O’s head to the winter meetings

Baseball’s winter meetings will be held this week in Orlando, which is traditionally when we start hearing hot stove news, rumors, etc. However in an almost unprecedented move, several big name free agents fell last week prior to the winter meetings. Let’s be frank; there are other names out there still looking for teams, however some of the biggest of the big (ie-Robinson Cano) are already under the tree. That aside, there’s always the trade market for teams such as the Baltimore Orioles, and I suspect that’s an option into which GM Dan Duquette will be making various inquiries this coming week.

Courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

As has been the case for two years or so, the Birds find themselves between a rock and a hard place. There are players out there for the Orioles’ picking. However those players’ current clubs will probably have the audacity to ask the O’s to overpay for them. The fact that so many free agents signed last week indicate that as well. First off other teams know that the Orioles have some glaring needs, and they’ll expect to try to squeeze them in order for them to achieve those needs. However those teams also know that last week free agents became an increasingly tougher game for the Orioles given the number of them that rolled off the board.

So I would expect names like Machado, Bundy, and Gausman to be dropped by other teams in terms of who they want in return. Quite honestly, I would submit that Matt Wieters might be the best bargaining chip the Orioles have. While they ideally want to extend Wieters and are probably willing to do so right now, they also know that’s not going to be possible (until he hits the open market in two years that is). If they could get a front-line starter for Wieters, I’d consider making that trade. Now having said that, Jarod Saltalamacchia was a guy who had been thrown out as a would-be replacement for Wieters. However he signed with Miami on Friday, making that a no-go. (So…did the defending world series champions and a division rival at that just get a bit weaker?)

Stick with us here at Birds Watcher this week, as we’ll have updates on the Orioles’ wheelings and dealings each morning. We’re proud to be the official home of the Baltimore Orioles on the Fansided Network, and we’ll be there as news about the team breaks this week!