Updates on salary exchanges, Trumbo and Rickard

Today marks the deadline for teams and players to exchange salary figures before attempting to work out agreements and avoid the messy hearing process. The deadline is 1 p.m., so you won't be left hanging all day.

The Orioles could announce a bunch of signings later this afternoon. It's been known to happen. Last year, they agreed to terms with eight of their 10 players before figures were swapped.

I joke every year about the media's obsession over publishing the exchanged figures. I doubt that many fans are interested unless there's a significant gap. It's a pointless exercise, but I've been drawn into it on occasion.

The sides usually split the difference and come to an agreement. However, the Orioles went the "file and go" route with outfielder Alejandro De Aza before the 2015 season and will do the same this year with anyone who doesn't sign today, according to a source.

No further negotiations, just hearing dates and more prep work before presenting their arguments. It's a strong stance to take, heels dug into the ground.

The Orioles have lost only one hearing since managing partner Peter G. Angelos took over the team in 1993. Ben McDonald beat them in 1995. They're 8-0 with H. Russell Smouse handling the cases.

Here's the list of arbitration-eligible Orioles and the salary projections from MLBTradeRumors.com. Utility player Ryan Flaherty signed last night for $1.8 million and left-hander T.J. McFarland signed for $685,000. Vance Worley was non-tendered, removing him from the list.

Chris Tillman - $10.6MM
Zach Britton - $11.4MM
Brad Brach - $2.9MM
Manny Machado - $11.2MM
Jonathan Schoop - $3.4MM
Kevin Gausman - $3.9MM
Caleb Joseph - $1.0MM

* Executive vice president Dan Duquette is making the interview rounds, following his appearance on MLB Network Radio last weekend with yesterday's phoner on MLB Network that included his response to a FOX Sports report that Mark Trumbo is willing to accept a three-year deal from the Orioles in the range of $40-50 million.

Talks broke down a while ago and the Orioles seemed more inclined to take the draft pick and find a shorter-term solution to filling the designated hitter role. They remain interested in re-signing Pedro Alvarez and perhaps pairing him with Trey Mancini.

"I never say never and the Orioles are reasonable people and we try to do reasonable deals where players are compensated well and we have a good team that our fans can come out and enjoy," Duquette said. "We hit that sweet spot between good family entertainment and the value that people have to pay, so that's what we're going to do this year. We've done it very effectively for the last five years and we're going to continue to do it.

"We're going to have a good team. I can't tell you exactly who's going to be on it, but there's still a number of outfielders and hitters that are out there that are available and we have some pretty good options in our system ourselves. We kind of like Trey Mancini, the kid who won the Eastern League batting title a year ago. He came up and hit three home runs in September. He's a pretty solid option for a manager if he needs a right-handed bat and a powerful bat.

"I like Mark Trumbo. He's a good veteran player and he had a great year for us. We appreciate everything that he did for us. He's got a lot of good qualities that we like. Sometimes, these markets come down given the time. I thought we made an aggressive three-year offer at the start and I thought that would sign Mark at the time, but that didn't. Here we are.

"I think Mark wanted to go out and see if there were additional years out there beyond the three that we had offered and I think now he's got his answer."

I've heard that the Orioles made a four-year offer and a three-year offer that included an option for a fourth year. Duquette referenced an aggressive three-year offer during yesterday's interview.

Do I hear two years? Anyone?

Trumbo would be a bargain for a lot of clubs at three years and $40-50 million considering that he led the majors with 47 home runs. Duquette reminded everyone that it's really 48 if you include the wild card game. But we're talking about a range of $10 million. That's not exactly pinpointing a figure.

"All of these free agent deals, they have their own timeframe," Duquette said. "In the case of Mark Trumbo, here's a kid who came to us and he had a great year. The club made a strong effort to re-sign him and it didn't work out, so once you have an idea of where people are, then you have to go out in the market and see what's the best thing for your club. And sometimes it means you go and you sign other players and sometimes it ends up working out and you do a deal."

* The Orioles definitely are prepared to give Mancini a lot of at-bats at designated hitter. He's hit at every level and doesn't have anything else to prove in the minors.

Mancini, outfielder Joey Rickard and catcher Chance Sisco have been working out at team executive Brady Anderson's home in the Los Angeles area. Sisco lives in San Diego and it didn't make much sense for him to attend the minicamp in Sarasota.

Mancini and Rickard left yesterday, but pitchers Mike Wright, Logan Verrett and infielder Adrian Marin are arriving. Pitcher Cody Sedlock, last year's first-round pick, and shortstop Ryan Mountcastle have been there. Rickard and pitcher Jason Garcia will return later in the winter.

"They do very similar things," Anderson said. "Some of them have different strength than others and you need to spend a little more time on certain areas than others. Usually train in the morning and again in the afternoon. Get some running and agility in and then go hit and do baseball stuff. It's kind of all day long. If they're not doing that, they're on the basketball court, fooling around and training. They're doing stuff throughout the entire day."

Rickard said his right thumb is fine and he apparently won't need surgery to repair a torn ligament. He figures to be full-go in spring training while competing for a job in the outfield, whether it's in a platoon role or as a backup at all three positions.

"It's so far so good," said Rickard, whose season ended on July 20 at Yankee Stadium. "It's been a long process, but I've had a lot of time to heal, so it's pretty much good to go.

"No surgery as of right now. It's healing correctly. No surgery required."

Said Anderson: "He's good. His thumb feels really good. He hasn't had any pain or discomfort hitting, so that's a huge sign this far away from spring training because his recovery took so long.

"He's a good evaluator. He's a tough guy, but he's not in any pain. He took BP for quite a long time yesterday, off the tee and live BP. He doesn't feel it at all."

Rickard appeared in 85 games as a Rule 5 pick and batted .268/.319/.377 with 13 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs in 257 at-bats. He led the club with four stolen bases in five attempts.

Rickard hit safely in 13 of his first 14 games, including back-to-back three-hit games on April 20-21 versus the Blue Jays.

"I don't think Joey's reached his potential yet," Anderson said. "He was a good example of how hard it is to hit in the major leagues. It seemed like he got two hits every single day from opening day through April and May. He was sort of a breakthrough player in spring training and continued that in the season. Then you look up and he's struggling to hit .250, .260. But he's reliable, so he has a spot.

"He can play all three positions in the outfield, he's a reliable baserunner, a potential real basestealer and he has a really good command of the strike zone. He has a lot of skills that translate into being on a big league team and having a long career."