Roch Kubatko

This and that

February 07, 2012, 4:29am

Orioles

I woke up this morning without another pitcher being traded. We're off to a good start. Brad Bergesen's arbitration hearing is scheduled for tomorrow in St. Petersburg, Fla., and there will have to be a flurry of activity between the two sides today to avoid it. Right now, it seems inevitable. Bergesen, also a trade candidate, is seeking $1.2 million. The Orioles are offering $800,000. He was 2-7 with a 5.70 ERA in 34 appearances, including 12 starts, last season. He has an option...

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A few more items from today's trade

February 06, 2012, 12:41pm

Orioles

One member of the organization insisted today that the Rockies provided "by far the best offer" that the Orioles received for pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Some teams wanted the Orioles to eat a lot of salary and they weren't dangling prospects in return. The Orioles and Guthrie were $3 million apart and headed to arbitration this morning. The Orioles weren't going to split the difference, and they most definitely weren't going to pay him the $10.25 million that he sought. They deemed it to be...

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Duquette: "We didn't have any offers of young prospects for Jeremy"

February 06, 2012, 8:41am

Orioles

Duquette: "We didn't have any offers of young prospects for Jeremy"

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette just completed a conference call with reporters that also included new pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. He described them as being dependable, durable, qualified major league pitchers. Hammel is viewed as capable of replacing Jeremy Guthrie's innings in the rotation, and Lindstrom will work the back end of the bullpen with experience as a closer and set-up man. Duquette referenced Jim Johnson as another power arm in the back of the 'pen,...

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Guthrie talks about the trade

February 06, 2012, 6:08am

Orioles

The Orioles officially announced today's trade that sent Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. They also confirmed that left-handed specialist Clay Rapada has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Guthrie said the deal was pretty much done Saturday night. "I talked to my agent, Brodie (Van Wagenen) and all parties involved and they let us know that's what was going to happen," he said. "At first, you're a...

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Guthrie headed to Colorado (updated)

February 06, 2012, 3:57am

Orioles

The Orioles had an arbitration hearing scheduled today with pitcher Jeremy Guthrie in St. Petersburg, Fla., but it's been postponed amid rumors that he's about to be traded. And according to a source, a deal is close with the Rockies that would bring pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom to Baltimore. Hammel, 29, was 7-13 with a 4.76 ERA in 32 games - including 27 starts - for the Rockies last season. He's 34-45 with a 4.99 ERA in 169 games, including 115 starts in six seasons spent with...

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Orioles lineup remains unsettled

February 05, 2012, 5:07am

Orioles

Let's get this one out of the way first: Giants 27, Patriots 24. Victor Cruz is MVP. And the Ravens are still the best team in the AFC. Judging by the 310 comments I've received on yesterday's Manny Ramirez entry, it appears that the majority of readers here don't want the Orioles to sign him. It's an unscientific poll, but that's telling. According to MLBTradeRumor's free-agent chart, there are four first basemen still on the market: Russell Branyan (36) Ross Gload (36) Derrek Lee...

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Should Manny be Manny in Baltimore?

February 03, 2012, 7:20pm

Orioles

I opened yesterday's "Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" with a mini-rant against the Orioles signing Manny Ramirez. I may as well expand on it here. I'm just searching for the logic behind their interest, beyond a few obvious points. First of all, executive vice president Dan Duquette is looking for another bat, and it would fit nicely in the designated hitter and cleanup spots. As it currently stands, Wilson Betemit could be the primary DH, and that's not an ideal scenario. The market is...

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Larish signs minor league deal with Orioles (updated)

February 03, 2012, 1:29pm

Orioles

Former Tigers and Athletics outfielder Jeff Larish posted on Facebook today that he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles. A team official confirmed it. That's the usual order. Facebook first, then the team. Larish 29, won't receive an invitation to spring training. Larish, a left-handed hitter, has been a corner infielder and outfielder. He's hitting .224/.308/.360 with eight homers and 32 RBIs in parts of three major league seasons, the last one in 2010. He hit .240/.330/.449...

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Your most intriguing spring training story lines

February 02, 2012, 12:52pm

Orioles

Your most intriguing spring training story lines

I realize that pitchers and catchers don't report to spring training for 15 more days, but I'm already making a mental list of the most important story lines that I'll be following through March. I should probably write them down, since I don't trust my memory, but I'd probably forget where I put the list. There are three that instantly come to my mind. I'm not exactly sure of the order, but I think it goes something like this: 1. Brian Roberts' status and what happens if he can't...

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Jackson's off the board (Kotchman too)

February 02, 2012, 9:19am

Orioles

The Nationals just confirmed that they have reached agreement with free-agent pitcher Edwin Jackson on a one-year deal. Various reports place its worth at approximately $10 million. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to tweet the news, saying that Jackson was spotted at the airport as he arrived in town for his physical. Heyman didn't specify which airport. Plenty of people fly into Dulles on their way to Baltimore. Forget it. Jackson wasn't going to sign with the Orioles unless they...

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Tillman trying to turn around career (and note)

February 02, 2012, 4:21am

Orioles

Tillman trying to turn around career (and note)

If Chris Tillman isn't part of the Orioles' rotation when they break camp, it won't be from a lack of effort. Tillman continues to work out with Orioles special assistant Brady Anderson in California, part of a group that also includes Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter, Scott Beerer and Rick VandenHurk. "Workout-wise, we're getting after it pretty good, whether Brady is here or not," Tillman said. "There's always a guy there to watch us. It's tough to get back in shape and to get in really...

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Katz keeping quiet about Cespedes

February 01, 2012, 5:00pm

Orioles

This is going to qualify as one of those non-update updates that you've grown to love or hate. I'm not sure which side you're on, but here it comes. Adam Katz, the agent for Yoenis Cespedes, would only confirm earlier today that "several teams are involved" with the Cuban outfielder, who became a free agent last month. The Orioles are one of them, and executive director of international recruiting Fred Ferreira was scheduled to fly to the Dominican today to watch Cespedes work out. The...

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Impacted wisdom truth

January 31, 2012, 6:43pm

Orioles

Breaking news: The Orioles aren't expected to sign Edwin Jackson. In other news, Rhode Island isn't a road or an island, and Billy Cundiff isn't automatic from inside the 35. The Orioles weren't going to give Jackson more than three guaranteed years for the money he's been seeking, and he wasn't going to sign with them for one year and re-enter the free-agent market next winter. Not when he's looking to pitch for a contender and improve his value. That's been the case all along. I...

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Orioles add exhibition game

January 31, 2012, 9:19am

Orioles

The Orioles announced today that they've reached an agreement with State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) Manatees Baseball, to play an exhibition game at Ed Smith Stadium on Tuesday, April 3 at 1:05 p.m. There will be no admission charge to attend the game except for reserved tickets near the SCF dugout that will be sold by the college, with proceeds supporting Manatees athletics. Tickets can be reserved through the SCF athletic department at 941-752-5261. For the last 12 years,...

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Who's your dark horse? (updated)

January 30, 2012, 4:46pm

Orioles

Following up on a tweet from yesterday, I was told that Brooks Robinson remains hospitalized in Hollywood Fla., after falling off a stage Friday night and sustaining two fractures in his rear shoulder area, including a broken clavicle. Robinson is resting comfortably. Well, as comfortably as you can rest with two fractures. Here's another look at the Orioles' spring training invites: Pitchers: Armando Galarraga, Pat Neshek, Ryan Edell, Dennys Reyes, Willie Eyre, Steve Johnson, Jon Link,...

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Orioles spring invites include Galarraga, Neshek and Paulino

January 30, 2012, 12:12pm

Orioles

The Orioles finally reached agreement on a minor league contract with right-hander Armando Galarraga, who's listed among nine pitchers invited to camp in a few weeks. Pitcher Pat Neshek and catcher Ronny Paulino also signed minor league deals with the Orioles and will report to Ed Smith Stadium. Other invites include left-handers Ryan Edell and Dennys Reyes, right-handers Willie Eyre, Steve Johnson, Jon Link, Miguel Socolovich and Oscar Villarreal, catchers John Hester and Brian Ward,...

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Let's make a deal

January 30, 2012, 3:44am

Orioles

I'm hitting the road this morning after a nice two-day stop in Ocean Pines. The laptop didn't stay off for as long as I intended, but I definitely reduced the amount of hours spent in front of it. I consider it progress. Maybe the Orioles will swing a trade while I'm driving home. They tend to make news at inconvenient times for me, and traveling on the Bay Bridge when it happened would be pretty inconvenient. It's tough to find a spot to pull over. It seems apparent that executive vice...

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Orioles reportedly interested in McClellan (updated)

January 29, 2012, 10:23am

Orioles

Let's start off by dismissing any rumors of a proposed trade involving Adam Jones and Adam Wainwright, or the Orioles hiring retired Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa in some capacity. Last night's tweet from Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wasn't referencing either one of those scenarios. According to Strauss, the Orioles are engaged in trade talks with the Cardinals involving pitcher Kyle McClellan, who spent part of last season as their fifth starter before being shut down...

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Could Kotchman become an Oriole?

January 29, 2012, 5:02am

Orioles

It's hard to know what executive vice president Dan Duquette has hidden up his sleeve, and there's no point in ordering a strip search. This isn't the security checkpoint at BWI Airport. No one knew that Wilson Betemit was tucked up that sleeve, but he'll be introduced to the Camden Yards crowd on opening day. Taylor Teagarden's name didn't come up among backup catching options until the day that the trade with the Rangers was finalized. The lobby buzz at the Winter Meetings never...

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Hudson claimed by Rangers

January 28, 2012, 4:29pm

Orioles

I just returned from the Shorebirds' Hot Stove Banquet at the Delmar VFW, where I was introduced to slippery dumplings. Where have they been all my life? Many thanks to the Shorebirds for making me feel right at home. They also overfed me. And they couldn't have been more gracious hosts. In case you missed my tweet earlier today, the Texas Rangers announced that they signed outfielder Kyle Hudson to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. The Orioles designated Hudson for...