Wondering how Moylan would fit in bullpen

As the GM meetings began Monday morning in Orlando, Fla., the Orioles already had their first "interested in" report. Which is similar to "in on." Don't let the phrasing confuse you.

The bullpen always is a priority with the Orioles, no matter the returnees, and MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote that they've expressed interest in right-hander Peter Moylan.

There doesn't seem to be a nagging need for one if factoring in right-handers Brad Brach, Darren O'Day and Mychal Givens. Moylan led the majors with 79 appearances for the Royals this season, but he isn't an innings eater, totaling 59 1/3 and working fewer than one in 45 games. He isn't a big strikeout guy, fanning 46 batters in 2017 and averaging 6.9 per nine innings in 11 major league seasons.

A spot will open for a right-handed long reliever if Miguel Castro moves into the rotation, and he's expected to get the chance in spring training. Moylan doesn't fit the profile. He'd be more useful - again, on the surface - if executive vice president Dan Duquette made a bold move and traded Brach or closer Zach Britton, the latter drawing interest from multiple teams at the meetings. Duquette seemed more inclined last month to build on a team strength, not subtract from it, but we can't be sure about anything.

Moylan turns 39 in three weeks. He's undergone two Tommy John surgeries and a procedure for a bulging disc in his back, and he's rehabbed tears in his rotator cuff and labrum. The Orioles are known for their stringent physicals, which is like saying cows are known for milk and flatulence. They've failed pitchers with more boring injury histories. Moylan's MRIs resemble a topographic map. It seems like a mismatch made in heaven.

I'd imagine that Moylan would be a tough sell for ownership based on his medicals, though the 79 appearances this summer might ease concerns.

Let's flip the script and check off reasons why Moylan, a native of Australia who still resides there in the offseason, would make sense.

Moylan has made more than 78 appearances in four seasons and he posted a 3.39 ERA and 1.096 WHIP this summer. He's held right-handers to a .209 average while left-handers have hit .300, making him a specialist if that's what the Orioles are coveting. He throws sidearm, which scores points with manager Buck Showalter. He ranked among the top relievers in groundball ratio, always a nice trait at Camden Yards. He's a positive influence in the clubhouse, with a sense of humor - he purchased an espresso machine for the Royals clubhouse and serves as barista - that brings back memories of Tommy Hunter. Orioles pitching coach Roger McDowell knows Moylan from their days together in Atlanta.

Age and injuries could force Moylan to settle for a one-year deal. He couldn't get a major league contract last winter. He made $1 million this season and won't put a big dent in the payroll. More like a ding.

The Orioles used 22 relievers this year, including starters like Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jiménez, Gabriel Ynoa and Alec Asher who also came out of the bullpen. They could do any number of things before opening day, including the addition of a third left-hander. Don't forget that they began the 2017 season with an 11-man pitching staff that counted Oliver Drake, Tyler Wilson and Vidal Nuño among its relievers. Drake was traded to the Brewers, Nuño recently signed a minor league deal with the Rays and Wilson is a free agent.

Ynoa and Mike Wright are out of minor league options and would need to be placed in the 'pen if they doesn't make the rotation and are kept on the 25-man roster. But the Orioles might want to give Jimmy Yacabonis more seasoning in Triple-A despite his 1.32 ERA and 0.946 WHIP in 41 appearances with Norfolk.

Yacabonis averaged 4.1 walks and seven strikeouts per nine innings with the Tides and 6.1 walks and 3.5 strikeouts in his 14 appearances with the Orioles, which also included a 4.35 ERA and 1.548 WHIP.

A guy like Moylan could give the Orioles an option in the middle innings and as a setup man if others aren't available, though the splits suggest he might need to go batter to batter, and there are multiple in-house candidates for long relief to fill out a standard seven-man bullpen. But it wouldn't leave room for a lefty specialist, the kind played so effectively by Donnie Hart in 2016. No one would be able to cover for a starter's early exit without a lot of baton passing.

Moylan won't be the last reliever linked to the Orioles, whether on major league or minor league deals. It's only going to intensify at next month's Winter Meetings and beyond. Same goes for starters and left-handed hitters.

Bowman tweeted that the Braves also held interest in Moylan. He pitched for them from 2006-2012 and again in 2015. He told the Kansas City Star that he'd like to stay with the Royals, which is the early expectation. But the Orioles are kicking the tires, also a popular offseason expression.

Meanwhile, the Baseball Writers' Association of America will reveal the Cy Young Award winners. The Yankees' Luis Severino, the Red Sox's Chris Sale and the Indians' Corey Kluber are the finalists in the AL. The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and the Nationals' Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg are the finalists in the NL.

I'm predicting a Kluber win, with Sale a close second.

Steve Stone is the last Orioles Cy Young winner back in 1980, after he shocked the world by going 25-7 with a 3.23 ERA and nine complete games in 37 starts. Mike Flanagan won it in 1979, Jim Palmer in 1973, 1975 and 1976, and Mike Cuellar in 1969. Cuellar and the Tigers' Denny McLain shared the honor.

Palmer finished second in 1977 after going 20-11 with a 2.91 ERA and 22 complete games - yes, 22 - in 39 starts over 319 innings (yes, 319) and in 1982 after going 15-5 with a 3.13 ERA and eight complete games in 36 games. He finished third once and fifth twice.

* The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and Baltimore Gas & Electric will unveil Eddie Murray Field at BGE Park this afternoon to provide a safe place for kids in the West Baltimore community to play baseball and other recreational activities. The field is named in honor of the Hall of Famer and Orioles legend, who will be present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with Cal Ripken Jr.

The field also will serve as the home field to James Mosher Baseball, the oldest continuously operating African American youth baseball league in the country. It features a synthetic turf baseball diamond equipped with dugouts, a backstop and digital scoreboard.

The Ripken Foundation has completed 74 multipurpose synthetic turf facilities, impacting over 279,000 youth in 21 states nationwide, including 11 completed parks throughout Maryland.