Anderson on Davis and O'Day: "I hope in the future we are quicker to react"

Orioles vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is delighted the club has agreed to terms with reliever Darren O'Day and made a big offer to first baseman Chris Davis.

But Anderson said today at FanFest that by letting both players get to free agency, the club is paying more to re-sign them now than it would have cost earlier.

"Small to mid-market teams like we are, you have a player, you appreciate them," Anderson said. "But some guys, you can fail to appreciate them when you see them every day. You look back and compare Darren to other free agents and see he's the elite reliever on the market.

"When you have him, he makes it look so easy, you forget how hard it is and it can cost you millions of dollars. In Darren's case, that is what happened. In Chris Davis' case, the same thing is happening.

"I would hope in the future we are a little quicker to react, especially on our guys, and not allow them to become free agents if we really want them."

Anderson got involved in the negotiations with O'Day, who is represented by Jeff Borris, who is with the same firm that represented Anderson as a player. So there was that connection.

Why did the club go to a fourth year for O'Day?

"Because we wanted him," Anderson said. "We had to make a concession if we really wanted him and we did. Other teams offered higher yearly salaries. We offered him some protections that were appealing to him. It came down to two teams.

"I talked to Darren about other things as a player. Darren could become a historical type player within this organization. The four years that he's had put him in a certain elite group of players that have played for this organization. He has a chance to appear in more games than anyone in Orioles history. Things like that become important to players."

Anderson said he has not talked to Davis. He said that is frowned upon and you would have to go through the agent to reach the player during the free agency process.

"I don't think I've played with anyone that just puts the barrel on the ball and it's a home run. He's an appealing player to any team," he said of Davis.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said today that the Orioles' offer to Davis is off the table, but the door remains open for a deal with the first baseman. Anderson was asked if there is any concern whether the Orioles might let other players get away while waiting on Davis.

"Sure, but you don't have to negotiate with Chris at the exclusiveness of forgetting everything else," Anderson said. "I don't think that is too big of a concern. When you negotiate with Chris, you are specifically talking about one position.

"In our organization, just as it happens, two of our premier prospects are first baseman in Trey Mancini and Christian Walker. They're really good and Mancini had a year last year that few players in the majors have ever had coming through the minors. So that happens to be one area where we are covered to a degree in the minors and negotations with a first baseman should not prevent us from moving forward in other areas."