One week to the Winter Meetings, the rumor mill is heating up

Here is a good question: What is taking the Orioles so long to re-sign Nick Markakis? And is there truly a chance now that they may not re-sign him? Is the holdup on the O's or Markakis' side right now?

Fans are getting restless on this one.

With neither side commenting on it, we are left to mostly guess and speculate here, but it sure seemed like this would be done by now. You don't hear many rumors connecting Markakis to other teams, but he hasn't gotten a new deal with the Orioles.

It's pretty quiet right now.

Now comes Sunday's report from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com that the Orioles have talked to the Dodgers about outfielder Matt Kemp. As rumors/reports go, that's a pretty juicy one.

But Rosenthal also notes it could be about the Orioles creating leverage to get Markakis and/or Nelson Cruz re-signed.

The Orioles have also been linked lately to Torii Hunter and Melky Cabrera. Yep, the rumor mill is churning now with the Winter Meetings set to start one week from today in San Diego.

Kemp is a big talent. Last season, he batted .287 with 38 doubles, 25 homers and 89 RBIs. He had a .346 OBP, a .506 slugging percentage and an .852 OPS. He's won two Gold Gloves and played in the 2011 and 2012 All-Star Games.

But Kemp also missed some time during the 2012 and 2013 seasons when ankle and shoulder injuries limited him to 179 games. Some have questioned his attitude and presence in the clubhouse.

He's also owed $107 million over the next five years at $21 million in 2015 and $21.5 million from 2016-19.

Would the Orioles really acquire Kemp, make him their highest-paid player and risk disrupting a clubhouse that currently features great chemistry? Is this rumor/report going to wind up like so many others and never amount to anything?

A lot of questions and now it's time to get the pulse of the fans.

So how do you feel about all this, Birdland?

Justice for the Orioles: Hey look, a national writer that likes the Orioles. See, it happens. MLB.com's Richard Justice writes that the Orioles are "a good team with a tremendous manager in Buck Showalter and one of the great clubhouse environments in baseball, led by Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy. The Orioles may take a step back without (Nelson) Cruz in the middle of their lineup, but they're still good enough to win."