Heading to San Diego for the Winter Meetings
By Roch Kubatko
Welcome to the last blog entry filed in Maryland until Friday morning.
The Winter Meetings are set to begin in San Diego, which brings as much joy to this reporter as being bled with leeches or watching Season 1 of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."
The Orioles need at least one outfielder - the possibilities still include Delmon Young, Michael Morse, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Melky Cabrera - and a left-hander for their bullpen. They're interested in finding another catcher to provide depth and insurance in case Matt Wieters isn't ready on opening day. A utility infielder is always on their shopping list in the offseason, especially one who's rated as a plus-defender at shortstop.
(I wrote last month that Young was seeking a two-year deal and the Orioles were more comfortable offering one guaranteed year. Nothing has changed at this point.)
The local media will meet with executive vice president Dan Duquette later today and around 3 p.m. PST on Monday through Wednesday. We'll have our annual session with manager Buck Showalter at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Plan accordingly.
Information will come to you later than normal due to the three-hour time difference. I'll attempt to file the usual early-morning entries, but it's going to be more of a challenge unless I basically give up sleep, which is overrated anyway.
You'll hear about teams being "in on" players and executives "listening on" their own guys - as opposed to dropping the phone, covering their ears and yelling "Lalalalalalala!"
Duquette is going to listen to any general manager who contacts him and he'll usually exercise his right to say "no." But it never hurts to listen. No one is untouchable. It just takes a mega-offer to part with, as an example, prized right-hander Kevin Gausman.
You better bring it strong if you want to pry Gausman from the Orioles, and I'm not sure if any executive is packing that much muscle.
Beware of reports that link the Orioles to a specific player based on the agent meeting with Duquette. These agents represent more than one player and that can lead to media misunderstandings.
Also beware of amateurs posing as baseball insiders who throw stuff against the wall and hope it sticks, therefore enabling them to become the next teenage prodigy. Lots of false information was dispensed again last winter due to this annoying trend.
(I'm just about done with my grumpy old man routine.)
The Orioles aren't expected to make a big splash this week. There may be a ripple in a puddle, but that's about it. They traded for Dana Eveland in 2011 and re-signed Nate McLouth in 2012. Otherwise, its Rule 5 city. But the talks with agents and executives are intended to bring results later in the winter.
At least one player is coming off the 40-man roster before Thursday and I'll write again that infielder Steve Lombardozzi is a prime candidate. The Orioles would like to trade him if they can find a match, but they've been unsuccessful at this point.
My only guarantee this week is that the Orioles will make a selection in the Rule 5 draft. They're on quite a roll with Alfredo Simon, Randor Bierd, Lou Palmisano, Ben Snyder, Adrian Rosario, Ryan Flaherty, T.J. McFarland and Michael Almanzar.
Does anyone remember Palmisano and Snyder? You could win a few bar bets with those names. Palmisano, a catcher, was immediately traded to the Astros. Snyder, a left-hander, was the PTBNL in the Kevin Millwood trade with the Rangers.
The Orioles usually target relievers and infielders and don't figure to break that pattern.
Do not assume that Duquette feels pressured to make a bold move this week due to the activity of other teams in the division. That's not how Andy MacPhail operated and it's not how Duquette operates.
"We're trying to put together our team so we can have a competitive team so that we can play again at the end of September where it counts and October. We're not trying to win in December," Duquette said on Thursday.
"If you go and spend $200 million, you should be able to buy a few wins for your ballclub, OK? I would think. We have some work to do and we're going to do it when the opportunities that we like and we think are cost effective and will help our team are available to us. They don't happen every day. You can win the perception of having built your team in December. That helps. But we build our team year-round and every opportunity we get, we add to the club, and it's not always a high-profile signing. But I can tell you this: We have a good farm system and we have a good pitching staff coming back. We have good leadership with our manager, we've got an excellent pitching coach and we're going to field a competitive team again."
Duquette is going to listen to any general manager who contacts him and he'll usually exercise his right to say "no." But it never hurts to listen. No one is untouchable. It just takes a mega-offer to part with, as an example, prized right-hander Kevin Gausman.
You better bring it strong if you want to pry Gausman from the Orioles, and I'm not sure if any executive is packing that much muscle.
Beware of reports that link the Orioles to a specific player based on the agent meeting with Duquette. These agents represent more than one player and that can lead to media misunderstandings.
Also beware of amateurs posing as baseball insiders who throw stuff against the wall and hope it sticks, therefore enabling them to become the next teenage prodigy. Lots of false information was dispensed again last winter due to this annoying trend.
(I'm just about done with my grumpy old man routine.)
The Orioles aren't expected to make a big splash this week. There may be a ripple in a puddle, but that's about it. They traded for Dana Eveland in 2011 and re-signed Nate McLouth in 2012. Otherwise, its Rule 5 city. But the talks with agents and executives are intended to bring results later in the winter.
At least one player is coming off the 40-man roster before Thursday and I'll write again that infielder Steve Lombardozzi is a prime candidate. The Orioles would like to trade him if they can find a match, but they've been unsuccessful at this point.
My only guarantee this week is that the Orioles will make a selection in the Rule 5 draft. They're on quite a roll with Alfredo Simon, Randor Bierd, Lou Palmisano, Ben Snyder, Adrian Rosario, Ryan Flaherty, T.J. McFarland and Michael Almanzar.
Does anyone remember Palmisano and Snyder? You could win a few bar bets with those names. Palmisano, a catcher, was immediately traded to the Astros. Snyder, a left-hander, was the PTBNL in the Kevin Millwood trade with the Rangers.
The Orioles usually target relievers and infielders and don't figure to break that pattern.
Do not assume that Duquette feels pressured to make a bold move this week due to the activity of other teams in the division. That's not how Andy MacPhail operated and it's not how Duquette operates.
"We're trying to put together our team so we can have a competitive team so that we can play again at the end of September where it counts and October. We're not trying to win in December," Duquette said on Thursday.
"If you go and spend $200 million, you should be able to buy a few wins for your ballclub, OK? I would think. We have some work to do and we're going to do it when the opportunities that we like and we think are cost effective and will help our team are available to us. They don't happen every day. You can win the perception of having built your team in December. That helps. But we build our team year-round and every opportunity we get, we add to the club, and it's not always a high-profile signing. But I can tell you this: We have a good farm system and we have a good pitching staff coming back. We have good leadership with our manager, we've got an excellent pitching coach and we're going to field a competitive team again."
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