Right Off Russell

Ken Rosenthal and John Paul Morosi of Fox Sports are reporting that the Orioles are entering the fray in the Matt Holliday bidding.  This comes as a surprise as there has not been much talk of Holliday having interest in the Orioles, or vice versa.  It is none the less and interesting development and maybe a step in the direction some folks at RoR want to see the Orioles head.  The pursuit of Holliday is apparently not without some qualifiers according to Rosenthal and Morosi:

Holliday, 29, is unlikely to go to the Orioles — a team coming off 12 straight losing seasons — unless they make him a much stronger offer than the Cardinals.

The Orioles, meanwhile, might only participate in the Holliday sweepstakes as a token gesture, an effort to demonstrate to their fans that they are trying to improve.

But they did mention that Holliday may see the O’s as a team on the rise in the AL East and that he could want to be a part of a team with young talent.  They also feel the acquisition of 3B Garrett Atkins, a former teammate and close friend of Holliday’s, is a positive thing for the Orioles efforts to lure Holliday.  Rosenthal and Morosi went on to speculate that a deal for Holliday would likely lead to a trade of another outfield for pitching, perhaps Felix Pei, Luke Scott or Nolan Reimold.

While I am encourage to hear this news, I remain skeptical that the club is making an earnet effort until I hear it from sources in theBaltimore media.  This could be nothing more than a ploy to step up the bidding for Holliday by his agent Scott Boras.  Thoughts on the validity of this news, or on the positives of a guy like Holliday?

According to the Baltimore Sun the Orioles are closing in on signing free agent reliever Mike Gonzalez.  Gonzalez, a left hander, spent last year with the Braves where he posted a 5-4 record with a 2.42 ERA, 17 holds and 10 saves in 80 appearances.  Gonzalez also struck out 90 batters in 74 1/3 innings and has posted an ERA below 3.00 in five of his last six seasons.  The Orioles are looking to ink Gonzalez to a 2 year deal, perhaps learning from some recent 3 year deals to relievers that have gone wrong (see Walker, Jamie and Baez, Danys).

I think this is another solid move for the Orioles who needed a lefty in the ‘pen.  Gonzalez also has experience closing and could help the Orioles in that role.  The one draw back to signing Gonzalez is that he is a type A free agent and his acquisition would cost the Orioles their 2nd round draft pick.  Whether signing Gonzalez puts the Orioles out of the running for right handed reliever Fernando Rodney remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts on bringing in Mike Gonzalez?  Is he worth giving up a 2nd round draft pick for a 2 year deal?

From orioles.com.

The Orioles today announced that they have claimed RHP ARMANDO GABINO off of waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

Gabino, 26, went 6-4 with three saves and a 2.94 ERA (98.0IP, 32ER) in 38 games (seven starts) with Triple-A Rochester in 2009. He is 22-19 with a 3.41 ERA (390.2IP, 148ER) in 192 career minor league games. Gabino appeared in two games for the Twins this season.

The Orioles currently have 34 players on their 40-man roster.

He has good minor league numbers, but has not gotten a shot in Minnesota. Could be a good find.

The writers at the Baltimore Sun put together a collection of articles recapping the 2009 Orioles.  Dan Connolly’s article on the upcoming off-season takes a close look at how the Orioles will use their newly freed up cash:

The Orioles began this season with roughly $77 million owed in salary - including more than $9 million due to ex-Orioles Jay Gibbons and Ramon Hernandez.

By shedding expiring contracts, the club has dropped approximately $46.6 million from the 2009 payroll. Heading into 2010, they have about $30 million tied up in six players. They’ll pay incremental raises to many of their youngsters and will face arbitration hikes with several more. But the payroll will start significantly below what it was in 2009 - meaning there should be money to tap this winter. Read more »