With the acquisition of Millwood, I see the attention of the Orioles Front Office turning to the bullpen.
I am sure that if Andy MacPhail receives a positive medical report on Erik Bedard, that an offer will be made; but I do not see the O’s now actively pursuing other starters. I would guess the O’s will feel quite confident of a 2010 season of Millwood, Matusz, Tillman, Bergesen, and Guthrie. Especially knowing that that will have Arrieta waiting in reserve.
Having traded Ray, and with the Orioles seemingly questioning the ability of Uehara to be healthy; I think a move for the back of the bullpen is the next-shoe to drop.
With the rotation above, I would expect Uehara, Johnson, Mickolio, Albers, Berken, and Hernandez to all be part of the currently projected bullpen.
That is 6 arms, and it is worth noting that they are all right-handed. It would also be worth noting that Albers could possibly be non-tendered.
It is pretty clear at this point that the Orioles are uncomfortable with the idea of relying on Uehara to close, and that they want Johnson to reprise his former role as the set-up reliever.
Trembley and MacPhail are both on record saying they would like a closer to be obtained. If the O’s are prepared to sign a Type A Free Agent, and spend with the big boys, they could pursue lefty Mike Gonzalez. Having a lefty to team with all of those right-handed pitchers would be ideal to me. As we discussed yesterday though, with Boston, and the Yankees pursuing him, I am not confident of the O’s ability to obtain him.
Assuming they do not go after Gonzalez, I think they will make a run at Atlanta’s Rafael Soriano. After accepting arbitration, the Braves’ website confirms that Atlanta is looking to trade him. Baltimore will not be scared off by the $7M owed to him. If Atlanta does not insist on Scott, or a prospect of value, I think that deal has a good chance to be accepted.
The Orioles appear to be in a good position here, because they are not going to believe that Atlanta would be willing to pay Soriano $7M to team with Billy Wagner, and Takashi Saito.
I would expect that O’s will move quick on this to see if they can come to resolution. If the player cost is more than they will be willing to pay, then I think their attention will turn to Fernando Rodney, and Jose Valverde.
With those two held in lower-esteem, the financial price would have to be right for MacPhail to pull that trigger. If those two were to insist on too much money, then maybe the O’s get more seriously involved with Kevin Gregg.
If the O’s are able to obtain Soriano (or Rodney, Valverde, and Gregg), I would guess that they would officially non-tender Albers, and use that additional money to add a lefty option or two.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.