masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThere wasn’t any real news to come out of yesterday’s FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. A few injury updates, confirmation that the Orioles aren’t engaged in contract extension talks, confirmation that executive vice president Dan Duquette made an offer to pitcher Vance Worley before the right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Nationals, Adam Jones’ assertion that the club must improve its outfield defense.
Jones made the point multiple times. He’s got concerns about the…

There wasn’t any real news to come out of yesterday’s FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. A few injury updates, confirmation that the Orioles aren’t engaged in contract extension talks, confirmation that executive vice president Dan Duquette made an offer to pitcher Vance Worley before the right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Nationals, Adam Jones’ assertion that the club must improve its outfield defense.

Jones made the point multiple times. He’s got concerns about the corners.

Duquette is trying to find another plus defender for the outfielder, someone who also can add an element of speed. Angel Pagan and Michael Bourn remain on the board.

Trading Yovani Gallardo to the Mariners loosened the logjam in the rotation, but Duquette wants another veteran starting pitcher and seems to prefer a minor league deal.

“We’re just looking for some more pitching depth,” Duquette said. “When we traded Gallardo to Seattle and acquired Seth Smith, we sent a veteran pitcher and I always like to have veteran pitchers to start the season, and more than what you need.

“We have some young pitchers who could develop into good major leaguers, but ideally we’d like to have some good veteran depth with our ballclub to start the season. It’s always good to have some veteran pitchers who can come in and help your club because you’re going to have injuries during the season.”

As you’d expect, third baseman Manny Machado and closer Zach Britton expressed their desire to stay with the Orioles beyond their current deals that expire following the 2018 season.

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“Nothing has come up,” Machado told reporters and assorted media members and correspondents. “It’s there, it’s open. This is the organization I play for and this is the organization I want to play for. You know I’m open to talking when the time is right.

“Right now, we’re focused on trying to win a championship and bringing the right guys in. The time is going to come up and the opportunity is going to arrive. We’re trying to build a championship team. To sign a contract with the team is obviously a personal goal and everybody wants one.

“I have two years left. It’s out of my control. I can’t go out there and tell them, ‘I want this.’ It’s not like that. They know I want to play here. This is my organization and this is the team I want to play for. They drafted me and I came up through the organization. I’ve done everything with this team. This is the only team I know.”

Hyun Soo Kim is hoping to play more this season, but he’ll go along with whatever he’s told to do. His value lies in his ability to get on base, a nice complement to a power-packed lineup. Seth Smith and Joey Rickard bring the same quality – the latter in a much smaller sample size.

“I’m one of the players who watches more pitches and tries to hit the right pitches at the right time,” Kim said through interpreter Danny Lee. “I hope that I’m a good fit, as well as Joey or Seth, so I can be part of the team to get more (victories) for the team.”

First baseman Chris Davis noted the importance of having guys like Kim, Smith and Rickard on the roster to set the table for the mashers.

“I think it’s huge,” Davis said. “I was fired up to hear that we traded for Seth. I like his game a lot. I mean, he torched us last year when we played in Seattle, so I’m glad that we don’t have to go up against him anymore.

“Kimmy, I’ve told a lot of people this who asked me in the offseason what it was like to play with him and how he translated to the big leagues, he was just such a professional hitter. He really was. Every time he went up there I felt like he had a chance to do damage and he was always in an at-bat. He wasn’t going up there just hacking at pitches. I felt like he always had a plan and it was really fun to watch him develop throughout the year.

“Poor Joey. This guy came up and started the season on fire and then got hurt and I kind of feel like he’s an afterthought now, you know? You haven’t heard much about him as far as where he fits in with the team, but this guy was a sparkplug for us last year and I’m excited for him to be back and be 100 percent.”

Kim doesn’t care where he bats in the lineup. He’s not pushing to become the leadoff hitter, though he must be viewed as a candidate. There isn’t an obvious choice. Rickard still has to make the team and it would likely be in a platoon role.

The spring training drama and adversity from 2016 won’t follow Kim through Sarasota and into Baltimore. That part of his indoctrination to the majors is behind him.

There are enough challenges for Kim without the extras.

“I’m fully aware that American pitchers throw very hard fastballs and they throw a lot of them,” he said. “In Korea, I’ve seen a lot of breaking balls, which I was good at. Now I have to make sure that I’m ready for those hard fastballs.”

This is a concern for the Orioles while trying to determine whether Kim can defend himself against left-handers. The soft-tossers won’t be an issue, but he may be overmatched against pitchers with plus-heaters.

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“You can never really predict what you can do, but I have always been confident that I can do anything as far as baseball,” he said. “I’ll just maintain that confidence and just take that into the field and show it out there.”

How was Kim received back home after his first season in the U.S.?

“It feels like I had more welcoming greetings from fans and all the people in Korea,” he said. “They still welcome you whether you do well or not. It feels like they patted me on the back more last year.”

Kim still uses an interpreter, but he seems to understand the questions before they’re relayed to him in his native language, often nodding his head and smiling. He must be working on his English, as well.

“It feels like the teachings in Korea are a little different than what they actually use here,” he said, smiling. “So it doesn’t really apply much.”