Valencia signs minor league deal, prepares for competition

SARASOTA, Fla. - Danny Valencia has arrived at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, hugging teammates from his past who are here and dismissing the idea that his minor league deal will lead him to Triple-A Norfolk. He has every intention of playing in Baltimore this summer.

The Orioles announced Valencia's signing this morning, which includes an invitation to major league camp.

Valencia indicated that he'd exercise the opt-out clause in his contract, the date most likely near the end of March.

Asked if he'd be willing to go down to the minors, Valencia said, "No."

"I have nothing to prove down there," he said. "I've been a productive big leaguer and it is what it is. Obviously, you want to be in the big leagues and I think it'll all work out."

Valencia can earn $1.2 million if he makes the club and his deal includes a possible $3 million in incentives. He's back with the team that purchased his contract from the Red Sox on Nov. 28, 2012 and traded him to the Royals a year later.

"We've been having talks with them for about a month," he said. "It's been a tough offseason for plenty of free agents this year, as we all know, but ultimately it came down to the fact that I had some similar offers but I felt coming here and knowing some of the guys, having the relationships I do with some of the people do - I have great relationships with them - it felt like to me it was the right move. And I feel like there's probably more playing time here than maybe in other situations.

"I'm excited to be back with these guys. I've missed some of these guys, (Adam Jones) in particular, Manny (Machado), who I'm very close with, so I'm glad to be back."

Baseball's circle of life has spun Valencia to Sarasota, where he'll try to break camp with the team as a backup corner infielder and outfielder after appearing in 130 games with the Mariners last summer and batting .256/.314/.411 with 19 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 66 RBIs in 500 plate appearances.

"It's almost like a see you later versus like a goodbye," he said. "I still hang out with these guys. When I played against them, and I hung out with them in the offseason. Some of these guys are your friends, so it's nice to be back with them. And it's a place where I really enjoyed my time here. I had some success here and it's a place I'm familiar with. I'm definitely excited to be here again."

A frozen free agent market kept Valencia on hold until offers finally began to surface. Like everyone else, he had to remain patient and assume that he'd eventually find a job.

"Obviously, you want to be in camp," he said. "You see the guys here and you want to be in camp, but it's one of those years where you're not the only one, so maybe it makes it a little easier because there's a lot of people who are in the same situation that I was in. But there's a sense of relief that it's over. At the same time I feel bad for the guys that are still unsigned out there because there's a lot of good players out there who deserve to be in the big leagues, so it's frustrating."

For Valencia to stay in the majors with the Orioles, he'll need to convince them of his value at the infield corners, where they already have Tim Beckham and Chris Davis, and in the outfield corners despite Trey Mancini playing left and platoon options in right including Craig Gentry, Austin Hays and Joey Rickard. They also have switch-hitting Anthony Santander.

"I'm not sure how hard it's going to be," said Valencia, a career .313/.370/.493 hitter against left-handers. "Obviously, that's up to them. At the same time, I've been a very productive big leaguer. The last there years I've shown that I can play in this game, play well and play at high levels. I'm up for it. I think that everything will handle itself and hopefully I'll be in Baltimore with these guys."