Baltimore Orioles Rumors: Team Won’t Pursue Dexter Fowler

The Baltimore Orioles have a need in the outfield, but the team will not be pursuing Dexter Fowler, who was in the middle of a heated controversy last spring

The Baltimore Orioles have some obvious needs this offseason, and one of the major ones they’ve been pursuing at the winter meetings is an outfielder. However, according to GM Dan Duquette, there’s one free agent that they won’t be looking at, and that’s Dexter Fowler.

As most fans recall, Fowler incited some controversy last spring when he surprisingly re-signed with the Chicago Cubs for a one-year, $8M deal after reportedly accepting a three-year, $33M deal from the Baltimore Orioles.

Ultimately, it worked out well for Fowler, as he won a World Series with the Cubs and didn’t really decrease his free agent stock at all. MLBTradeRumors projects Fowler to sign a four-year, $64M deal this offseason, something the Baltimore Orioles are very unlikely to do, even without the bad history between the two.

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Duquette, however, doesn’t sound bitter, “We tried to sign Dexter last year and to his credit he made a good decision and it worked out for him. We were able to have a good ball club, too. That’s all in the past. Dexter was betting on himself, that he would be out there in the market that didn’t have as many outfielders this year. Looks like he made the right call.”

The Orioles have been linked to a number of free agent outfielders, including Michael Saunders (who Roch Kubatko reports, is no longer an option due to concerns about him passing his physical) and Angel Pagan, as well as their efforts to re-sign Mark Trumbo (as a side note, the two camps are meeting again to discuss a deal, per Buster Olney).

The Orioles and Mets have also discussed a potential trade involving either Curtis Granderson or Jay Bruce, however it appears New York is not willing to eat any of Granderson ($15M) or Bruce’s ($13M) owed salary next year, which is stalling the talks.

Next: Orioles Offer Trumbo Four-Year Deal

We’ll see what direction the Baltimore Orioles decide to go in to fill their outfield needs, but one thing is certain: we’re not going to be seeing Dexter Fowler in an Orioles uniform this season.