masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIs today the day that the Orioles announce the Hyun-soo Kim signing?
I’m no longer making predictions on news releases and conference calls, but I’m expecting the two-year deal to become official today. I’ve been rearranging my schedule since Friday in anticipation.
Who needs Christmas presents anyway? And those holiday parties are vastly overrated.
Kim was supposed to fly back to Korea early this week. Let’s get this done.
* The Orioles have expressed interest in Bronson Arroyo, according…

Is today the day that the Orioles announce the Hyun-soo Kim signing?

I’m no longer making predictions on news releases and conference calls, but I’m expecting the two-year deal to become official today. I’ve been rearranging my schedule since Friday in anticipation.

Who needs Christmas presents anyway? And those holiday parties are vastly overrated.

Kim was supposed to fly back to Korea early this week. Let’s get this done.

* The Orioles have expressed interest in Bronson Arroyo, according to ESPN.com. He’s 17 months removed from ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow and he turns 39 in February.

Arroyo wouldn’t be the replacement for Wei-Yin Chen, at least on paper. He wouldn’t be the No. 1, 2 or 3 starter that executive vice president Dan Duquette is seeking. At least, I certainly hope not.

Duquette referenced the “Red Cross list” while he met with reporters at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. Someone asked him about Cliff Lee, but Arroyo’s name could have been substituted.

“Every year, we try to sign some pitchers that are coming back from injuries,” Duquette said. “They’re generally veteran pitchers. Some people call that the Red Cross list. So we have a couple pitchers like that that we’re considering.”

The Orioles made Arroyo a two-year offer with an option back in the winter of 2013, but he accepted a similar deal from the Diamondbacks. Arroyo had appeared in 30 or more games in 10 consecutive seasons and the Orioles wanted a workhorse in their rotation, but he broke down after only 14 starts in 2014.

Arroyo is trying to make a comeback and the Orioles are known for taking chances on pitchers returning from injuries, such as Justin Duchscherer and Johan Santana, or in desperate need of a bounceback season. Santana ruptured his Achilles tendon as they were preparing to select his contract. Duchscherer never pitched for the Orioles or anyone else, staying on the disabled list with a strained left hip before they released him on Aug. 2, 2011.

Arroyo collected $9.5 million this year for not pitching. Nice work if you can get it.

He may have to settle for less if he wants to resume his career.

* As the Orioles continue their efforts to upgrade their rotation and lineup, Duquette stated again last week on MLB Network that they don’t believe in opt-out clauses in contracts.

“I don’t know if that structure would work for the Orioles,” Duquette said. “I think when you do that, you give up leverage in the marketplace and you affect the business of the entire industry. From my perspective, if the players don’t do well and you have a long-term commitment out there, they’re still going to get paid. And I’m not sure about utilizing those outs.

“I don’t think that kind of structure is going to work for the Orioles. I would do a shorter term with some of these free agents. I think that’s attractive. But going long, guaranteeing the money and then giving them another bite out of the apple gives them a lot of leverage in the marketplace.”

matusz pitch grey sidebar.jpg* The Orioles have left open the possibility that Brian Matusz could be tried again as a starter. He certainly will work multiple innings in spring training, as he’s done in the past. But he’s still likely to be included in the bullpen if he isn’t traded.

“I don’t know,” pitching coach Dave Wallace said at FanFest. “I know he has in the past and I know we stretch him out in spring training with those thoughts sometimes, but he’s had a pretty successful role in getting some left-handers out, so you’re treading on thin ice there where you take a guy out of one of his strengths and into a position you’re not sure of. But again, if nothing’s done and we don’t have anybody else, you never know what you’re going to do. You don’t ever leave any stone unturned.”

Right-handers batted .244 against Matusz this year, compared to .277 in 2014, .302 in 2013, .327 in 2012 and .387 in 2011.

* Center fielder Adam Jones was asked at FanFest about the Orioles’ motivation for the 2016 season after failing to make the playoffs. He responded while also revealing more about his leadership role in the clubhouse.

“We had a different team from ’14 to ’15. A lot different,” Jones said. “We had Kakes (Nick Markakis) and (Nelson) Cruz anchoring the lineup. But I just try to tell the young dudes that it’s a long season. Just battle it out, grind it out, don’t take everything too serious.

“There might be a week when you’re not playing that well. It’s fine. There’s going to be a week when you’re playing a lot better than you anticipated. Just ride it out. That’s what I tell the young guys.”

* Reliever Brad Brach said he’s encouraged by the moves made in the offseason and the seven-year offer to first baseman Chris Davis.

“Yeah, definitely, especially the doom and gloom that they had predicted before the season and the end of last year that none of these free agents were coming back,” Brach said. “It’s definitely encouraging. It’s great to see ownership is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

“It was kind of disappointing, some of the reports you heard at the end of the season, thinking all of the progress that was made the last three years to get the team back to winning, or four years or however many years it’s been, and then for them to go out and put up the money to get (Darren) O’Day and put the offer out there for Chris Davis, it’s very encouraging.”

Brach was reminded about catcher Matt Wieters accepting the qualifying offer and the trade for first baseman/outfielder Mark Trumbo.

“Yeah, yeah, exactly. I can’t think of all the moves off the top of my head. There’s a lot of them. It’s great,” Brach said.

“It’s great having Matt back. And Trumbo, I hope he hits 50 home runs next season. It’s a little bit smaller park. It’s going to be great to have him.”

* I wrote yesterday about pitching coach Dave Wallace’s raised expectations for Kevin Gausman. Catcher Caleb Joseph is in full agreement.

It seems like everyone in the organization, including Gausman, anticipates the right-hander taking a major step forward in 2016.

Kevin-Gausman-ALCS-gray.jpg“We’ve been talking – Matt and I, and even with John Russell,” Joseph said. “Remember that J.R. caught Nolan Ryan’s seventh no-hitter and there’s a certain thing about those type of pitchers. We were talking and he’s getting really close to being and having that thing.

“Just sometimes you’ve got to be patient with these guys with just tremendous stuff. And remember he’s just, what, 26? I think he’s really close. I wouldn’t be surprised if right out of the gate he was that guy. We need him to be that guy and he wants to be that guy.”

* The 2-year-old thoroughbred Showalter that’s owned by Orioles managing partner Peter Angelos is scheduled to race again on Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla.

Showalter won a 5 1/2-furlong race last month at Laurel Park, his first professional race, and earned $29,640.

Update: Showalter will race instead at Laurel Park. It’s the thoroughbred’s first stakes race.