masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWhen the Boston Red Sox traded a haul of prospects for San Diego closer Craig Kimbrel, some fans wondered if the Orioles could get a similar return for their closer, Zach Britton.
Britton said he has heard that his name has come up in trade rumors. But he also seems convinced those are mostly just rumors and he knows the Orioles are certainly not looking to trade him.
“It feels good (that they want to keep me),” Britton said. “I heard through my agent maybe there was some talk of teams…

When the Boston Red Sox traded a haul of prospects for San Diego closer Craig Kimbrel, some fans wondered if the Orioles could get a similar return for their closer, Zach Britton.

Britton said he has heard that his name has come up in trade rumors. But he also seems convinced those are mostly just rumors and he knows the Orioles are certainly not looking to trade him.

Britton-Throws-Gray-Sidebar.jpg“It feels good (that they want to keep me),” Britton said. “I heard through my agent maybe there was some talk of teams interested. You look at the market for closers right now, kind of impressive. Might be foolish (for the Orioles) not to explore it.

“I know from the Orioles’ standpoint, we want to have a great bullpen. It doesn’t surprise me they want to hold onto me. I have a great relationship with this organization and have been here since I was 18. This is a place I’d love to play for a long, long time. It is nice they want to hold onto me and appreciate what I have been doing.”

In 2015, the left-hander went 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA and finished tied for third in the American League with 36 saves. Lefty batters hit .145 off him, and he recorded 24 straight saves from May 3-Aug. 10. Britton led major league relievers in groundball percentage (80.4 percent).

“I thought it was a good season,” he said. “It was cool to play in the All-Star Game, and to get to do that with Darren (O’Day), Adam (Jones) and Manny (Machado) was awesome. It was a goal I always had – not only to get to the big leagues but to play at an All-Star level. It was something that me and Brady (Anderson) talked about ever since I started working out with him. Try to perform at an All-Star level. Hope to get another chance to do that.”

Like the rest of us, Britton awaits the final resolution of Chris Davis’ free agency. He has some insights here that most do not, since he and Davis both have Scott Boras as their agent.

“It is just a decision that he is going to make,” said Britton. “Scott will give him all the information available to him. It is Chris’ decision. Scott is not steering him one way or the other. He lets him know, ‘This is the information we have.’ Hopefully, Chris re-signs with us. If he doesn’t, it will be interesting to see what we do. We definitely have some holes to fill.”