The Orioles have spoken to Vladimir Guerrero’s agent this week, but the sides aren’t close to a deal, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail acknowledged the team’s interest in the slugger.
"We’ve had some conversations, but there is nothing on the horizon,” MacPhail said.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Guerrero was asking for $16MM earlier in the winter. He's just asking for a one-year deal now, but $8MM is likely more than Baltimore can afford (Twitter link).
Now that the Rangers have acquired Mike Napoli and the Rays have agreed to deals with Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, the market for Guerrero is diminishing. The Blue Jays are one potential alternative to the Orioles, but GM Alex Anthopoulos declined to comment on his club’s interest yesterday.
Re: the Jays and Guerrero – AA said he never showed interest in Manny because he didn’t want a DH that couldn’t also play first base, so I would think that rules out Vlad. He’s also said that he’s promised Encarnacion full-time at bats, so that takes up the DH spot if true.
He said this morning on the fan that he believes that EE is a 30 HR hitter if he stays healthy and gets his AB’s
Guerrero, while better, won’t become an asset..
Where as perhaps he can turn EE in to one either by dealing him, or perhaps if he performs well enough a Type B
My thoughts exactly. As I’ve mentioned to you before, this year should be about getting answers to all the questionable players, and building as many assests as possible.
whole heartedly agree
Vladdy was a Type A free agent this season, so he’s actually a much better asset, in theory. However, we’ve all seen the Type A curse strike, and it bit Vlad this season. It’s hard to offer arbitration to a player like him, Derrek Lee, et al., because they’ll make more in arbitration than they will on the market.
All this said, they’re likely going to be reworking the FA type A/B compensation rules in the new CBA, so it’s not unreasonable to think that Vlad could end up netting a pick under new guidelines. Unfortunately, it’s just too early to know.
If I were a betting man, I’d guess that Type As whose options are declined will still net a compensation pick as if they were Type B in the new agreement (if they don’t re-sign with their current team). That pretty much takes care of the loophole that screws relief pitchers and makes the whole ordeal better for both players and owners. Of course, that’s all conjecture.
-C
Question: Does this move push them in to 4th and the Jays in to 5th?
Question 2: Does Question 1 really matter?
They could do well enough to be 4th or they could not. Both teams have question marks.
And no, not really.
O’s need to sign Vlad, it would add more validity to our team and raise our attendance, and put Baltimore back on the map!
more VLADidity
I really don’t buy the attendance thing. I don’t think that there will be people showing up at the stadium to see Vlad at this point in his career. It may create some buzz around the team early, but that only lasts if they win.
I can’t tell if this is genuine fan enthusiasm or acerbic sarcasm.
My take is that Andy is holding out for Fan Fest before making an announcement like he did last year for Miggy. The reason I think this is because it’s funny how we keep hearing how they are signing him and then Andy come out say “no no that’s not the case.” while we don’t hear anything from Vlad’s or the media’s side… Only time will tell but that’s my thought that he is holding out an announcement for this weekend to get the fans excited and to put butts in seats. Just a theory.
I don’t know who will end up signing Vlad, but I think some team is going to end up with a fabulous deal and a awfully good DH. The question is what team, and I don’t have and idea.
Phillies. I don’t care about defense at all, we need a RH bat, Vlad is the best available.
Just do it and sort out the details later.
He will need a walker in the OF
Well then get him one. Vlad can still mash lefties, and that’s what we’re missing right now. The defense won’t be pretty, but I’m certain what Vlad does at the plate will more than make up for what he can not do with the glove.
Would have preferred Andruw Jones, but that ship has sailed.
Never really thought the Phillies could be an option on Vlad, but I like your thoughts. Are you a die hard Phillies fan? I’m not but I like the idea, don’t really think Vlad wants limited AB’s after his big year last year…
The Andruw Jones mention would have been perfect for Philly! Especially since his power has diminished so much and their stadium is so small, all together Andruw Jones would have been real good, and Vlad would turn them into some serious beasts!!!
Come On O’s Sign Vlad!