Jeff Zrebiec of the Sun reported on Tuesday that the Orioles have renewed talks with first baseman Derrek Lee after their discussions with Adam LaRoche seemed to have stalled.
It’s unclear whether that is because LaRoche is reportedly seeking a three-year deal while the Orioles would prefer not giving him three guaranteed years, or LaRoche simply has better, more lucrative offers, and doesn’t want to play in Baltimore.
Either way, the renewed talks this week with Lee’s agent, Casey Lee, would appear to indicate that the Orioles aren’t as confident as they once were in signing LaRoche.
Would you like to see the O’s get back in the mix for LaRoche or go after Lee?
Wow, let's hope this is posturing on th O's part. Lee has to be their 3rd or 4th choice at first base.
IMHO, Lee is a better option. Lee only wants a one year deal, we need a right handed bat, his troubles at the plate were not age related, he should improve over his 2010 stats, and we can make a serious run at the Prince next year. LaRoche hit 25 HRs and 100RBIs, but it was his best year, what's his ceiling? LaRoche ties up 1B for 3 years, creating a real block agaianst getting a real productive 1Bman. LaRoche has been with Pittsburg and Arizona, not exactly winning traditions. Lee is only 34 and a one year deal is not much of a gamble. He is no Adtkins
I'm a huge fan of getting Lee for around 8 million for 1 year. I can't see Laroche being the long term answer for us at first. Lee has much more upside. Best case scenario O's get above .500 and start to get noticed next year as a contender and free agents will look more realistically at the O's.