Baltimore Orioles and the Winter Meetings

Sep 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Jason Garcia (61) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

It technically isn’t Winter yet, but that doesn’t stop Major League Baseball from heating up the ol’ hot stove and holding their Winter Meetings.

For the Baltimore Orioles, the Winter Meetings mean a few things:

There will be a lot of rumors about the O’s interest in players, particularly pitchers
There will be interest in trying to acquire current Orioles
The team will probably make a Rule 5 selection

It has become like a rite of passage this time of year. The Winter Meetings are when the team is linked to many, many players.

Sure, the interest in Alex Gordon and Denard Span has been talked about. And on the pitching side of things, the O’s have a lot of ‘interest.’ How much of that is ‘interest if the price is right’ and how much of it is ‘interest no matter the price’ is a different story.

It is well-known the O’s are trying to finalize the deal on Darren O’Day. There have also been reports that the O’s would like to sign another reliever. Tony Sipp is a name that has been thrown out a lot, by MASNSports’ Roch Kubatko, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

The team is also looking to sign a left-handed hitting outfielder. Could that be Chris Davis? Sure could, although the price tag seems out of the Orioles’ reach, considering they need starting pitching as well. Gordon and Span both hit left-handed.

As for starting pitching, all of the markets are starting to dry up. Third-tier guys like Chris Young and Mike Pelfrey are both gone. Second-tier pitchers Mike Leake and Yovani Gallardo remain, but the price for starting pitching has been astronomical. Hisashi Iwakuma is 34 and just got 15 million dollars a year.

Rumors exist that teams are interested in several Oriole pitchers. Kevin Gausman is tops on that list, but I’m sure some teams are willing to see what it would take to get Zach Britton. Teams have also expressed interest in Jason Garcia, per the Oriole beat writers.

Then there is the Rule 5 draft. The bane of most Oriole fans’ existence.

Ryan Flaherty, T.J. McFarland, Jason Garcia. The names bring angst to many an Oriole fan. Flaherty remains the utility infielder, despite his ability to go into terrible slumps. McFarland is often on the Norfolk shuttle, and at best is probably a long reliever. Garcia probably has the most promise of the three.

Roch Kubatko tweeted today that the O’s and Dan Duquette have players they like at every position. Positions that seem most likely are OF, C, and SS/3B…

Outfield, because it is the position the Orioles need the most. The team will go with Adam Jones in center, and could put players like Nolan Reimold and Dariel Alvarez at the other two positions. Or, they could make a Rule 5 pick that could wow the team and win a spot on the roster.

Catcher, because Matt Wieters and Caleb Joseph both are great teachers. The team is deep at catcher, but could take a chance. This person would be a guy who could be the backup when Joseph and Wieters are both playing, at catcher and DH. Which at this point, is a likely occurrence.