For Vlad and the Orioles, Second Time is the Charm

After missing out on one of the crown jewels of the 2003 free agent market, the Orioles finally got their man, inking Vladimir Guerrero to a one year $8 million contract. Both parties, a bit older, a bit wiser, were finally able to come to terms after what seemed like months of negotiations.

This move capped off what in my opinion was a great offseason by the Orioles front office. Every real need that they had after the 2010 season ended was filled. They found a number one starter in Duchscherer to provide a veteran presence along with Jeremy Guthrie. Derrek Lee was signed to handle first base, who plays well on both sides of the ball. Trades were made for the whole left side of the infield; bringing in both J.J. Hardy for shortstop and Mark Reynolds for 3B. If anything, the new players are definite upgrades from Garrett Atkins, Miguel Tejada, and Cesar Izturis.

Back to Vlad, the O's finally have that thumper in the middle of the order to protect Markakis. With this signing, Luke Scott gets pushed back to LF. Up and down the lineup, there are players capable of hitting the longball. My one negative with the Vlad signing is Luke Scott. I think Felix Pie deserves a chance to play everyday. He has made strides when the opportunity presents itself. The argument against that is the power of Luke Scott's bat in the lineup. If anything, we will see how it shakes out.

As pitchers and catchers start reporting to spring training, one thing is for sure. One Orioles fan (and I hope many others), are excited to see where this upcoming season goes.

O's Lose Wigginton

Another day at the Winter Meetings and the Orioles lose a key run producer from their team last year. Ty Wigginton, the utility infielder, signed a 2 year $7.5 million contract with the Colorado Rockies. Wigginton played first, second, and third base for the Orioles in 2010. He was clutch early on last season and was named to the All-Star team, but found his struggles in the second half of the season.

The acquisition of Mark Reynolds would most likely have affected Wigginton's playing time. The Rockies were in need of a right-handed utility bat and Wigginton fits the bill. He ended up hitting 22 HR in 649 plate appearances for Baltimore.

Former Orioles Making Headlines

Over the past few days, two former Orioles got contracts for the 2011 baseball season. The biggest beneficiary of the offseason thus far has to be Jayson Werth. Werth inked a 7 year $126 million contract with our beltway neighbors, the Washington Nationals. For those who may not know, yes, Werth was in fact a former Oriole. We drafted him number 22 overall in the first round of 1997 draft. While Werth did not appear in any major league games for the franchise, he was very highly regarded. He had great athletic ability and even above average speed for a catcher. After spending years in the minors, the Orioles traded him to the Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher, John Bale.

Werth's major league debut for the Jays came in 2002. Two years later, Werth was again on the move; this time to the Los Angeles Dodgers. At this point, Jayson was converted to the outfield to better suit his athleticism. He was declared a free agent and eventually signed a deal with the Phillies in 2006. He originally was in a platoon with Geoff Jenkins but an injury to outfielder Shane Victorino gave Werth an everyday role. In the rest of that season and in coming years, he established himself as a legitimate power threat and a key piece of the World Series championship in 2008. He stayed in Philly until after the 2010 season.

With the Nationals loss of Adam Dunn, Werth was signed to give Ryan Zimmerman lineup protection and to produce for years to come in DC.

Another former Oriole, Melvin Mora, inked a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Terms of the deal were undisclosed, but the Dbacks get a great role player with veteran leadership and a true passion for the game of baseball. Mora had a great stretch last year with the Rockies, parlaying that into a contract with another NL West team.

Even though they are no longer Orioles, I wish the best of luck to both of these players in their future endeavors and for the remainder of their MLB careers.

Orioles Acquire 3B Mark Reynolds

In an offseason where the Orioles made offers and got turned down by some top free agent targets, they turned to the trade market. Over the previous few days, the Orioles had discussions with the Arizona Diamondbacks regarding 3B Mark Reynolds. The discussions gradually heated up. It was originally speculated that Arizona wanted Chris Tillman in exchange for the power hitting corner infielder. Reliever, David Hernandez's, name was also mentioned as a potential match for Arizona. The Diamondbacks had a disastrous bullpen in 2010 so improvement was a priority for Kevin Towers, the GM, this offseason.

Yesterday, a deal was finally consummated between the two franchises, sending Mark Reynolds and a player to be named later to Baltimore in exchange for pitchers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. Hernandez was a highly sought after pitcher on the trade market this year after he found a home in the Orioles bullpen last season. Both of these relievers were power arms at the back of the bullpen.

Mark Reynolds, while definitely prone to the strikeout, offers great power and the ability to drive in runs. He will easily out produce the Orioles third baseman's HR and RBI totals from a year ago. There just has to be a way to cut down the strikeout totals. He sets a strikeout record one year, then surpasses it the next. Over 200 K's in back to back years may have some loyal Orioles fans wondering, why? As Andy MacPhail mentioned in his interview, Reynolds is also an improving defensive 3B who plays both side of the game well.

The next target would logically be first base, or a bonafide ace to slot in front of Jeremy Guthrie at the head of our rotation. Stay tuned for more updates about the Orioles from the Winter Meetings.

Closer Situation

The Orioles had signed Mike Gonzalez, the former Braves closer, in hopes of solidifying a shaky back end of the bullpen this past offseason. On paper, it seemed like a great move, since Gonzalez had great numbers the past years in Atlanta, and even prior in Pittsburgh. Gonzalez has been anything but dominant so far in 2010 blowing multiple saves and having and ERA which hovered around 18.00. He has lost all command as well as confidence, while only being able to manage one save this year.

Recently, Dave Trembley informed the media that Gonzalez was placed on the DL with a strained left shoulder. The injury was realized during a bullpen warm-up in a game when we faced Tampa Bay. In a corresponding roster move, right-hander Kam Mickolio was summoned from Triple-A to take over. It is not yet known how long Gonzalez will be out, but for right now, you would have to think Mickolio is in the mix for action as the closer for the Orioles.

Orioles 2010 Outlook

It's about 19 hours before the first pitch of the Baltimore Orioles 2010 season. Baltimore made some key stopgap acquisitions as I profiled previously this past offseason. With some key position prospects emerging and potentially ready to fill in for 2011, the Orioles have mixed in some veteran leadership with the youth already in the majors. Kevin Millwood got the nod to start opening day this year, and should provide some stability to the rotation while taking pressure off last year's ace, Jeremy Guthrie.

As much as I root for them to, the Orioles will not be claiming the AL East crown this season. This is a good chance to get more seasoning and growth from the young core group that the team possesses including Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters, Felix Pie, and Nick Markakis. I would say that Baltimore has the talent to finish very close to, if not right at .500 for the season. My prediction will be 79-82 wins. The Orioles can play spoiler to the East powers such as the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays when not in contention at the end of the season. One thing that is important every year is staying healthy. Health questions already surround Brian Roberts, who is in the first year of his big extension, as well as whether Nolan Reimold is fully recovered from offseason surgery.

I think with the opportunity for maturation and growth, the Orioles can make some noise, even in the very talented American League East, a la the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, in years to come.

Orioles News and Notes

Recently, the Orioles made two important decisions regarding their roster moving towards opening day. The backup catcher to Matt Wieters was named as was the number five starting pitcher to open the year. Craig Tatum will be backing up Wieters. When the move was made, Chad Moeller was to be optioned to the minor leagues, but refused the assignment. By doing that, Moeller declared himself a free agent.

On the pitching side of things, David Hernandez was selected to be the fifth starter. This may come as a bit of a shock because people thought Chris Tillman was a virtual lock for the position before spring training began. Tillman, along with a bunch of others, got optioned to the minor leagues for more seasoning. Tillman will be brought back and play a role in the future of this franchise, just not right now.

The Orioles also acquired Julio Lugo from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for a player to be named later. Lugo will primarily be used as insurance in case Brian Roberts injury is more serious than was thought and may keep him out longer than expected. With this transaction, Robert Andino and Ty Wiggington may find themselves with less playing time or even on their way out of Baltimore since Lugo can fill in at most of the infield positions.