This afternoon, the Orioles and Luke Scott came to contract terms for the 2009 season. The deal is worth $2.4 million and was reached on Tuesday morning. Scott hit .257 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs in 2008, and he should probably be slated as the designated hitter with the acquistion of Felix Pie over the weekend.
In other news, the only arbitration eligible player left on the roster, George Sherrill could not reach a deal with the Orioles and will more than likely have his case heard in the next few weeks.
From the Orioles.com: Sherrill, who has nearly four years of service time, requested a $3.4 million salary and was offered $2.2 million by the Orioles. Those proposals leave a sizable chance of the two sides settling in the middle before the arbitrator’s ruling, and either figure will represent a sizable raise for Sherrill, who made a $980,000 base salary last season.
Should be interesting to see what happens; however, I don’t think any player likes to go to arbitration. I would expect Sherrill’s final contract to end up halfway or closer to what the Orioles want. The lefty reliever started off strong, but slipped in the second half mired with injury and some struggles.
In other news…
- MASN’s Steve Melewski wonders if Luke Scott can handle the DH role, and also adds that the acquisition of Pie will only strengthen the Baltimore defense, and adds speed to the lineup.
- Peter Schmuck has a writeup on his blog about a chat that Jeff Zrebiec had with center fielder Adam Jones. Interestingly, Jones says he has put on 25 lbs of muscle (he’s now listed at 6’2″ and 235 — awfully big for a centerfielder. I’m sure the added bulk may give him more power and the ability to hit the ball with authority; however, you must wonder if he’ll lose some mobility in the field.
- Roch Kubatko reports on the 40-man roster.
- The Examiner’s Jay Trucker has his thoughts on the Markakis deal; Orioles Hangout’s Tony Pente likes the move for Felix Pie and believes that it gives the team an offensive foundation to build on.
