Zaun update
Gregg Zaun didn't indicate earlier tonight that he's close to signing with the Orioles, or any other team, but they remain in contact with his agent, Dan Evans.
Here's the catch, so to speak: The Orioles would prefer giving Zaun a one-year deal, but he's holding out for two years.
Zaun obviously wants the added security of a two-year offer, but he also believes the extra time would be beneficial if he's supposed to be tutoring Matt Wieters, especially if the Orioles don't call up their top prospect until later in the summer.
The Orioles also are talking to Scott Boras about Ivan Rodriguez. Perhaps this will play out like the negotiations with Rodriguez and Javy Lopez prior to the 2004 season. They made the same offer to both catchers and waited for someone to accept it. Lopez took the bait.
More recently, Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara agreed to the Orioles' terms, while Kenshin Kawakami sought a three-year deal.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
I really think Ivan Rodriguez is the best option here. Rodriguez fits the spot on the Opening Day roster I posted about earlier today...a #1 catcher with 1B experience. You sign him to a 1-year deal to come in and fill a spot till Matt Wieters is ready. By that time, the pennant race will be starting, you trade him out to a contender for a prospect or two. Someone would take him...Shoot, the Yankees did!
i kind of agree with zaun on this one. what's the problem with having him on for 2 years? on year he gets to mentor as the full time catch, and the next, he gets to mentor as the veteran backup. really the same case could be made for both zaun and i-rod, but it seems to me that zaun might be a better fit, whereas i-rod would be looking for more of a high profile position (although he would be a better candidate to play some first base). in either case though, i can't argue with signing a 2-year deal with either backstop, with the expectation being at least a half year of full time duty, and at most a year and a half of backup duty mentoring a catcher with outstanding potential.
Roch - Looks like Pete has gone to your "clue" of videos when he can't tell something he knows because he doesn't want to give up sources. The videos are of Zahn and IRod. He says it's just a hunch but he feels the O's are going to sign a backup catcher in the next serval days. What do you think? Which one would you think the O's sign? I vote IRod. He was batting .295 until he was traded to the wankees.
Hey Rock - I was already a Zaun fan. He said all the right things. Now you say the only reason he's not an Oriole is because he wants two years. He seems to make a good point about the mutual advantage of a two year deal. What would you consider to be the down side of giving the guy a second year?
Roch, are you suggesting that Rodriguez (a perennial All-Star represented by Boras) and Zaun (a backup on many teams represented by Evans) would realistically command similar dollar amounts (even at this late stage in their respective careers)?
Right now a lot of these "minor" signings are about economics. Sorry Greg.
Go Gators!
Hey Roch, I remember another time when Ivan Rodriguez was a candidate to come to Baltimore. Do I remember correctly that he said at that time he had a contract offer from the Orioles and expected to join them shortly?
The Chicago Sun Times has an article this morning by Chris de Luca speculating the Cubs are not done and that Brian Roberts would be the perfect, final piece to improving the Cubs.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/deluca/1367413,CST-SPT-deluca08.article
Interesting article.
Is there still interest in the Japanese catcher? You reported earlier that if the O's signed one of the Japanese pitchers they may seek to solve the cultural/language barrier by signing the catcher too. Haven't seen any mention of this since Uehara signed. Updates?
If the only thing holding up signing Zaun is the difference between a one year vs a two year contract, I don't understand what the problem is on the O's end.
I understand the thinking that they'd prefer one year, but does it REALLY that big of a deal to go one extra year?? Do we have some other less-hyped catcher -- either in our system or coming soon via FA -- that the O's are just dying to place as a backup behind Weiters? Are we really going to be any better in the 2010 season if we go and get another NEW backup catcher?
Roch,
I red that Boston is about to sign Rocco Baldelli, but it said that the Orioles could have possibly been another of the teams interested in him? Was this true? I thought Baldelli would have worked nice here in Baltimore.
Roch, thanks for the news. Are the Orioles confident that IRod will be a willing tutor for Wieters, and that he would work well with the young pitchers that will be joining the staff in the near future? I thought I read from earlier posts that IRod has a reputation for being impatient with young pitchers.
Is it this hard?
Talk to Zaun's agent and find out if he is willing to be a starter for a 1/2 year and back for the rest of the year. Then find out if he is interested in being a backup for next year. It isnt like we dont need a quality backup next year too. If he agrees, workout the specifics, find a mid point on the salary difference and complete the deal. McFAIL is it that hard. Why are you not like EVERY other GM in baseball.
And supporters of McFAIL, dont tell me lowballing every FA is part of the "plan" That is Angelos running the show!
WAY TO GO Ole PETE. You really know how to get the job down and move on to important stuff for the team (Staring pitching) McFAIL
Roch,
Why not sign Zaun for two years? You always need a back-up catcher and he would be servicable as a true back-up in 2010.
Roch,
What is Boras' asking price for IRod?...Somewhere in the 2/50 range?..And who will the mystery team be?
Roch-
I heard Andy really like Pudge and would prefer him, that he is more inclined to give Pudge an option year tacked on to the deal. Any truth to that?
Obviously, if stats and a numbers are a judge of how well you teach someone, Pudge is the better option. He costs more but I think you get a better player, even at his age. I think he is more of a draw to teh ticket booth too? Do you agree?
Also, if the O's are after a 1st baseman that can play corner outfield as well....Why isn't Adam Dunn being considered? It would be so great to see him smacking balls off the scoreboard and the warehouse all summer. It can not be age because he is only 28 or 29.
Finally, the longer Perez and Sheets go unsigned....is this better for the O's?
Hey Roch, sorry to stray off topic for a moment but I think a debate on who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, or... who deserves to be inducted might make a great post and a brief change of pace from the norm. Personally, it seems obvious to me that Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice will make it this year. I feel others who are deserving include Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven and Tommy John (he won 288 games and has a surgery named after him for crying out loud!). The rest all make for an interesting debate.
The writers' votes will be announced next week... what's your opinion?
Hopefully the O's can successfully negotiate with Zaun. I-Rod is a future HOF'er, but I believe that he will have a more difficult time stepping aside when Wieters is ready. Zaun seems like a natural fit for the 2009 O's.
Maybe the O's could offer Zaun a 1 year deal with a games started (120?) and/or at-bats clause (400?) that automatically gives him a second year. This way, both sides are covered. If Wieters is ready quickly, the O's aren't locked in to a second year of starting catcher $ with Zaun. With this, they could negotiate a backup catcher $ contract for 2010. If Wieters is not ready, then the O's have some additional stability with a veteran catcher to handle a young pitching staff.
Also, I like the idea of trading for Nick Swisher. He is power switch-hitter who brings a passion for the game and energy that the O's can use to build a young ballclub. He also seems to have very good success playing at Camden Yards. Maybe the New Yorkers would take a couple of relievers and cash for Swisher? After a $400M+ December, they might need a little cash infusion...haha.
Hi Roch, Do you think that I Rod would really want to come to the O's and know the role that is before him as much as he loves to play every day? There are so many names being thrown around now that it is fun...Sexton, Wigginton, Bloomquist...Baldelli althoguh ti sasy Red Sox got him...Redding at 2.5-3 million..the Royals 1B men....Indians Garko...it is growing daily...have any inside scoop what is real and not real at this point?
What's the problem with having Zaun for two years? Every year we have to find a backup catcher, this way in 2010 we won't have to worry about that.
Sign Zaun for two years and that's one position you don't have to worry about for two years.
Latest news is John Smoltz signing with Bosox.
Based upon the article in the Sun it looks as if both Roberts and Markakis are forcing the team to overpay to keep them in Baltimore.
Dustin Pedroia signed for $40 million and Nick wants $70? You would think $10 mil a year for six years would do it, but if an extra $10 mil keeps him in Baltimore for three years beyond free agency the team needs to do that.
The article stated that the Orioles are offering $10 mil a year for Brian, yet they remain significantly apart on money and length of contract. That suggests to me that the O's are offering three years and Brian wants five. I would give him five, but how much higher would you go salary wise?
Your thoughts, Roch?
I don't understand why the O's just don't give Zaun a two-year contract. He's a veteran who will be able to fill in the lineup when Wieters needs a break. It's been proven over the past couple seasons that we need a legitimate backup catcher on our team.
Couldn't the Orioles simply sign Zaun to a two year deal and then trade him to a contender in the future if Wieters earns the starter's job sooner than expected?
If indeed he is satisfied with the backup role why not give Zaun 2 years? Even if he falters offensively its not as if the O's have an internal option for 2010 that is better then Zaun. I personally have been getting tired of the O's signing a bunch of fringe guys and have them battling it out in spring training for a one year gig as the backup.
Roch,
The Yankees are fielding trade offers for Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher, per SI. Would the Orioles have any interest in either to play 1B?
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I've been asked about them before. Unfortunately, I don't know if the Orioles are involved in any trade discussions with the Yankees. I'm inclined to say "no," but I don't know that for sure. - Roch
We want zaun, don't need I-rob to give weiters his steriod connection...
I think I'd just go ahead a give Zaun that second year, so we're not in the same boat next year looking for a backup for Wieters. They'll probably have holes at 1B, 2B and 3b next off-season, so instead of adding a fourth hole to that list they should just fill it now.
A lil off toopic, but I'd be willing to bring Millar back if he was willing to make more of an effort to use to the whole field more. IMO, if he did that he'd add twenty points to his BA and rack up more RBI. Baseball is a game of adjustments if they pitch you outside. them you look outside and go the other way with the ball. Why can't these pull happy big leaguers figure this out ?
Roch,
Could you give a list of arbitration eligible players for the Orioles?
Baldelli is almost a local kid for Boston since his town of Woonsocket, Rhode Island is right on the border of Mass. and an hour from Boston. I'm all about local guys.........well except for Teixiera's comments during his speech. That was a direct hit at the O's and us fans.
Roch,
How come when other organizations draft pitchers out of college, they're in the bigs within a year, or so. Not the O's. They will start Matusz in "A" ball this year. I guess that means they think he's about four years away. That would make him a, what, 25 or 26 year old rookie. Roch, please blog, in capital letters, the next time this organization does something right, I'm not getting any younger!
Hello Roch,
Hope all is well in the new year.
We'd like to invite you to this year's Babe's Birthday Bash on Friday Feb 6 at Sports Legends.
Last year you indicated you were interested but I think something came up at the last minute and you weren't able to attend.
So we hope you can make it (on us) and please bring a guest.
Le me know when you can.
Thanks.
Jay Anderson
410-271-7945
http://www.baberuthmuseum.com/press/homenews/index.html?article_id=97
Give Zaun two years. It's not like the O's will be paying the new catchers anything close to what they were paying Hernandez per year, and I'm talking total amount. And they'll probably get more production out of Zaun at backup than what they did with Ramon as a starter.
That negotiation with Pudge and Javy led to several more years of bad teams. I am convinced if the O's would have given Pudge the fourth year he wanted it would have netted Vlad Gurrero also. He seemed unsure about signing here and when they low-balled Pudge it pushed him to the Angels for less money than the O's offered if Im not mistaken.
We are after the wrong IRod... :-) He has lost the skills he had too. Det. didn't start him regularly last yr & they dumped him on the Spanks mid pennant race to boot! At this point Zaun appears to have better skills & upside. Why not split the diff w/ Zaun? Offer him the 1 yr with an option on the second tied to incentives etc. Anyway, I hope it's him & not IvanR.
As for 1B.. SexSon not Sexton guys. That guy has a huge hole in his swing. He dropped off fast! Forget him PLEASE FO. I like the Wigginton idea for 1B best. He is , 31 or 32 I think, can play 2B & 3B too. He hits for power & a decent avg. Give him a 2 yr deal. Sorry Millar. I don't buy the idea he would be a happy camper later in the summer if he is not playing 5-6 days a week either.
They better go get another SP too, those 2 stiffs they $igned are going to be bullpen fodder by July.
As for not $igning guys now, the team isn't ready to $pend $$ yet. What crap is that for us? If they are going to sit back & rake in the $$, they can do it without me buying any tickets. It's a 2 way street potter!
If Markakis and the club were about $10 million apart—which seems kind of huge, given the overall terms of the money discussed—whatever happened to meeting in the middle? Does anybody do that any more? Again, for the umpteenth time, the longer this goes unresolved, the more expensive Markakis gets. Yes, the club does control him for the next three seasons, so academically there is no rush (I contend otherwise, though, given the Orioles situation as a longstanding loser). But Markakis has to be looked at as a premium player. No matter what the free agent market looks like in 2011, some team will pay him huge money barring a serious talent erosion or injury. I would argue that it would be beneficial to sign him before the bad economy potentially takes its toll on revenues. If the market for all players deflates because of diminished baseball revenues, that would just be more incentive for Markakis to wait for better economic conditions to sign a more lucrative deal.
Roberts at $10 million per season probably would’ve worked a year ago. Since he’s just one season from free agency with another solid season on his resume (and another bad season for the O’s), I feel it’s going to take more (and who knows about the number of years?). For all intents and purposes for the O’s, they should see Roberts as a free agent in March, because it appears that no talks will happen during the season, which means he’ll file for free agency after the season is done. I think they won’t sign Roberts to an extension and perhaps gamble they can sign him next season when he becomes a free agent, won’t trade him because they won’t get what they want in return and/or will feel the bad PR of dealing him would hurt their 2009 attendance, and will let him walk in free agency (which could be a PR nightmare too, but he’d still be around for the 2009 season and they could deal with that later).
I’d have to say no to Sexson no matter what the cost. I’m thinking Russ Ortiz as a hitter (and Sexson probably couldn’t get a hit off Ortiz). For just a bit more money, the team could retain Kevin Millar and, believe it or not, get better offensive numbers (though he also is in decline). Millar gets knocked a lot here, and I’d hoped by now that the O’s would’ve moved on to better players for full-time duties, but for less than $4 million per season, he’s been a relative bargain (the team paid more for Jay Payton and got less production).
I would offer Zaun one year and an option year. I wouldn't want to see Pudge come here. I do not think he would take to being a backup C/1B. Will Quiroz be Wieter's backup at Norfolk? Off topic, I would also prefer to see Millar over Sexton or Wigginton. No new 'Office' episode tonight.
CRB - Good point about Markakis and his agent meeting the team in the middle. It crossed my mind when I wrote my last post, but both Markakis and Brian Roberts have the Orioles by the gonads at this point. Their approach, like it or not, is this - You want to keep the two players who are the face of your franchise you are going to pay extra for it, especially if we are looking at losing for at the very least another year or two.
Bottom line, if the team were just slightly pro-active this could have been done two years ago.
Give Zaun two years for crying out loud. We need a decent backup catcher as well. What if Wieters would get injured?
I do have a question. Now with the Uehara signing does this mean the O's have given up on signing Kawakami and essentially are not looking at any pitchers? (Please tell me they are considering Ben Sheets. Sheets is an injury risk (so is uehara for that matter), but IF we sign him cheaply and he pitches well GREAT. If he is injured, he's really not blocking anyone from coming up. We stupidly didn't sign Tex, and spent overall very little this year. I'd really like to see an incentive laden contract for Sheets based on innings pitched.
I say sign both Irod and Zaun! We need 2 catchers. Irod could catch/1st/DH. Then you trade him at the deadline if Wieters is ready. Kept Zaun as the back up. Easy, especially when your spending someone else's money!
God Bless Birdland!
I would be ok with Zaun for 2 years.
Biz Markie- Extremely few drafted pitchers start above A ball. Even Price last year, who zoomed though Tampa's system, started in A. Impatience only gives you ulcers.
I would like to see the Orioles stay away from drafting High school kids(Rowell, Loewen).Especially in the first round. They are just to much of a gamble. Even if they ever pan out, by the time they do there Free Agents. Someone get the front office a copy of Money Ball!
Biz - first you are totally wrong in your statemnet that when teams draft college pitchers they bring them up in a year. Of the dozens of pitchers drafted every year out of college most NEVER make it to the bigs, never mind within one year. Second, if Roch is correct, the team's intention is to have Matusz at Bowie around midseason. From a half year in double A he could be due for a start at triple A next year or to win a spot out of spring training with the O's. Where do you come up with your four year nonsense?
I keep asking it but with all of the real live factual bad stuff that actually surrounds this team, why do people insist on lying and making up stuff to piss and moan about?
Why wouldn't you want Zaun for 2 years? Who would you rather have as a back-up catcher, Paul Bako?
Honestly, Orioles. Get this done. Zaun's salary is just a few drops in the bucket on a real MLB payroll.
forget p u dge not the right personality to be an ORIOLE
Roch,
I hope O's management pays attention to this blog as there have been allot of good contract ideas put forth. In my opinion the best ones include signing both Roberts and Markakis to 5yr./ $10 million plus contracts with two, one year options filled with incentive laden CRAZY MONEY dollars that will keep them looking to the future.
Another is to sign both IRod and Zaun to 2yr. contracts at starters salary even though both, barring injuries, would be part-time role players in their second years. The logic being that IRod is bound to be a HOF'er who adds tremendous hustle and toughness to an organization that needs that kind of veteran example now more than ever. ( Millar was a great example last year but you would've needed 10 Millars just to off-set Hernandez the Slug.) In Zaun you have the epitome of a steady, solid, intelligent player, teammate, and citizen. Good God, sign the man to a third or fourth year option with the incentive that his salary increases 50%, if he catches a Cy Young or Rookie of the Year pitcher in any of his 3/4yrs., he's done it many times before. But the best thing is we wouldn't be figuring out who our back up catcher is on the Ides of March for the next four years.
Also sign Perez (wash) and Jennings (tex.) to at least a little better than minimum salaries. If we're lucky enough not to need them here when we break camp they still have options and can be used in AAA-Norfolk so that our younger prospects can mature at AA-Bowie a little longer and not be subjected to the EMERGENCY call ups that can be expected with an inexperienced starting rotation.
There you go Mr. MacPhail six relatively easy signings that will give us a very sturdy foundation to build a championship team on.
Roch, do you think he pays attention to us fans here in blog land.
Thanks Leon
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Of course, you can always change your name (though not that easily) , but typically the name you\’re born with, is the name your stuck with.