Markakis and Zaun

It is official Gregg Zaun will be the Orioles' starting catcher on opening day. And Nick Markakis will be the starting right fielder for the next 6 opening days as his extension was finalized. As an Oriole fan I could not be happier to lock up Markakis. I hope he spends his entire career here. You won't find a better ball player or a classier guy around, congratulations Nick, and congratulations Orioles fans. Now I think we wait for spring training, I don't foresee anymore big news this offseason in Bird Land. I'm sure that the O's and George Sherrill will reach a one year agreement probably within a week or so, to avoid an arbitration hearing. Other than that I expect things to quiet down. Its a possibility the Orioles will sign an extension with Brian Roberts and I hope they do, but I wouldn't be surprised if nothing happens until next offseason. It is still a possibility that they Orioles could still sign a mid-rotation starter, like a Jon Garland or Brandon Looper, but the price tag would have to drop considerably. I think we will probably head to spring training with the roster we have. You can see the current 40-man roster and spring training invites here.

Luke Scott, Markakis and Pauley

The Orioles have reached an agreement with Nick Markakis believed to be 6 years for $66.1 million. The deal is pending a physical which he will most likely take today and I expect an announcement tomorrow. The O's avoided arbitration with Luke Scott by signing him to a one year deal worth $2.4 million. The Orioles are still in talks with close George Sherrill to do the same. Sherrill is looking to get $3.4 million after his all-star performance last year and the Orioles are offering $2.2 mil. I expect them to find a happy medium and avoid going to an arbitration hearing. The Orioles traded righthanded pitcher Randor Bierd to the Red Sox in exchange for righthanded pitcher David Pauley. Bierd pitched out of the bullpen last season tossed 36.6 innings and posted a 4.91 ERA. Pauley who is 25 years old started 25 AAA games last season for the Pawtucket Red Soxs posting a 3.55 ERA and 103 strike outs. The deal is bad news for reserve infielder Oscar Salazar, as it will most likely result in him losing his spot on the O's 40-man roster. As for Brian Roberts there is still no news on an extension, but with the market for him being depleted, I have hope that the Orioles will eventually sign him to a multi-year deal.

Orioles Catch-Up

It has been nine days since my last post and alot has happened since then. I apologize for the time elapsed between posts. I'll try to catch up on what has been going on in Bird Land. The Orioles made it official with Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara after he passed his physical last week. They have reached a one year (with another year club option) agreement with free agent catcher Gregg Zaun. They avoided arbitration with former closer Chris Ray, who missed last season due to injury, by signing him to a one year deal worth $850,000. They also appear to be closing in on an extension with star right fielder Nick Markakis which will most likely be 6 years for 64-66 million. Which is still a value for the O's if you ask me. On that note there has been little noise on extension talks with Brian Roberts. The Orioles also have made a trade with the Chicago Cubs sending Garrett Olson and minor leaguer Henry Williamson to the Cubs in exchange for 23 year old outfielder Felix Pie. Pie was the Cubs' top prospect coming up through the minor, but has struggled in his stints over the past two seasons in the majors. If the Orioles make no more moves this offseason which I doubt they will, unless they decide to bring in one more mid-rotation starter, I expect that our offensive will most likely look like this:

1B: Aubrey Huff

2B: Brian Roberts

SS: Cesar Izturis

3B: Melvin Mora

LF: Felix Pie

CF: Adam Jones

RF: Nick Markakis

C: Gregg Zaun

DH: Luke Scott

BN: Ryan Freel

BN: Chris Gomez

BN: Guillermo Rodríguez/Matt Wieters

As far as pitching goes it is pretty wide open but I'll address that at a later time.

Behind The Plate

The Orioles have their catcher of future in Matt Wieters. However they are going to need a catcher for opening day this year. It appears that the O's will take the same route they did when signing Javy Lopez a few years back. They submit identical offers to both Gregg Zaun and Ivan Rodriguez and see who bites. Zaun has made it clear that he would love to return to Baltimore and would even embrace the role of being a mentor to Wieters until he is ready to take the full time role. The difference here is a year. The Orioles are only offering one year and Zaun wants two. I feel Zaun has a point in trying to get two years, especially when you figure that Wieters probably won't be called up until mid-season, so how much can Zaun tutor him in half a season? Not to mention as a player it is good to have a little job security. I think the O's will eventually give in to him. I'd much rather see him than Pudge for the simple reason that I don't believe Pudge could be the teacher to Wieters that Zaun could. Zaun, who is the nephew of former Orioles catcher and current broadcaster Rick Depmsey, will be entering his 15th major league season and is 37 years old. He spent his last 5 seasons with Toronto and went .237/.340/.359 last season in 86 games.

First Base

Are there any readers out there who are right handed hitting first baseman? The O's seriously need someone to fill the slot, and there are really few options. Reports have the Orioles looking in to free agents, Jim Edmonds, Richie Sexson, Ty Wigginton, Adam Dunn, and Kevin Millar. They have also entertained the idea of trades for Nick Swisher, Ryan Garko, Billy Butler, and Ryan Shealy. Honestly, I feel the best option is a trade to the Indians for Garko. That is of course depending on what the price is. If it is too steep then I think the Birds should bring back Millar. He is a fan favorite because of his club house presence. He has stated that he would like to come back to Baltimore, even if it is in more of a reserve role, but he doesn't exactly fit MacPhail's plan of getting younger. I was able to catch him last night on MLB Hot Stove on the new MLB Network and I think it is clear he will have a great career in television after his playing career is over. I think he could work into the Orioles plan if they feel that Brandon Snyder will eventually be the club's everyday first baseman. Snyder hit .315 last year with 80 RBIs in 116 games with the Frederick Keys. Another possibility is to hope that Dustin Ackley the 1B/OF from UNC will fall to #5 in the draft to be the first baseman of the future. Although I personally have my fingers crossed for SS Grant Green from USC. Unfortunately, they have to do something because spring training is closely approaching and the 2010 free agent market at first base looks pretty bleak.

The First Bird Land Blog

I am very pleased that with my very first blog on this site I get to write about one of my favorite utility players returning to Baltimore. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reported today that Chris Gomez has agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles. I would expect him to be a shoe in to make the active roster. Gomez in his 17th season is a guy who can come off the bench a play virtually any position, which he did for us for almost 3 seasons before being traded to the Indians mid-way through the 2007 season. There is just something you have to appreciate in a guy who is just happy to be a professional ball player. He is a veteran who does whatever the team asks of him; I thought he was terrific filling in a short stop after the loss of Miguel Tejada, and he is a very affective hitter when he can take low and away pitches to the opposite field. I like having guys on the bench that play the game as hard as they can and can play multiple positions, which allows the team to carry more pitchers on the active roster, and the O's have that now in both Gomez and Ryan Freel. Chris Gomez is 37 years old and is a career .262 hitter.