masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles non-tendered infielder Paul Janish prior to Wednesday night’s deadline, but they would like to re-sign him to a minor league deal.
Janish is highly regarded for his defense and approach to the game. I’ll repeat that I expected him to stay on the 40-man roster and he certainly has his share of supporters in the organization.
The pitchers at Triple-A Norfolk benefited from having Janish at shortstop, just as the staff at Double-A Bowie benefited from Ozzie Martinez’s glove work….

The Orioles non-tendered infielder Paul Janish prior to Wednesday night’s deadline, but they would like to re-sign him to a minor league deal.

Janish is highly regarded for his defense and approach to the game. I’ll repeat that I expected him to stay on the 40-man roster and he certainly has his share of supporters in the organization.

The pitchers at Triple-A Norfolk benefited from having Janish at shortstop, just as the staff at Double-A Bowie benefited from Ozzie Martinez’s glove work. The Orioles re-signed Martinez as a minor league free agent.

Reliever Oliver Drake remains on the 40-man roster after sharing the organization’s minor league Pitcher of the Year award with Mychal Givens. Drake brings value in three ways. He posted a 0.82 ERA and 0.886 WHIP with 66 strikeouts in 44 innings at Norfolk, he provides flexibility with another minor league option and he’s a possible trade chip.

Drake’s name came up during the trade talks with the Mariners before the Orioles parted only with catcher Steve Clevenger.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette said he’s got “a couple of trade discussions” that the Orioles will follow up on next week at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. But he also said they’re going to be “active” in signing players.

duquette-suit-mic-showalter-sidebar.jpg“In fairness to the team and Mr. (Peter) Angelos and the ownership, we’ve increased our payroll every single year that I’ve been here, so we have the resources to field a competitive team and we’re going to field a competitive team,” Duquette said during last night’s “Hot Stove Show” on 105.7 The Fan.

“Some of the players that our fans have identified with and been here, we’d like for them to be with us, but if they’re not with us, we’re still going to have a good ballclub.”

The Orioles still like left-handed reliever Tony Sipp, 32, which I’ve written in past blog entries.

Sipp posted a 1.99 ERA in 60 appearances with the Astros this year and averaged 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Left-handers batted .227 against him and right-handers hit .190.

In his career, left-handers are batting .213 and right-handers are hitting .201.

MLBTradeRumors.com predicted that Sipp would re-sign with the Astros for $12 million over three years. We’re not talking Andrew Miller money. We’re not talking Darren O’Day money.

I’m getting ahead of myself here, but would signing Sipp push the Orioles to trade Brian Matusz? If they carried Sipp, Matusz and closer Zach Britton, would that completely eliminate any chance of T.J. McFarland breaking camp with the team?

I can’t see the Orioles carrying four southpaws in their bullpen.

Duquette indicated that the Orioles will resist moving one of their relievers with past starting experience into the rotation, though he noted how manager Buck Showalter has stretched out Matusz in spring training.

“That’s something that we’ve discussed,” Duquette said. “I know Buck always lets Brian Matusz in spring training pitch in the rotation. I think that gets his pitches tuned up and gets him in the routine of his delivery, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do that again.

“Zach Britton, of course, made the All-Star team. He had a great year. He’s been a real dominant force in relief and our plan is to keep our bullpen as strong as we can. That’s one of Buck’s strengths and it’s been one of the strengths of the team and we plan to keep it that way.”

I’ll leave you with this quote from Duquette:

“Kevin Gausman, I think, is about ready to emerge as a front-of-the-rotation starter. Every team that I get into a discussion with, they all want him, so that tells me he’s got a great, great talent. And if he can make some of the adjustments and continue to develop, hopefully we’ll get the benefit of that talent and he’ll be a front of the rotation starter for us.”