Orioles general manager Dan Duquette spoke to reporters in Nashville tonight about Baltimore's plans for the week. Here are a few of the highlights from Duquette, along with other Orioles-related items (all links go to Twitter)….
- The Orioles like Adam LaRoche, but to say the team is in serious negotiations for him is inaccurate, says Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com. The two sides haven't been in contact at the Winter Meetings, according to Duqette.
- Duquette left the door open for the Orioles to look at top-tier free agents like Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke, but suggested that the team's focus is elsewhere, according to Melewski.
- Duquette has met with four teams and three agents today, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. None of those agents represented the Orioles' own free agents, says Kubatko.
- Baltimore is expecting arbitration to cost the team about $22MM this season, says Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com. Our estimate is closer to $28MM, so it'll be interesting to see where we may have missed.
- The O's are interested in Gavin Floyd, according to Kubatko, though he cautions that this is far from the first time he's heard that over the years.