Duquette talks about the Cashner signing

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette secured right-hander Andrew Cashner yesterday, signing him to a two-year, $16 million contract with an option, but he remains in the market for another starting pitcher and a left-handed hitter.

Duquette is exploring trades and free agency. He'd prefer the latter.

"This time of year, obviously, I'd rather be adding players without taking away from them, our prospect depth," he said this morning during the latest workout at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. "That would be the first choice, that would be the best choice for the club."

Negotiations with Cashner and his agent, Jeff Berry, dated to November and a deal was finalized yesterday after the veteran passed his physical.

"The addition of Cashner gives us not just a veteran pitcher, but a proven pitcher in the American League and that's something to put some value on," Duquette said. "He's got a good veteran presence, he's been steady and dependable in terms of the innings that he's pitched. He'll help stabilize the team.

"Beyond that, he's an intelligent and thoughtful pitcher who's paid attention to his craft over the years. And he had a really good year last year, probably the best year of his career. At 31, he should have some more good baseball, and his experience and leadership should help our ballclub.

"He's just a good, solid veteran starter and should be a good addition to the team. The club showed a lot of patience in the market and this is a piece that should help our team."

The contract works for both sides and especially a team that's giving Cashner $5 million this season, $8 million in 2019 and the last $3 million deferred from 2020-2022. Incentives and bonuses also are deferred.

"I know from the club perspective it's a good fit," Duquette said, smiling. "It gives him an opportunity to pitch and earn some money and the terms are good for the team, reasonable for the team. I thought it was a fair deal. We try to do fair deals, market deals and I think this looks to be a fair deal. There is some upside for the player where he can continue to earn money if he's healthy and pitching effectively for the team and that's usually a good deal for the team, too.

"We are still talking to other teams and also some other free agents. Obviously, we still have some opportunity on our pitching staff."

Duquette wouldn't comment on the club's interest in Chris Tillman.

"It's not really appropriate for me to talk about other players that are on the market," he said. "I know Chris has been on our team for a long time, but it's just not appropriate to talk about free agent pitchers that are on the market. There are a number that are still available and there are some pitchers who are available via trade that we're also exploring."

The market is thawing, with daily signings now reported. Left-hander Jason Vargas came off the board this morning, with the Mets signing him to a two-year, $16 million contract that includes an option for 2020.

The Orioles' interest in Vargas reached the point where they reviewed his medicals.

"There's a few more pitchers on the market," Duquette said. "I think you're going to see a number of pitchers sign this weekend. It's that time, right? Pitchers and catchers report and then all players report."

Cashner owns a career 42-64 record but also a 3.80 ERA. He registered a 2.55 ERA in 19 starts with the Padres in 2014 and finished two games below .500. He went 11-11 with a 3.40 ERA last summer in 28 starts with the Rangers.

"Andrew Cashner put it together last year," Duquette said. "He'd been a pitcher of good potential. What I like most about it is he has the pitches. He has several quality major league pitches, and at the end of the day, that's what gets hitters out. Pitches get the hitters out, and he has several quality pitches that he can utilize.

"I'm a little bit old school. I like the won-loss record. The new school says that you should not pay attention to the wins, because there are a lot of things that are out of a pitcher's control. That would be one of those cases.

"He's thrown some quality innings over the course of his career, but if you can win in the American League and grit it out against the extra hitter in the lineup and the depth of the American League, that to me is a quality pitcher and Andrew Cashner proved he could do that last year."

Note: Online oddsmaker Bovada projects that the Orioles will win 73 games this season.