Gallardo's press conference and Duquette's comments on Fowler

SARASOTA, Fla. - Today was supposed to be about Yovani Gallardo's first workout with the Orioles and the press conference introducing him to the local media. We'll start there before returning to the Dexter Fowler circus. Stay with me.

"It's a great group from what I learned today," Gallardo said while sitting between manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette. "They did a great job. They made me feel comfortable and welcome here in the clubhouse. I'm excited. I'm excited to be part of this club and looking forward to winning a lot of ballgames with you guys. I was anxious to get started right away and I'm happy to be here."

Gallardo made it here after agreeing to a restructured contract. The Orioles will pay him $22 million guaranteed, including a $2 million buyout. He could receive $33 million guaranteed if the club exercises a $13 million option for 2018.

The changes came after the Orioles grew concerned over the results of an MRI on Gallardo's right shoulder.

"It was a little bit different, to be honest, but I'm just glad we were able to get something done," he said. "It's part of the process, to be honest. I think it's part of the situation, becoming a free agent, but everything for me, I'm passed that. I'm looking forward to being on this club and pitching for this team and going out every fifth day or whenever my name is called and doing everything I can to get this team a victory."

Gallardo owns a career 102-75 record and 3.66 ERA in nine major league seasons. He's 2-2 with a 2.32 ERA in six postseason games, including five starts.

"I've had the experience, both during the season and in the playoffs," he said. "And I think it's a little bit of leadership. I think there's a lot of talent on this club with the starting pitchers. I think we all need to feed off one another and I think whenever my name is called, I've had a good opportunity to start ... I've had 30 or more starts and I think that's very important. Just lead the guys in the proper workouts and that type of thing to be able to do that."

The Orioles pursued Gallardo early in free agency and he knew right away that they were a good fit.

"Obviously, knowing the kind of players we have on this club," he said. "It's great defense. They want to be a part of it. I've seen these guys play from the other side of the field and they're aggressive. They want to make that diving play. They want to field that ground ball in the hole and make that good play.

"It's just one of those things for me, my goal is to get that ground ball and let the guys behind me do the rest of the work. I've seen it before just from the few games I've seen on the other side while facing the Orioles.

"We had a little bit of contact since Day One. That was pretty much it. As the offseason went on, it got a little more serious. I want to pitch for a team that wants me. They've had interest in me since Day One, and we were able to work something out."

Did Gallardo receive any input about the team or city from the Orioles?

"The one thing, is, it's a tough place to pitch. That's what I hear," he said. "Look at the stadiums I have pitched in. In Milwaukee, it wasn't ... I wouldn't consider it a good pitchers park, to be honest. And Texas.

"You know what? I'm up for the challenge. I'm looking forward to it and I'm going to go out there and compete."

Plenty of Orioles attended the press conference, including Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Miguel Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach Britton, Kevin Gausman, pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti.

"It's great, to be honest," Gallardo said. "Wouldn't say this is the first time I had the guys show up to a new team. It's how they welcomed me in Texas. It shows the support they have for each other. We're going to stick together. I think that's one of the most important things. We're going to pick each other up and stay positive."

Gallardo worked out earlier in the day, participating in a variety of fielding drills. He finally made it out to the field. It was all about baseball again.

"It was great today," he said. "Just like I said, I was anxious to get out there and I prepared myself. I kept doing my throwing program as any other offseason. So obviously, the past couple of days have been a little different, but I feel comfortable. I've done enough throwing to where I'm prepared for coming into camp. I did struggle with a couple PFPs, but you've got to work on them. Maybe I'll get some of the infielders to (help me) work on them."

The Orioles needed a replacement for left-hander Wei-Yin Chen. They wanted someone durable and possessing a track record.

"I think Yovani helps us because he's shown us he's a very dependable starter," said executive vice president Dan Duquette. "He's up to the challenge of going against the best pitchers, and he's done that in the course of his career. I think when you have dependable starting pitchers, and you have the experience that Yovani has, the other pitchers, the younger pitchers, they have a good role model. They can watch him do his job, but I think they can set in comfortably and do their job."

Manager Buck Showalter is quick to remind that the returning pitchers and position players also need to step up, that one addition to the rotation isn't necessarily a game changer.

"I don't think it's going to be an impact as far as everybody has to do what they do," he said. "It's not a prerequisite for success, but it certainly helps. We still have to do all the other things a game entails in order to be consistent and win a baseball game. So whether Darren O'Day came back or Chris Davis came back or Matt Wieters came back, those things are the sum of the parts.

"Obviously, the guys that are here are all part of it. Yovani will be the first to tell you he's going to try to do his part and be somebody we're going to trust and depend on. Nothing more, nothing less. We feel good about that kind of commitment for someone like him."

Meanwhile, Duquette will resume his search for another hitter after Dexter Fowler signed a one-year deal with the Cubs that included a mutual option.

"We will keep looking to build our team," he said. "I'm confident we will be able to find some players that want to come and contribute to the team. We still have all the ingredients, we have good defense. We have a good bullpen. We've upgraded our pitching staff. We got good leadership on the field and good power."

Duquette said he found out this morning that Fowler was signing with the Cubs. The Orioles aren't stating publicly that they reached agreement with Fowler on a three-year, $33 million deal, but multiple sources within the organization confirmed it. National writers confirmed it.

"We made a very competitive offer," Duquette said. "The issue was the opt-out. The Orioles have made it clear that that type of deal wouldn't really work for us. Based on that, it sounds to me like he wanted to return to Chicago.

"We made a very competitive offer. There was not an agreement to terms because they kept insisting on an opt-out. I don't see, club ownership doesn't see the value in that type of arrangement to the Orioles. If we are going to guarantee a contract, it should be a contract."

In case you missed it, the Orioles won't bend on opt-out clauses.

"Well, I don't see the advantage to the team," Duquette said. "I don't see the advantage to the team of guaranteeing the money and allowing the player to have a free look at the market. Either you're going to play the market or you're going to commit to a team. Frankly, I think it's better for our fans. Our fans want to know that the guys that are playing for the Orioles are playing for the Orioles, that they're committed to the team. And I believe that that's the right way to operate the team as a business."

Asked whether he's swimming upstream with this philosophy, Duquette replied, "No, I think that's the right way to run a ballclub. If you can convince me to the merits of the team, I'm sure we can consider it, but I've yet to see the value to the club."

The Orioles weren't surrendering their second draft pick for a player who might only be with them for one season.

"The issue with the draft pick is a consideration in all these deals and we take that into account with all these deals," Duquette said. "We took that into account in this occasion."

I'm sure this won't be the last time that I'm forced to address this topic, but there's no doubt that the Orioles thought they had an agreement with Fowler. Confirmation didn't just come from outside the organization. One official speculated that Fowler probably would arrive today to take his physical.

They're not going to lay it all out publicly. Meanwhile, there's heavy speculation that the Cubs jumped in late, as they're known to do, and the Orioles' agreement fell apart.

Fowler supposedly was uncomfortable with reports of the deal, from what I've read, but I didn't see immediate denials. Adam Jones stated yesterday that he spoke to Fowler and the outfielder was headed to Sarasota.

Now he's back with the Cubs, which is his prerogative. And the Orioles still have more work to do on their roster, which is the norm for them in spring training.

Maybe Steve Harvey announced the wrong agreement.