Baltimore Orioles: FanFest News, Views and Reviews

Oct 1, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; A general view of the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles won 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The annual FanFest event of the Baltimore Orioles was held this year about seven weeks earlier than in the past, but over 11,000 fans attended in spite of the schedule change.

The offseason is usually more advanced when the Orioles host this winter gathering at the Baltimore Convention Center, but even this year there remains plenty to talk about. And this is especially true upon the heels of MLB’s Winter Meetings.

In reading through all of the Baltimore Orioles beat media transcriptions of the varied sessions and press conferences, here are the major themes that seem to have captured the most attention downtown in the shadows of Camden Yards.

The Offer of $150 million to Chris Davis has been withdrawn.

Dan Duquette said that there is no offer on the table right now. And when pressed as to if it had been withdrawn, he said “yes.” Not surprisingly in light of that information, DD went on to quickly talk about securing more left-handed hitting outfield help. No names were mentioned, of course.

We can suppose it is possible that if the Orioles do not find success in filling out the roster and plugging various holes, and if Davis is still available at that time (sufficient for Boras to feel he has stretched it out long enough), it could still work out in some way to have Davis return. It is probably not something you’d want to bet upon, however.

Anticipating that Scott Boras could have miscalculated and led Davis down an ultimate dead-end path is about like expecting the Yankees to finally fall apart and finish last in the AL East. It always looks like it is going to happen this time around, but yet it does not completely eventuate. Even so, I just don’t see where Davis is going to get this $180-$200 million deal if St. Louis turns to Alex Gordon, which is the more likely scenario.

Adam Jones is sufficiently happy about the work of the front office

It is well-known after last offseason’s losses of such as Nick Markakis that Jones was not pleased with the direction and efforts of ownership and management. As the senior player for the O’s and the de facto face of the franchise, he spoke of wanting to have some input on major moves.

Regarding the effort toward Davis, Jones said, “I think they’ve been aggressive. That’s all I can ask for.”

J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters spoke of being healthier and ready for the daily grind.

There is no doubt that the shoulder problem for Hardy contributed significantly to a less than excellent offensive season in 2015. Hardy spoke of feeling well and of beginning his offseason routines earlier this year in order to be strengthened and ready. The Orioles really, really need a bounce-back year from their shortstop. I fear if it is not the shoulder, it will be the back … or the oblique … or the funny bone … or something.

Matt Wieters also spoke much of having a normal offseason, having the surgery far enough in the past to now be fully beyond all of the rehab associated with it. He never really caught up to speed in 2015, but should be able to be full-go for 2016. And at $15.8 million he needs to be.

There was talk of an extension offer to Manny Machado.

Nothing came of this, even though it was characterized as getting rather close to having been done. This is difficult to imagine, though doing something like this would certainly seem to be a positive for the franchise looking forward.

Brady Anderson is a major asset behind the scenes.

The best thing that could ever happen to the Orioles is if every player actively took part in Brady Anderson’s offseason workout routines. We have often chronicled in the past the benefits to so many players. But beyond this, his value was heard in two other stories …