Well, we all know the Orioles might need a shortstop considering Cesar Izturis is a free agent, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll return. Honestly, as good as Cesar was with the glove, I’m sure most fans would prefer to have someone with a tad bit more offense with the bat.
That being said, with things on free agent market as it is, the Orioles might be looking to get a shortstop via a trade.
The Orioles haven’t ruled out bringing back Cesar Izturis, but they are currently looking at other shortstop options, according to club sources.
They’ve had trade discussions with the Tampa Bay Rays about Jason Bartlett, and the Minnesota Twins about J.J. Hardy.
The talks with the Rays included discussion of a potential swap of Orioles reliever David Hernandez for Bartlett, who hit .254 with four homers and 47 RBIs in 2010, but is a career .281 hitter. However, that deal appears unlikely at this point as the Orioles consider other options.
While I like some of the intangibles that Jason Bartlett brings to table despite a down year in 2010, and Hardy has some pop, I’d pass on both if the swap includes Hernandez. With the Tampa Bay Rays looking to get cheaper and restock, who knows what will happen to Bartlett?
Both Bartlett and Hardy will be free agents at the end of the 2011 season.
Although Hernandez clearly struggled in a starting role – much like pitcher Jason Berken – he’s shown his worth in the Oriole bullpen and should be an arm to keep.
Finally, here are your free agent shortstops. Really, do any of them look all that appealing? Let’s not include Derek Jeter, as he’ll wind up with the Yankees again.
The only one on the list who looks somewhat desirable is Juan Uribe (who should get a ton of attention). Everyone else pretty much are just rather just fillers or past their prime.
Geoff Blum (37), Orlando Cabrera (36), Craig Counsell (40), Cesar Izturis (30), Derek Jeter (36), Edgar Renteria (35) Miguel Tejada (36), Juan Uribe (31)
Also, there were talks that the Orioles might be interested in Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who is probably going to be suiting up for some team in the majors during the 2011 season. He is free to join Major League Baseball, a he was posted by his Japanese Team, the Chiba Lotte Marines. The eventual winner of the bidding process should eb announced Monday or so.
According to Jeff Zrebeic of the Sun, along with MASN’s Roch Kubatko, the Orioles do have interest, but it might be a case of just kicking tires…
Several people have asked about the Orioles’ interest in Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who reportedly was posted last night by the Chiba Lotte Marines. The last time I inquired about him, I was told that the Orioles had some interest but they hadn’t decided yet whether they would bid. My gut feeling is that they won’t be involved as the organization isn’t enamored of the whole posting process. This is more my opinion from talking to people, but I get the impression that the Orioles feel that the money they would have to put up just to win the ability to negotiate with the player, coupled with what they would have to pay Nishioka to sign him to a contract, would far exceed his worth.
That seems to be clear enough to understand.
I just want the Orioles just to use this offseason to progress and possibly improve.
