Right Off Russell

I was watching the MLB Hot Stove the other night when it was mentioned that the Orioles have interest in infielder Joe Crede, reliever Mike Gonzalez, and Rick Ankiel. It was so shocking that I thought, why do the O’s need another hard throwing lefty? Surely, they don’t need another left-handed  bat in a seemingly overcrowded outfield.

What the show did not get into was how serious the O’s were on these free agents. Crede seems like a legitimate pickup. Gonzalez would be great. If McPhail was going to sign Ankiel, he must have something else up his sleeve. O’s fans like Riemold and by the end of the season, they were starting to really like Pie. Where would Ankiel play? Kakes and Jones aren’t going anywhere.

I’ll stop worrying about it until I hear the Baltimore media legitimize the rumor.

A few more tidbits have been circulating since free agency hit open season on Friday.  Lots of chatter that theOrioles are interested in bringing Erik Bedard back.  While I am not surprised to hear this type of rumor, especially considering that Bedard’s health leaves him as a less that desirable acquisition, I am shocked to hear how strongly Roch Kubatko feels about the level of interest the O’s have and the likelyhood Bedards ends up back in Baltimore.

I’m still inclined to predict that Bedard signs with the Orioles and eventually heads the rotation. As Law writes, it’s a buy-low opportunity. And Bedard enjoyed his stay in Baltimore, though the losing wore him down like so many others.

The Orioles’ best chance to upgrade the rotation comes from the collection of pitchers whose medical records will get as much attention as their won-loss records. And Bedard appears to be the front runner at the moment.

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The early news out of the GM meetings has the Orioles poised to be movers this off-season.  How much of the speculation becomes reality is a huge question, but it seems Andy McPhail and the front office are not going to sit back and wait on corner infield talent to develop.  The real need for the Orioles this off-season is for them to acquire players that are not just stop-gap types.  They need to get guys who can have a positive impact for 3-5 years.

Carlos Delgado is one name the Orioles have been linked to early on.  My feeling is that Delgado would be more of a temporary solution.  At his age, he will not be productive when the Orioles figure to be good again.  His price may be cheap and he would provide a short term presence in the middle of the line-up.  Dan Uggla is another player that the O’s are looking at acquiring.  If the price tag is not too high, meaning the Orioles do not have to give up highly valued talent, I would be in favor of trading for Uggla.  He could be either a 3B or 1B and he has some power.  Other corner infield names like Garrett Atkins and Joe Crede do not interest me that much, but there seems to be an abundance of corner infield types becoming available and that is without even mentioning free agents like Adrian Beltre, Pedro Feliz and Mark DeRosa. Read more »