Wieters: "I have no idea what the future will hold"

SARASOTA, Fla. - As Matt Wieters keeps progressing toward his first exhibition start behind the plate, he continues to push thoughts of free agency out of his mind.

Wieters said there have been no extension talks between the Orioles and agent Scott Boras, which shouldn't be viewed as a revelation of any sort. It seems a foregone conclusion in the industry, and certainly within the organization, that Wieters will test the market following the season.

"That's the thing is, you never know," Wieters said before today's workout. "You see things change in the blink of an eye and that's why it's tough to say, 'It's going to go this way, it's going to go this way.' Things happen that can change the situation just like that.

"I have no crystal ball, I have no idea what the future will hold. I can only control what I can control and that's getting ready to play this season."

Wieters avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $8.3 million contract, a raise from the $7.7 million he made in 2014 while appearing in 26 games and undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. The Orioles previously made a few attempts to negotiate an extension, but talks never gained momentum. There's been no recent dialogue.

"No change and I think that's fine with me now," Wieters said. "Doing the rehab and going through this has made it a little bit easier just to put it on the back burner. Last year, missing all the games made me appreciate how great it is to be on the field and be playing. Whether it's my last year, and hopefully not, I'm just going to enjoy playing every game this year.

"When you miss so much time, I'm going to enjoy playing every game with these guys that I have."

Wieters and other pending free agents are left to wonder about the direction of the club and whether executive vice president Dan Duquette can keep the Orioles in contention without a significant increase in payroll. Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, Darren O'Day and Tommy Hunter also are included among 11 players with expiring contracts this year.

"I think the biggest concern is in this clubhouse we feel like we've put together a team that can compete for a lot of years," Wieters said. "The front office and Buck (Showalter) and all those guys have accumulated a team that we really like. And we really like this clubhouse. That's why you see so many guys that want to stay and want to come back, because of the kind of camaraderie that we have in this clubhouse.

"It's a unique experience and everybody knows that, and that's why you see everybody want to stay and want to keep building on it and be able to keep it around for a long time. In Major League Baseball, you don't see the closeness that this clubhouse has a lot."

The loss of Nick Markakis, who signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Braves, was like a hard slap of reality across the faces of the pending free agents. If he was allowed to leave, anyone could follow him out the door.

"That's the thing. You never know," Wieters said. "Nick wanted to be an Oriole for life more than anybody and that's why this game is always going to have that business side to it. Especially the more revenue that it makes, it's going to become more and more of a business. The Little League kid in you thinks that part kind of stinks, but at the same time it's still baseball and it's a great game no matter where you're playing. And especially in Baltimore, it's been a great experience."

Wieters hasn't experienced any setbacks as he nears his Grapefruit League debut behind the plate on March 17. He's playing back-to-back games for the first time today, starting again as the designated hitter, and will catch consecutive games March 14 against a team from Puerto Rico and March 15 against a B team.

"We're just going to keep moving forward, and until that morning of the 17th, we won't know for sure, but as of now everything's gone just like wanted to," he said. "Been able to keep improving and keep getting stronger and that's what we wanted to do.

"That will get the legs in shape for sure, back-to-back games. The thing is getting everything else in shape where nothing else is going to get fatigued. Try to keep the arm as strong as possible as long as possible. And that will be kind of the battle during the beginning of the year, making sure the arm doesn't get tired and I start using bad throwing mechanics to where I could possibly hurt it again. And that's the biggest thing, keeping it where it's strong enough and fresh enough where i feel like i can throw at anytime."

Wieters has been throwing to the bases with 70-80 percent effort, but he won't be cleared to unleash them with maximum force until the 17th.

"We've been doing that for about a week, maybe longer than a week now, throwing to the bases and simulating what you might get in a game," he said. "It's different with adrenaline when an actual baserunner takes off on you, but we're going to cross off as many question marks as we can before the game."

Wieters is 0-for-13 this spring.

"It's coming," he said. "Spring training is always going to be a find-the-timing thing, get the reps, get the numbers. I don't think my spring training numbers have ever been great in the past. but I'm definitely welcoming the at-bats, getting my timing going.

"I knew that it was going to be, I was going to have the at-bats in spring training where it wasn't going to be, 'OK, I feel like I really need to get going here.' It's a long process and you're always going to want to get hits. I don't care if you're hitting BP or in a game. But as far as going out there and making sure I can take full swings, cut it loose and know the elbow is going to be fine, mentally that's big for me."

As for today's game, Alex Rodriguez didn't make the trip to Sarasota, but the Yankees brought Mark Teixeira.

For the Yankees
Didi Gregorius SS
Chris Young CF
Chase Headley 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
J.R. Murphy C
Jose Pirela DH
Stephen Drew 2B
Aaron Judge RF
Ramon Flores LF

Chase Whitley RHP