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As of today, the Orioles may still be short a slugger in their lineup; however, recently, Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes is now available as a free agent. He has officially established residency in the Dominican Republic and is playing winter ball there.

So far, Cespedes has struggled in the Dominican. According to the Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo A. Encina, he is currently hitting .143, (5-for-35) with one home run, 10 strikeouts and no walks for Aguilas.

That’s not good. Who knows if Cespedes is struggling because of a long layoff, or his batting eye may be suspect.

At this point, if anyone signs him to a long-term contract, who knows what they will be getting. Is he a finished product? Raw? Or perhaps not good as advertised? Is his bio and life in Cuba the truth, or something embellished?

Well, the Orioles still have their eye on him.

From the Baltimore Sun: The Orioles are one of six teams -- along with the Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Tigers, and Indians -- that Cespedes recently said have shown the most interest in him.

Baltimore is indeed interested. The organization has seen him at least twice, and one trip to the Dominican that included manager Buck Showalter, new executive director of international recruiting Fred Ferreira and international operations director David Stockstill. And anyone who follows the Orioles knows they've revved up their commitment to international scouting.

The race for Cespeses figures to be a competitive one. The Marlins have made it clear they are willing to empty their pockets for Cedpedes. The Tigers, seemingly out of the race for Cespedes after spending $214 million to sign Prince Fielder on Tuesday, reportedly are still interested.

The market value for Cespedes is unclear -- some have said he could command more than Aroldis Chapman's six-year, $30.25 million deal -- but there is some question, mainly focusing on his plate discipline, whether Cespedes is truly major league ready or needs fine tuning in the minors.

Key members of the Baltimore Orioles front office, along with Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette have travelled to the Dominican Republic during the off-season to take a look at Cuban slugger and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

I’d hate to think that the Orioles would travel such a long way to just get a glimpse at a player and not make a move. At this point, I’d like the Orioles to take some risks and perhaps signing a player of Cespedes’ ability despite the price tag.

The Orioles need an impact player on the roster, despite having J.J. Hardy, Mark Reynolds, Adam Jones – who plays Cespedes’ natural position – and Nick Markakis in the outfield.

The Orioles need to make a serious move – perhaps Cespedes is one worth taking.

However, based on what I’ve heard so far, signing this guy to a long-term deal north of a combined $30 million may be a big mistake. I’m all for taking risks, but not going into the unknown.

Also, MLB announced their 100 Top Prospects yesterday, and both Dylan Bundy – the organization’s number one draft pick last year – and shortstop Manny Machado, made the list at number ten, and number six, respectively.

However, there were no other Orioles on the list.

Finally, Camden Chat’s ‘Eat More Esskay’ had a great writeup this week on his experience at FanFest as credentialed media.

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A lingering topic at FanFest -- and for much of the off-season -- involved second baseman Brian Roberts.

As we all know, he’s missed much of the past two seasons dealing with post-concussion syndrome issues and other injuries. At this point, one has to ask – will Brian Roberts ever suit up for the Baltimore Orioles again?

Considering that he missed FanFest and not been heard from for much of the winter, who really knows?

There’s nothing he or anyone can do in this situation. I would imagine it is killing Roberts inside.

Everyone appreciates a guy who is as well-rounded as Roberts is on the field and at plate.

Right now, I am thinking that he will not be back to start the season. Also, if Roberts was to come back – would he ever be the same?

I would think if Roberts isn’t healthy enough to come back, Robert Andino would start the season at second. Andino filled in admirably for Roberts and in other slots around the infield; however, he’s not what I would call an everyday guy.

Over the past few years, Brian Roberts has obviously become a lightning rod for a group of fans.

Some people thought Brian Roberts was stealing millions from the Baltimore Orioles for his lack of productivity for the past two years; furthermore, there’s a minority who have accused him of grand larceny despite being out due to injury.

Sadly, considering the history of several players who have had concussions as of late – NHL superstar Sidney Crosby, Ryan Church, Justin Morneau & Jason Bay – Roberts’ outlook may not be all that rosy.

It’s now looking that the extension that Roberts signed years ago while Andy McPhail was at the helm of the Orioles will turn out to be a terrible deal.

Just a shame…

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Now that the Prince Fielder saga is over (and it was very bewildering), where does it leave the Orioles in terms of their lineups? Honestly, I do think the team still needs another bat.

By the way, although Fielder would have definitely helped the Orioles at the plate; however, it would have been a very poor use of resources by the organization. I don’t think he would have aged all that well, considering his body type.

Plus, do you think that the Orioles would want to pay a guy north of $23 million per year? Does it make sense to devote that much of a payroll to one guy? The Detroit Tigers felt the need to, despite being favorites in American League Central already.

The Orioles will not be contending for a championship anytime soon, so it would have little sense to sign him now.

It would have been a fun show to watch, however.

The team needs a lot more than a power-slugging first baseman; quite frankly, the Orioles have more holes to cover, need to work on a deeper bench, and really need to do a better job developing minor league talent.

The local media and professionals who cover the team day by day were definitely right about Fielder, despite what the national writers and some online personalities thought.

Despite the acquisition of Wilson Betemit, I think the Orioles are still lacking in power and also an ability to get on-base.

The Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo Encina in a piece on their website today looked into that issue. It’s kind of startling to realize that Nick Markakis was the only regular with an on-base percentage over .340.

He also notes that, “last season, the Red Sox (.349), Yankees (.343), Rangers (.340) and Tigers (.340) each had team on-base percentages of .340 or higher.”

Ouch.

Obviously, all the teams listed in the previous paragraph were over .500 and contenders in the American League.

The Orioles have their problems, but if they can get their batters to work on plate discipline – not easily fixed – and get players who can get on base with some proficiency, it would go a long way to improving things.

Closer Francisco Cordero – who was targeted by the Orioles – decided to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. He will be a setup man, instead of closing out games.

Also, pitcher Rick VandenHurk was designated for assignment to make room for Betemit.

Finally, Robert Andino signed a one-year deal with the Orioles this morning, avoiding arbitration. I’m curious to see if he starts at second base this year – assuming Roberts is even able to play – or if a utility role is in the cards.

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Folks, the Prince Fielder chase is over. Looks like Scott Boras was able to get a big payday for his big slugger from someone -- the Detroit Tigers. So much for him and Baltimore Orioles. That sure was not going to happen.

I'm just surprised everything with him took this long, but in the end, he got paid... big time.

As Boras, whether you love, despise, or friggin hate him ... the man does his job better than anyone. I thought he might be delusional in terms of his client's - Fielder's - interest; however, he knew that someone was going to bite on him, and they did. Boras isn't one of most sought after agents in the business for nothing.

Fielder agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal with the Tigers.

Wow.

Never figured the Tigers would go after him like that even with the injury to Victor Martinez...

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From the good folks at MASN Sports. I do wish they would show more games on TV and more from Spring Training camp.

Ok, so I say that every year.

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MASN Announces Orioles 2012 Spring Training Broadcast Schedule

MASN, the television home of the Baltimore Orioles, has announced its 2012 spring training schedule. The network will televise six Orioles spring training games and all will appear on MASN HD.

The Orioles' March 5 prime time Grapefruit League opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Sarasota, Florida, will kick off MASN's spring training coverage. MASN will broadcast five more games from Ed Smith Stadium, the team's spring training home: March 11 against the Boston Red Sox; March 18 against the New York Yankees; March 23 against the Red Sox; March 24 against the Washington Nationals; and April 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

All afternoon games will be replayed on the same day in prime time on MASN HD.

In the broadcast booth, joining Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and play-by-play voices Gary Thorne and Jim Hunter, will be Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Mike Bordick, who will be making his MASN debut as a color analyst.

Fans can also access all the Orioles news from spring training by logging onto Roch Kubatko's "School of Roch" for around-the-clock reports at MASNsports.com.

The complete MASN HD spring training schedule for the Orioles is as follows:

Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m., Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Orioles

Sunday, March 11 at 1 p.m., Boston Red Sox vs. Orioles

Sunday, March 18 at 7 p.m., New York Yankees vs. Orioles

Friday, March 23 at 1 p.m., Boston Red Sox vs. Orioles

Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m., Washington Nationals vs. Orioles

Sunday, April 1 at 1 p.m., Tampa Bay Rays vs. Orioles

Every available regular season Orioles game, and each "O's Xtra" pregame and postgame show, will be shown in crystal-clear high definition on MASN during the 2012 season. MASN features an all-star talent team and comprehensive online coverage at MASNsports.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jim Cuddihy
jcuddihy@masnsports.com

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The Orioles signed Wilson Betemit last night to a two-year deal, with an option for a third one. He’s not the free agent we all expected; however, he’s got some pop in his bat and can play an array of positions in the infield, and some outfield.

I mean, Betemit is a decent major leaguer, but not on the wrong side of 30 – yet – and productive.

He’s now involved in the infield mix when Spring Training rolls around next month; however, it is safe to assume that Betemit is on the roster.

From MASN Sports’ Roch Kubatko: Betemit, 30, is a switch-hitter who's played every infield position, including 383 games at third base, and four games in the outfield in parts of nine major league seasons. He offers versatility, but is more likely to provide help with his bat.

Betemit is a career .269/.336/.448 hitter with 63 homers and 243 RBIs in 1,742 at-bats. He batted a combined .285/.343/.452 with 22 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 46 RBIs in 97 games with the Royals and Tigers last season.

The Orioles would be his seventh team.

Betemit is a career .277/.348/.469 hitter from the left side of the plate, and 246/.299/.385 from the right side.

By adding Betemit to the roster, the Orioles could give him some starts at third while Mark Reynolds serves as the DH or slides over to first base, with Chris Davis being the DH. Then again, executive vice president Dan Duquette could have another move up his sleeve.

It looks like he may be the primary designated hitter for the Orioles and play some infield – that is, unless they get someone else.

On that topic, it’s just amazing that Prince Fielder is still available – really. I was watching the MLB Network last night, and reports are that Fielder is down to four teams – Texas, Washington, yes … Baltimore, and a mystery organization. Who knows what in the world Scott Boras – Fielder’s agent – is doing. I don’t know if they are holding out for a mega-deal, but all the big spenders – the Yankees, Red Sox and Angels --- already have first baseman.

The market for Fielder must either be really limited, or Boras is looking for something that may not exist.

Do I think Fielder is going to play for the Orioles? No, signing him would be a poor use of resources right now and would make a bad team into simply a less bad one; however, at this point, anything is possible.

Then again, Fielder would be good for business for a brief while in Baltimore.

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If you have the time to take part in MLB's Fan Cave up in New York, there's information below about what it is all about and sign up.

Thanks to Amanda Sarver at the Baltimore Orioles for passing us the press release from MLB...

SEVENTEEN MAJOR LEAGUE ALL-STARS ALREADY CONFIRMED
TO VISIT MLB FAN CAVE IN 2012

Entry Deadline to be a Fan Cave Contestant is Extended to January 31

Seventeen Major League All-Stars have already confirmed to visit the MLB Fan Cave in 2012 to participate in the web series, interact with fans through the Fan Cave’s social media platforms, and meet the contestants who will be watching every game of the 2012 season.

Players who have confirmed are Bronson Arroyo (Reds, P), Jose Bautista (Blue Jays, OF), Jay Bruce (Reds, OF), Tyler Clippard (Nationals, P), Ubaldo Jimenez (Indians, P), Josh Johnson (Marlins, P), Matt Kemp (Dodgers, OF), Evan Longoria (Rays, 3B), David Ortiz (Red Sox, DH), Hunter Pence (Phillies, OF), Brandon Phillips (Reds, 2B), Michael Pineda (Mariners, P), David Price (Rays, P), CC Sabathia (Yankees, P), Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies, SS), reigning American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (Tigers, P), and Shane Victorino (Phillies, OF). Bautista, Ortiz, Phillips, Price, Sabathia and Victorino all visited the MLB Fan Cave in 2011.

Major League Baseball will select multiple fans to spend nearly every waking moment in the Fan Cave during the 2012 season where they will meet these and other players who visit along with interacting with celebrities, entertainers and musicians.

MLB is accepting entries now at MLBFanCave.com and has moved the deadline back to January 31 to allow fans more time to enter.

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As I have mused throughout the winter, I have not been all that impressed with the moves that the Orioles have made in preparation for 2012.

For the most part, I feel the Orioles have gone with ‘value’ in terms of the players they have signed; however, they have started to make inroads with Asian market, signing two arms – Chen and Wada.

During a break in the afternoon, I got a chat to ask Orioles.com beat writer, Brittany Ghiroli about the state of the Orioles in the media area.

Being that Ghiroli has covered the team for a couple of seasons now, and is from Connecticut, I wanted to get her perspective.

More or less, she said that the team is doing the right thing now in terms of rebuilding. In addition, we had a long conversation about the acquisitions that the Orioles have made.

I told her that there were a lot of fans, including myself – to an extent – who have not been impressed with Dan Duquette so far.

While Ghiroli understood the fact many of us lament that fact that no marquee names, or ‘name’ veterans were signed, she mentioned an important point that I perhaps overlooked: the acquisitions didn’t cost the team anything in terms of draft picks or compensation.

Thinking about what Ghiroli said, it’s an important thing to think about. With the state of the Orioles as-is, they need to collect as much talent as possible and hope some of the players pan out.

They are in no real position right now to give away any of their prospects, and if they did – it would be a detriment to the organization, plus their general plans.

Moving on…

I’m amazed yesterday that Orioles fans during the various Q&A forums were not real angry about the lackluster result of the 2011 season and the offseason.  I would not describe the fans as being apathetic, but not angry or overly hostile either considering the team has lost for 14 consecutive seasons

Then again, most of the fans who sat through everything on Saturday were the die-hards, knew the reality of the situation, and gave the organization a break – especially since Duquette is really on his second month on the job.

Overall, despite the losing ways of the Orioles, everyone at FanFest – including the players – is eager for the 2012 season to begin.

In the media area, players spoke about how much better shape they are in, and how optimistic they are for the season.

Everyone is ready to put 2011 behind them and move on.

From what I gathered, the young pitchers – specifically, the starters – are very much aware that this may be a make-or-break year for many of them.

They know the Orioles are in transition, and the status quo will not be acceptable, especially with the number of arms in camp. Most – if not all of the young pitchers – know that a spot on the roster isn’t guaranteed when Spring Training opens up down in Florida.

The organization made it a point to replay the final at-bats during the final game of the 2011 season on the large screens where the fan forums were being held. The fans ate it all up and really seemed to enjoy having that moment replayed.

Of course, as we all know, Baltimore’s 162^nd game of the season perhaps changed the landscape of baseball that night, as they knocked out the Red Sox from playoff contention and set off a chain of unfortunate events with that organization.

It’s still amazing to think about.

I’ll have the first of many FanFest interviews up later on today, starting with Jason Berken.

Finally, the Ravens are in playing in the AFC Championship this afternoon against the New England Patriots. Out of disclosure, I am not a Ravens fan – I root for the Redskins (poor me); however, I do think they can defeat the Patriots, if they can stop Tom Brady and put pressure on him.

Baltimore’s defense will keep them in the game, but Joe Flacco has to be near perfect to get his team to the Super Bowl.

Prediction: New England 23, Baltimore 17

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On Saturday, the Baltimore Orioles once again held their annual FanFest. I'll have more thoughts later on, and so will James; however, I’m going to give you all some brief thoughts from the day.

This year, the keywords were patience and realism, not optimism or false dreams. Over nine-thousand fans showed up at the Baltimore Convention Center – seemingly no small feat considering the weather and anticipation for the big Ravens’ game on Sunday – longing for baseball again.

Rather than selling fans hope, Dan Duquette, Buck Showalter and others were a tad more realistic this time around with their thoughts along with expectations. I think that’s a good thing as the team is rebuilding, most likely to finish in the second division; therefore, we should not be fooled.

Well, now fans know the real state of the Baltimore Orioles, so expectations for next season seem to be much more tempered. The mood at the convention center didn’t have the same buzz as in 2011, although people were happy to have a taste of baseball back in the region – if only for a day.

I decided to change the coverage of the blog at this event. Instead of hanging out, meeting up with old friends and taking it all in at FanFest, I took very few pictures and instead wanted to cover the day as ‘media’. It was a very long day; however, it did go by ridiculously fast.

We were fully credentialed and stayed in the media to interview various players and team personnel. It was quite an experience and was able to get a ton of content and thoughts first-hand from many within the organization. I’ll try to post what I can starting tonight and into next week.

Spring Training opens up in a little less than a month, and it seems everyone at FanFest is looking forward to Spring Training and April.

What the new season brings remains to be seen. Let’s hope it’s not a painful one in Birdland.

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With Fan Fest this weekend, and with pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in about a month, or less. How do you all feel about the progress that the Orioles have made in the off-season?

I know that the organization is - again - starting from scratch; however, I am not all that enthused with the job Dan Duquette has done so far. I know he's trying to look at the international markets and gauge what talent is out there, in addition to 'value' signings -- um, but perhaps most fans expected more. Really, the team needs another bat in the middle of the order and a veteran, *name* arm -- not 4A or journeyman types.

I do think he’s very much taking his time with his moves and is definitely evaluating the organization than making a move to just make a move.

For the most part, they moves that the Orioles have are very much underwhelming. I’m not sure how much the organization has in their coffers, or the revenue that MASN produces for the Orioles, but you’ve got to wonder why the checkbook was not open.

Duquette thinks that the Orioles can reach the .500 level – or inch above it. Um, I don’t think that is going to happen unless there is a serious overhaul with this team and the front office opens up the wallet big-time. Plus, the young talent – especially, the pitchers – would need to take a serious step forward and avoid the up-downs during a long season.

So far, I have not thought much of Duquette’s moves. It seems like he genuinely wants to see the organization succeed – for his sake and theirs. I do like that he’s going into the Far East and trying to find players of value who won’t break the bank. Plus, he’s retooling the front office and scouting departments; however, I do wish he would be more aggressive.

Despite what I feel about the major league team, the organization must really focus on rebuilding the minor league before anything else. They need a lot of holes plugged in on the major league roster in the years to come, and also need some impact players for trade bait.

They don’t have any real premium minor leaguers to fill-in key positions in case of injury at the higher levels right now, or bait in need of a trade. In addition, they don’t have any impact minor leaguers to fill-in key positions in case of injury, or bait in need of a trade.

I want the Orioles to be American League contenders; however, I am a realist – I just want them to not finish up with a sub-70 win record. Everyone wants improvement with the Baltimore Orioles, especially since they have had 14 straight losing seasons.

I just want something to happen with the team – anything – to show us fans that they are indeed committed to winning and putting a viable product on the field for 2012.

However, the reality of the situation is pretty sad.