SAN DIEGO - The Orioles added two pitchers today in the Rule 5 draft as they acquired right-hander Jason Garcia through a trade and selected right-hander Logan Verrett.
The Orioles acquired Garcia from Houston for cash considerations. The 22-year-old pitcher was selected fourth in the draft out of the Boston Red Sox organization.
Garcia went 3-2 with three saves and a 3.67 ERA in 14 combined games (seven starts) with Single-A Lowell and Greenville. He struck out 9.4 batters per nine innings...
SAN DIEGO - The Rule 5 draft is the last event of the Winter Meetings and takes place this morning at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Any player selected in this draft must remain on the selecting team's 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season or be offered back to his original club.
Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft when they are not on their organization's 40-man roster and:
* were signed at 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or
* were signed...
SAN DIEGO - During his press briefing with Baltimore reporters today, executive vice president Dan Duquette said, "Very rarely do we sign high-profile free agents."
The Orioles did sign Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez last year for a combined $58 million and gave up two draft picks to get that pair. But the messages seems to be pretty clear. While the Orioles are handing out millions in raises to their own arbitration-eligible players, they are very unlikely to dip into the deep end of the...
SAN DIEGO - Among the Orioles' front office contingent in San Diego is scouting director Gary Rajsich.
It will be a much different draft for Rajsich and his staff next June when the O's have four of the top 73 picks after not selecting until the third round and 90th overall last June.
"It is going to be a deep draft according to our projections and hopefully we can get some impact players," Rajsich said this morning.
The O's farm system gained some balance in the last year or so, as...
SAN DIEGO - Few if any know the First-Year Player Draft and the Rule 5 draft better than Jim Callis of MLB.com and MLBPipeline.com.
With the Orioles holding four picks among the first 73 selections next June, I asked Callis today at the Winter Meetings about the 2015 draft. The O's highest picks are currently No. 26 and No. 33. If more teams sign players that received qualifying offers, the 26th pick could get even higher.
"There is depth in the draft," Callis said. "You'd always rather...
SAN DIEGO - While the talk of Dan Duquette leaving the Orioles has certainly quieted and seems well on its way to becoming a non-issue or non-story, Duquette's respect around the industry may be at an all-time high.
That is saying something since he produced winners in Montreal and Boston before he got to Baltimore.
But for many years, Duquette was out of the game. When the Orioles hired him in November 2011, the hiring was questioned and ridiculed by some.
Now, a short few years later,...
SAN DIEGO - While Orioles fans wait to see what winter additions their team will make, other American League East teams have been more active. The Boston Red Sox are back to spending big money and the New York Yankees may join them.
They are not alone. While Boston signed Hanley Ramirez for $88 million and Pablo Sandoval for $95 million, the Yankees gave former Oriole Andrew Miller $36 million. Toronto signed catcher Russell Martin for $82 million and traded for Josh Donaldson.
Manager Buck...
SAN DIEGO - In his daily video interview today with MASNSports.com at the Winter Meetings, I asked Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette about minor league outfielders Dariel Alvarez and Mike Yastrzemski.
Alvarez has been ranked as the organization's No. 5 prospect by Baseball America and Yastrzemski is No. 9.
Duquette says both have a chance to impact the big league roster in 2015.
"We like Alvarez. I mean he had a great year last year. Made good contact, hit over .300 at Double-A...
SAN DIEGO - The Orioles brass will be honored in San Diego here tonight.
Baseball America will host its awards gala and among the winners are Dan Duquette as BA's Executive of the Year and Buck Showalter as BA's Manager of the Year. They have just one manager award for all of baseball, so it is not an American League-only award.
John Manuel, Baseball America's editor-in-chief, told me why their organization chose to honor Duquette.
"For Dan Duquette, four years ago, you'd see him at the...
SAN DIEGO - Here is a video taped yesterday at the Winter Meetings with ESPN's Keith Law.
Watch the video for the full interview, in which we talked about the Orioles' need for an outfielder and other moves that they might make.
Law agreed with me that the Orioles should have some financial flexibility right now with the departures of Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and Andrew Miller. The money they might have signed Markakis with is available for use elsewhere.
"I think it gives them the...
SAN DIEGO - Among the many former big league players here at the Winter Meetings that is now a broadcaster is Aaron Boone.
He is part of a three-generation major league family and he hit a famous playoff home run in 2003.
Now Boone is an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Baseball with frequent appearances on Baseball Tonight and other studio programming. He joined ESPN in 2010 after a 12-year big league career.
Boone knows something about clubhouse chemistry and he feels it is important when...
At some point today or real soon, pitcher Jon Lester will sign a massive free agent contract - one worth perhaps $150 million or more.
That news will get a lot of attention. Somewhere else another man will be smiling and happy for Lester.
That is the area scout that drafted him out of a Tacoma, Wash., high school at age 18. Lester was a second-round pick, No. 57 overall in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft.
That scout is Gary Rajsich, who has been the Orioles director of scouting since...
SAN DIEGO - It was interesting to hear executive vice president Dan Duquette suggest the Orioles are more likely to acquire an outfielder right now via free agency rather than through a trade.
I don't think that ends any rumors about the club's possible pursuit of Matt Kemp or Justin Upton, but that seems unlikely at this moment.
Here is the lengthy list of free agent corner outfielders according to MLBTradeRumors.com:
Nori Aoki (33)
Melky Cabrera (30)
Mike Carp (29)
Endy Chavez (37)
Tyler...
SAN DIEGO - ESPN's Keith Law knows something about how baseball teams run their front offices. He worked for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2002-06, now covers everything from the minors to the majors for ESPN and ESPN.com, and is a big part of the network's coverage from the Winter Meetings.
Law talked at length with me about reports that Toronto has interest in Dan Duquette for a president/CEO position with their team.
Keith, what is your reaction to this news?
"I think the new trend now in...
SAN DIEGO - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said the club made some progress in its effort to add one or more outfielders today at the Winter Meetings.
After his group press conference with Baltimore-area media, Duquette took part in a one-on-one interview with MASNSports.com. That video will be posted here later.
"We've been able to meet with several of the agents for the free agent outfielders and we're going to meet with a few more this week," Duquette said. "I'm...
SAN DIEGO - Orioles director of player development Brian Graham is at the Winter Meetings as part of the front office contingent.
During a video interview that will be posted later, Graham said the Orioles' top two prospects, pitchers Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey, are both doing well after ending the 2014 season on the disabled list.
Bundy, who had Tommy John surgery in June 2013, returned to pitch last summer and went 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA over 41 1/3 innings between short-season Single-A...
SAN DIEGO - With the Orioles looking to add at least one outfielder, MLB Network's Harold Reynolds believes that pursuing Atlanta's Justin Upton via a trade is the best move for the club right now.
"If they make a trade, of all the names that have been mentioned, I think Justin Upton is the best move for them," Reynolds said. "He's 26, 27. If you can lock him up and keep him long-term, you are looking at a player you can have another eight or nine years. He's going to hit 30 home runs...
SAN DIEGO - How about some actual baseball talk?
Sunday was highlighted by the report that the Toronto Blue Jays have interest in Dan Duquette as a candidate to be their CEO/president. Both Duquette and Orioles managing partner Peter G. Angelos threw cold water on the report.
Angelos basically said the Orioles would not allow Toronto to talk to Duquette. When told of Angelos' comments on MLB Network Radio, Duquette said, "That's good to hear and I do have a contract and I always honor my...
SAN DIEGO - The Toronto Blue Jays are interested in Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. The Orioles have him under contract through 2018.
This could get interesting.
For now, he is an Oriole. Dan Duquette just repeated that very comment a few moments ago on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM Radio in an interview at the Winter Meetings with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden.
ESPN first reported today that Duquette was among the Blue Jays' top candidates to replace longtime CEO Paul Beeston.
In...
The Orioles pitching staff finished with a 3.43 ERA in 2014 - which was the best by an O's staff over a full season since 1979. It also ranked as third best in the American League.
The pitching was a big reason the Orioles won 96 games. It was a heckuva first year for new pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti.
So how do the Orioles stay at that level next year or get even better? In a recent interview with Wallace he mentioned that the club will strive to get more innings...