Morning notes on Schoop, Brach and Scott

While the Orioles seem to be more focused on engaging in trade talks related to their pending free agents, with closer Zach Britton leading the pack and likely to be gone before the end of the homestand, they also are hearing from teams expressing interest in players who remain under control beyond 2018.

Starters Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, reliever Mychal Givens and second baseman Jonathan Schoop are attracting attention and the Orioles won't regard anyone as untouchable in a rebuild. Only Schoop can become a free agent after the 2019 season.

The Orioles haven't approached Schoop's representative about negotiating an extension. They are committed to a rebuild and won't be contending next summer when Schoop is plowing through his final months under control.

Holding onto him leaves the Orioles in the same position they faced with Manny Machado, trying to get a sufficient return for a rental at the non-waiver trade deadline.

They insisted at the Winter Meetings that they weren't actively shopping Machado as teams made their various pitches to executive vice president Dan Duquette, no one offering a sufficient package to get a deal done. It would make sense now, with the Orioles no longer talking about another playoff run, to more strongly consider dealing Schoop this summer or most definitely in the off-season.

Sign him to a long-term extension or let him go to the highest bidder.

There's the possibility that the Orioles take Schoop to spring training next year and attempt to work out a new contract, but they'd run the risk of making him a rental.

Reliever Brad Brach isn't trending in the right direction as the non-waiver deadline approaches. He's garnering some interest, but teams must overlook his 4.97 ERA and 1.737 WHIP in 38 innings. Or they can use it to minimize the return for him.

Brach has allowed multiple runs in four of his last 11 outings, the other seven scoreless. He served up a two-run homer Sunday to the Blue Jays' Randal Grichuk and was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning in a 5-4 loss.

Jumping to the logical conclusion puts you in pressure territory, that Brach is feeling it as he tries to block out the trade rumors.

"Brad has always been that type of guy who has high expectations and wears his emotions on his sleeve," said manager Buck Showalter. "It's also what makes him good.

"This year, he just hasn't been able to get into that long, quality role like he has in the past. You see him have a good outing or two and you go, 'OK, here it goes, he's really going to run off some,' and then he makes one pitch that allows the inning to get away from him."

Tanner Scott replaced Brach Sunday with a runner on base and surrendered a two-run homer to Yangervis Solarte to take the loss and raise his ERA to 6.67 with a 1.729 WHIP. He's struck out 43 batters in 28 1/3 innings.

Scott was celebrating his 24th birthday. Blowing a lead and a save opportunity instead of blowing out his candles.

Showalter isn't worried about failures chipping away at Scott's confidence.

"You see him have a tough outing and then he comes out next time and strikes out the side. Then you see him go out and have a tough outing and come back and look a most unhittable," Showalter said.

"I think we're OK there. It's something I do keep an eye out for. Roger (McDowell) and Alan (Mills) are with him a lot. Alan's good with that. Actually, Zach's been great with him. A good type of tough love. Not any of the hazing crap that you hear about. But I think Zach sees a lot of himself in him and he seems to have taken a real interest in him. But no, I think because of the way he bounces back ... they're tough lessons, not only for him but the team."

Does the ability to recover so easily make Scott closer material? Showalter was ready for the question.

"I like those closers that don't have to bounce back, OK? Let's do something to correct it," he said.

"They come in all shapes and sizes. Zach, seven or eight years ago, nobody in here probably thought he was going to be a premiere closer. I've got somebody in the back of my mind who's on this club right now that I think might be able to do it down the line that would surprise everybody. But it's a growth. Very seldom is it at 23, 24. It's usually at 27, 28, 29.

"You take some of baseball's lessons, make you never assume something with two outs and nobody on. Good closers are ruthless. They want to see how solidly they can slam the door as opposed to leaving an opening here and there. They're hard to find. I don't know what the game's going to do with it down the line, if it's even going to be someone like that. Hard to win without it."

Shameless plug alert: I'm participating in a Q&A session in the Designated Hitters lounge in the warehouse at 5:35 p.m., following shortstop Tim Beckham, as part of Birdland Social Media Night, and I'm also appearing on "O's Xtra" that airs at 6:30 p.m. on MASN.