Revisiting the Adam Jones debate (and more)

Just a reminder that Brad Bergesen's arbitration hearing is scheduled for today in St. Petersburg, Fla. Bergesen is seeking $1.2 million and the Orioles are offering $800,000. He made $434,000 last season. Adam Jones' hearing is scheduled for Feb. 17. He's seeking $7.4 million and the Orioles countered at $5 million. He made $3.25 million last season. I'll say it again: The Orioles need to figure out whether they can sign Jones to a long-term deal. He's a free agent in 2014. His value could be at its highest, when he's not viewed as a rental for a contender. The Orioles haven't approached Jones about an extension. Executive vice president Dan Duquette is focused on the center fielder's 2012 contract. An extension is a back burner issue. Will the Orioles get burned by waiting? It's fair to wonder whether they held onto Jeremy Guthrie too long. Former executive Andy MacPhail couldn't find a trade to his liking last July, though a few teams - including the Cardinals and Tigers - expressed interest at the non-waiver deadline. I'll assume that prospects weren't being offered at that time, either. MacPhail's logic was that the suitor pool would deepen over the winter, but that must not have happened. Maybe it was another 17-loss season or the hike in salary or the one year remaining before Guthrie became a free agent. Jones indicated at FanFest that he'd be open to discussing a long-term deal, but I didn't expect him to shoot down the idea. If Duquette has any indication that Jones would prefer to test the market in two years, use him to plug as many holes in this team as possible. Don't give him away, but don't let his value decrease. Jones is the Orioles' biggest trade chip - Matt Wieters isn't going anywhere - and it may be time to cash him in by the end of July, if not sooner. As I mentioned yesterday, executive director of international recruiting Fred Ferreira intends to meet with Yoenis Cespedes in about 10 days in the Dominican. But what are the chances that the Cuban outfielder will still be a free agent? The Marlins reportedly are prepared to make him an offer. The Orioles must not be that interested if they're willing to wait and take a chance that he'll come off the market. In case you missed it, the Korean Baseball Organization is formally protesting the Orioles' signing of 17-year-old pitcher Seong-Min Kim to a minor league contract. "We have sent an official complaint to MLB," KBO operations manager Michael Park told Reuters. "We were told they will look into the case. The MLB will let us know once they have decided upon a proper measure of response. "Poaching our players like this makes it difficult for (South Korea) to keep its scouting rules tight and to develop our youth sports programs. We only have 50 high school teams and taking promising players away like this makes it very hard for Korean baseball to stay strong." Whatever. I still hadn't purchased my Kim jersey. An additional note: All of the Orioles' minor league pitching coaches are gathering in Baltimore today and tomorrow to meet with new director of pitching development Rick Peterson. It's important that everyone is on the same page, and Peterson brings some unique ideas and methods to the system. Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair isn't included in these meetings, which strikes me as odd. I know he already met with Peterson during the hiring process, but you would think that the major league pitching coach would be asked to attend these sessions.