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.
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