3:35pm: Roch Kubatko chimes in on the Looper rumors: "[W]hile I still expect Braden Looper to sign elsewhere, the Orioles retain serious interest in him."
1:18pm: Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun has a guess at the Orioles’ likely 25-man roster for Opening Day 2009. Most of the names are hard to argue, but one jumps out as an interesting pick. Schmuck thinks the Orioles stand a chance at signing free agent starting pitcher Braden Looper.
Says Schmuck, "I think the likelihood of Braden Looper signing here is maybe 40 percent, but that’s probably more likely than Rich Hill coming over and solving his command problems."
While recent reports have made a Rich Hill-to-Baltimore deal sound more likely than 40 percent, Schmuck is comparing a Looper signing to the combined probability of not only acquiring Hill, but also having him pitch effectively.
