Nearing the non-tender deadline

Before executive vice president Dan Duquette, manager Buck Showalter and the rest of the Orioles contingent gather in Nashville next week for the Winter Meetings, decisions must be made regarding the contract statuses of their 11 arbitration-eligible players.

Here comes another way to clear a spot or two on the 40-man roster.

The Orioles must tender contracts by the 11:59 p.m. deadline on Wednesday night. They did it with all 11 of their eligible players last year - Zach Britton, Chris Davis, Alejandro De Aza, Ryan Flaherty, Miguel Gonzalez, Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Bud Norris, Steve Pearce, Chris Tillman and Matt Wieters.

They couldn't reach agreement with De Aza and beat him in an arbitration hearing, their first since defeating Brad Bergesen in 2012.

In 2013, the Orioles traded closer Jim Johnson to the Athletics shortly before the deadline for tendering contracts. It provided a heavy dose of drama to the process, with rumors surfacing earlier in the day that the club was trying to move him.

This year's list of eligible players includes Britton, Flaherty, Gonzalez, Matusz, Tillman, Brad Brach, Manny Machado, Nolan Reimold, David Lough, Paul Janish and Vance Worley. Will the Orioles again go 11-for-11?

I'm not expecting it, but this is mostly speculation.

We know the locks to be tendered - Britton, Tillman, Machado and Brach. They're such slam dunks, they should be invited to the NBA's All-Star weekend.

Machado made $548,000 this year and MLBTradeRumors.com projects that his salary will jump to $5.9 million. There are raises and then there are raises.

Brach also is a first-timer and MLBTradeRumors.com projects that his salary will rise from $523,000 to $1.1 million.

Here is the site's complete list of projected salaries for 2016:

Brian Matusz - $3.4 million
Nolan Reimold - $900,000
Paul Janish - $600,000
Chris Tillman - $6.2 million
Miguel Gonzalez - $4.9 million
Ryan Flaherty - $1.5 million
Zach Britton - $6.9 million
Vance Worley - $2.7 million
Brad Brach - $1.1 million
Manny Machado - $5.9 million
David Lough - $800,000

Lough is a definite non-tender candidate after making $525,500 this season. He's also a first-timer as a Super Two and the Orioles already have designated him for assignment this year before he accepted an outright assignment and had his contract purchased in September.

We can label him as vulnerable.

MLBTradeRumors.com also chose Flaherty, Janish, Reimold and Worley as non-tender candidates. They excluded Matusz and Gonzalez, but I'd certainly list them as questionable, though I'm guessing that they receive contracts.

Showalter thinks highly of Flaherty and Janish. There's probably room for both of them on the opening day roster. Also, Flaherty could be optioned. They're not going to burden the budget.

It seems odd that the Orioles would claim Worley off waivers on Oct. 20, fail to add a proven starter or reliever since his acquisition and then non-tender him on Wednesday. We'll see.

Reimold has strong supporters in the organization and it would be a surprise if he didn't report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in February. He's been cut loose in the past, but the Orioles worked hard to bring him back. Again, we'll see.

Non-tender speculation follows Matusz every year as his salary climbs. He made $3.2 million in 2015 and it's fair to wonder again how much the Orioles want to pay a reliever who's primarily a left-handed specialist. However, he's still a valuable contributor and a possible trade chip.

Matusz's name came up last year at the Winter Meetings and it figures to happen again in Nashville. The Orioles may as well listen.

By the way, Matusz is a former Super Two in his final year of arbitration eligibility before he finally reaches free agency.

Gonzalez also is a potential trade chip who's due another significant raise after a disappointing 2015 season that included time spent on the disabled list and a pronounced decline in effectiveness. The projected $4.9 million salary may seem extreme after his ERA rose from 3.23 to 4.91 and his WHIP increased from 1.296 to 1.396, but he's probably viewed as a bargain when the entire body of work is taken into account.

J.A. Happ just landed a three-year, $36 million deal from the Blue Jays. Take away the 1.85 ERA in 11 starts with the Pirates this season and tell me who's been more productive.

Happ registered a 5.35 ERA and 1.535 WHIP in 2011, a 4.79 ERA and 1.403 WHIP in 2012, a 4.56 ERA and 1.468 WHIP in 2013 and a 4.22 ERA and 1.335 WHIP in 2014. He was 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA and 1.408 WHIP in 21 games (20 starts) with the Mariners this season before the trade to Pittsburgh.

I'm not telling the entire story of both pitchers, but you see my point.

The Orioles are in the market for another starter and are concerned about a lack of rotation depth. It seems wise to hold onto Gonzalez, at least for now.

Note: In case you missed it, the Braves signed Johnson to a one-year contract worth a reported $2.5 million.

Showalter was intrigued by the idea of bringing back his former closer and maybe taking a look at him as a starter, but it's not going to happen.