Unfortunately today’s top story on Yahoo Sports is this piece by Jeff Passan. Passan says that “Baltimore remains a dead-end destination” and blames ownership for the Orioles’ woes. He talks about why Prince Fielder will not want to come to Baltimore, the worries of Brian Matusz, and the fall of Brian Roberts. It’s hard to refute anything that Passan says in the article.
Lots more Orioles buzz happening on a busy Friday:
- According to a report by Ben Nicholson-Smith on MLB Trade Rumors, Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes says that the Orioles are in on his services. The six teams currently in on Cespedes are the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians. If you haven’t seen the phenomenal Cespedes Youtube video it can be seen here. Cespedes is currently playing in the Dominican Winter league where he currently resides after his Cuban defection. Cespedes is one of this off season’s best free agents and has been compared to Ken Griffey Jr. by some. I personally would be ecstatic to see the Orioles land him. A Cespedes signing could also trigger an Adam Jones trade to Atlanta for some of their young pitching. In my eyes, signing Cespedes and trading Atlanta for the #1 pitching prospect in baseball, Julio Teheran, would give the Orioles one of the best off seasons of any team. Only the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels could be compared to.
- According to this report by MLB Trade Rumors the remaining pitching free agents have reportedly all lowered their asking prices. The Orioles were rumored to be in on Edwin Jackson, but didn’t like his high asking price from agent Scott Boras. This report states Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt, and Hiroki Kuroda have all lowered their price. Oswalt wants to play for a contender, so he is out of the question for Baltimore. If the Orioles miss out on Cespedes it’s possibly that they turn their attention towards Edwin Jackson again. With the additions of Wada and Chen, I can see it being a possibility that Hiroki Kuroda would be willing to come to Baltimore.
- Finally, according to NBC Sports seen here the Orioles are interested in Johnny Damon. My BSR piece on Luke Scott suggested that the Orioles should now turn their attention to Damon. Johnny Damon is a clubhouse leader, a winner, can still play the field, is consistent, can still run (19 stolen bases last year), and has been healthy his entire career. Damon seems like a great fit for Baltimore and would be the kind of player that Buck Showalter would love having. Many people attributed Tampa Bay’s late comeback last season to the leadership of Damon. On a personal note, I want to say that I’ve met a lot of players in Major League Baseball, and Johnny Damon is the nicest player I’ve ever met.
Follow Mark Brown on Twitter @FantasyGodmb.
it would be awesome if the orioles got them players but them trading adam jones not so much of an idea i mean if they did that then they get some young arms to a bullpen that needs help will be right but who knows what will happen but i would be sad if they got rid of adam jones but be happy if they got the young gun from cuba and then get jackson and then damon what a line up that would be.
I understand what your saying. Adam Jones is a fan favorite and we’ve all watched him grow. I think we have to look at it from a standpoint where we have to admit that the Orioles will not be contenders while Jones is in Baltimore. By the time we can realistically contend Jones will be a free agent. We might as well get some guys who will be under team control during those contention years. I would only deal Jones for starting pitching, and not for bullpen help. Cespedes would be an upgrade to Adam Jones, so I’d be ecstatic to get him. Edwin Jackson would be a welcomed addition if the price is right. Now that Montero has been traded away from the Yankees, I actually see the Yankees bringing Johnny Damon back.
Like I said,,,,,,,,baseball is dead in Baltimore…………