team will be willing to offer enough to get New York to part with the outstanding lefty, though Houston certainly has the young starting pitching coveted by the Yanks.
  • As has seemed apparent all along, the Astros are continuing to cast a wide net after apparently missing on Aroldis Chapman. Per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), Houston is “looking” not only at Miller but also Mark Melancon of the Pirates. And Drew Storen of the Nationals might feature as a “fallback option,” he adds.
  • While the prognosis seems promising, it’s worth noting also that Astros set-up man Pat Neshek just underwent foot surgery, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Neshek was forced to pitch through the injury last year
  • While internal options like Scott Oberg and Jairo Diaz will be considered, the Rockies also intend to check the market for a closer, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Colorado recently non-tendered John Axford, who held down the 9th after Adam Ottavino was lost to Tommy John surgery.
  • The Athletics took a shot at signing righty Mark Lowe before he landed in Detroit, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Oakland has already done quite a bit of work in the bullpen, but it seems that the club could still be eyeing further additions.
  • The Tigers are now moving down the line to address the team’s need for a left-handed reliever, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports. After already making several pitching additions, Detroit could consider free agents such as Antonio Bastardo, Tony Sipp, and Craig Breslow, says Fenech, though it remains unclear whether the club has specific interest in any of those particular players.
  • While the Mets were involved in talks for Chapman over the summer, assistant GM John Ricco said today that the team hasn’t pursued him over the winter, as Tim Rohan of the New York Times reports on Twitter.
  • Former Royals minor league lefty Buddy Baumann appears to be quite a hot commodity among minor league free agents, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Despite never having thrown an MLB inning, Baumann has already drawn five big league offers this winter. The 27-year-old worked to a 3.04 ERA in 77 frames at Triple-A last year, spending most of his time in the pen, with 9.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Alvarez, Red Sox, Rays, Orioles

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman is downplaying the team’s interest in free agents, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. The Yankees are shopping veterans Ivan Nova, Brett Gardner, and Andrew Miller, but talks have subsided for the moment. According to Cashman, “I think it’s more likely that we keep them than move them. I say that recognizing that if someone wants to ring a bell that I’ve put out there, that could happen.”

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • The Yankees don’t have a spot for recently non-tendered slugger Pedro Alvarez, writes King. Before considering the roster, Alvarez sounds like a decent fit. As a youth, Alvarez attended school in the Bronx and played for the Bayside Bombers – an elite travel team based in the area. Yankee Stadium is also extremely friendly to left-handed power. However, the Yankees are swamped with designated hitters. Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, and prospect Greg Bird all overlap to some degree.
  • New York could try to upgrade in the middle infield next week, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley are expected to platoon at second base, but Cashman will continue to monitor the market for more reliable alternatives. Feinsand offers Howie Kendrick, Brandon Phillips, and Martin Prado as three players to watch. Kendrick is a free agent while Phillips and Prado would have to be acquired via trade.
  • Owner John Henry says the Red Sox could add another starter, writes John Tomase of WEEI.com. Boston inked David Price to a record breaking contract earlier in the week. Per Henry, “I do think there is trade potential. We have a lot of pitching and we have a lot of talent. We’re not going to trade away our core young players, but we might be able to get a core young pitcher.” Henry did mention that the asking price for high quality pitchers is probably out of their range.
  • The Rays also aren’t a fit for designated hitters Alvarez or Chris Carter, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa would have to make a trade to open playing time for them. The club is likely looking to trade pitching for young hitters like Jorge Soler or Javier Baez.
  • The large contracts signed by Price and Zack Greinke could take the Orioles out of the market for Chris Davis, opines Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. Schmuck figures the floor for Davis is probably around $150MM – more than double the biggest free agent deal ever inked by the Orioles. The market for hitters has been much slower to establish itself, so there is still a change we’ll be surprised. For now, I agree Davis may wind up outside of Baltimore’s price range.
  • The Orioles aren’t usually flashy participants at the Winter Meetings, but they do have a few needs to fill, write Eduardo A. Encina and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Davis, the rotation, and the outfield are obvious concerns. The bullpen could be a challenge to buoy if Darren O’Day signs elsewhere. The Nationals and Orioles are considered front runners for his services. Baltimore likes to make Rule 5 picks under Dan Duquette. The club already has to roster Dylan Bundy who is out of options – possibly preventing them from keeping a pick.
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