Checking on last winter's free agent targets and rumors

Now that the general managers' meetings are done, we can look forward to my version of Hell Week, more commonly known as baseball's Winter Meetings. They're so important, we use uppercase letters. The meetings will be held next month in San Diego. Beautiful weather, but it hardly matters when you spend all five days inside a hotel. You sit in the workroom, you walk around the lobby, you meet each day with Orioles officials and you wait for agent Scott Boras to make an appearance. The Rule 5 draft will be held on the final morning and the Orioles are certain to make a selection. They took infielder Michael Almanzar last year in the major league phase and outfielder Julio Borbon in the Triple-A phase. Both players are now minor league free agents. With the hot stove season heated up again, I decided to check on a handful of players who were linked to the Orioles last winter. Guys who were actually pursued or rumored to be on the club's radar. It's only a partial list, of course, but these are the names that immediately popped into my head. Feel free to bring up others. Closer John Axford Axford wasn't at the top of the Orioles' list of potential replacements for Jim Johnson, but they had talks with his agent and held some level of interest. Just not as high as some reports indicated. Axford signed with the Indians on Dec. 19 and was selected off waivers by the Pirates on Aug. 14. He's a free agent again after going 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA and 10 saves in 62 games and averaging 5.9 walks per nine innings. Closer Grant Balfour This guy was on the top of the Orioles' list of replacements for Johnson and agreed to a two-year, $15 million deal before failing his physical, which placed a tremendous amount of heat on the organization. The Orioles were concerned about his shoulder - three doctors checked him - and they wanted to reduce the offer to one year. The Rays signed him to a two-year, $12 million deal and eventually removed him from the closer role. Balfour went 2-6 with a 4.91 ERA, 12 saves and a 1.444 WHIP in 65 games. He also averaged 5.9 walks per nine innings. Balfour is owed $7 million next season. Closer Fernando Rodney The Orioles maintained contact with Rodney's agent and were willing to ignore the crooked cap and arrow shooting schtick. It appeared at one point that he could end up in Baltimore after Balfour's failed physical, but he accepted a two-year, $14 million deal with the Mariners on Feb. 13 and went 1-6 with a 2.85 ERA and a major league-leading 48 saves in 69 appearances. Pitcher A.J. Burnett The Orioles made an offer and Burnett showed little to no interest despite living in Monkton and the whole "pitching close to home" thing. He's a free agent again this winter and searching for a contender, but I'm told the Orioles have little to no interest in him. Burnett and the Phillies both declined a mutual option for next year, which put the heavily tattooed right-hander back on the market. Burnett went 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA in 34 starts. He led the majors with 18 losses and 96 walks. Anyone want to pair him with Ubaldo Jimenez? Pitcher Bronson Arroyo The Orioles also made an offer to Arroyo and were rejected. He accepted a two-year deal from the Diamondbacks on Feb. 12 worth a guaranteed $23.5 million - very close to the Orioles' proposal. Arroyo made only 14 starts this year, going 7-4 with a 4.08 ERA and one complete game before undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. The Diamondbacks will pay him $9.5 million in 2015. Pitcher Ervin Santana The Orioles had interest in Santana before they signed Ubaldo Jimenez, and they continued negotiations after they signed Jimenez. Rumors swirled in spring training that the Orioles were frontrunners for Santana, but the Braves swooped in after multiple injuries to their rotation and signed him to a one-year, $14.1 million contract. Santana went 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA in 31 starts. Would he have put up the same numbers in the American League? Discuss. Pitcher Gavin Floyd Ah, yes, the annual Floyd-to-Orioles story. Local kid comes home. It's heartwarming, but it still hasn't happened. Floyd chose a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Braves, which included $4.5 million more in potential performance and roster bonuses, over a reported two-year offer from the Orioles. He was rolling along with a 2.65 ERA in nine starts before fracturing his right elbow in June. I've heard that the Orioles could make another run at Floyd this winter. If at first, second and third you don't succeed ... First baseman Kendrys Morales The Orioles were pursuing Morales and Nelson Cruz at the same time, waiting to find out which player would accept their offer. Cruz was their preference and he eventually agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal. Morales, meanwhile, waited until June 8 to accept a one-year deal from the Twins worth approximately $7.5 million. He was traded to the Mariners on July 24. Cruz led the majors with 40 home runs. Morales batted a combined .218/.274/.338 with eight home runs in 98 games. Second baseman Brian Roberts Why does that name sound familiar? Oh, right. The Orioles put Roberts on the back burner over the winter, failing to contact his agent during the Winter Meetings, and Roberts jumped on the Yankees' offer without giving his former club a chance to counter it. Roberts received $2 million for one season, batted .237/.300/.360 in 91 games, was designated for assignment on July 31 and announced his retirement following the season. Outfielder Nate McLouth The Orioles wanted to re-sign McLouth, but only for one year. They knew he'd get a two-year offer in free agency, and sure enough, the Nationals signed him for $10.75 million over two years with a $6.75 million team option. Big bucks for a fourth outfielder. McLouth appeared in only 79 games and batted .173/.280/.237 with one home run. He was placed on the disabled list Aug. 4 and underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Season over. Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo Choo was never a realistic option for the Orioles due to his price tag, but I'm including him because some segments of the national media kept linking the two, and lots of fans were pushing for his signing. He would have filled obvious needs in left field and atop the order, but the Orioles weren't going to touch the seven-year, $130 million deal he signed with the Rangers. After posting a .285/.423/.462 slash line with 34 doubles and 21 home runs in 154 games with the Reds in 2013, Choo batted .242/.340/.374 with 19 doubles and 13 home runs in 123 games.