Baltimore Orioles all set to bring an extra outfielder on board in Winter Meetings - MLB Update
The Baltimore Orioles met several free agents on Tuesday in their pursuit of an outfielder. The Orioles seem to be particularly interested in the 31-year-old Nate McLouth and have discussed matters with his agent Mike Nicotera.
Orioles are looking to add a fourth outfielder to the team. Dan Duquette, the executive vice president of baseball operations for the Orioles said the club had no specific plan for the spot and they needed someone who can contribute for the team.
"We are going to hopefully come home with a signed player at the end of the week," Duquette said. "I wouldn't say that there's a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. We are going to try to get it done so we have another contributing player for our team."
He also hinted that Nate may get a favourable response from the club due to his previous association. "I think Nate liked Baltimore, he played very well there, and we liked him in Baltimore. He did a good job for us when he came up ... there's a natural
interest in re-signing him to the team," Dan said.
It was reiterated by the Orioles that they are in search of a good hitter. Their preferred method to add that to the team is via trade route and the ball club was in touch with five other teams in that regard. The team did not hold any discussions with the
recently non-tendered Mark Reynolds but have shown some interest in Joe Saunders. Dan stated that that the two parties will take their time on the matter.
Duquette clearly stated that he was quite interested in acquiring more pitchers rather than trading them. He also said that his ball club values the players on the team. He was quite clear that he cares about all the players with the ball club and not just
those who are on the 40-man roster.
"If someone doesn't value them the way we do, then we keep them. I'm the field manager, and I'm about not just the 40-man roster but everybody," Duquette said. He also commented that he likes to listen to the players and had done that at Nashville as well.
While the Orioles have been patient, some other teams have already inked deals with players available on the block including a high profile deal by the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles, however, are unlikely to go that way and believe more on building resources
from within, as shown recently by the ball club when they added Mike Belfiore on the 40-man roster to protect him.
The main concern in Nashville for the Orioles appears to be getting hold of a good hitter. They are likely going to achieve that goal as the market does offer some good names. They may also end up trading a pitcher or two as they hold some hot trading chips
in that department. It should be an interesting little period over the next few days.
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