ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 10 -- The Baltimore Orioles are quickly becoming convinced that perhaps the best method to improve their young and inconsistent pitching staff might be through a trade. Free agent pitcher Carl Pavano has yet to eliminate the Orioles from consideration, but team officials wonder whether his price may have pushed them out of contention, forcing them to seriously consider trading some of their young, talented and inexpensive players for Oakland Athletics ace Tim Hudson.
Late Thursday night Scott Shapiro, the agent for Pavano, presented the Orioles with a proposal that almost floored team officials. Based on deals received by pitchers Kris Benson (three years, $21 million) and Russ Ortiz (four years, $33 million), Pavano likely will receive a deal that is considerably higher than what Orioles executives anticipated.
The Orioles may turn their attention to working out a trade for Oakland starter Tim Hudson.
(Jeff Chiu - AP)
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"Our concern is dollars," Jim Beattie, the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations, said. "We will have the discipline to walk away from something we feel is too expensive for us."
The Orioles are agonizing whether a deal for Hudson may be a better option. Hudson is the more proven pitcher, though there is a risk in acquiring him. Hudson, 29, is a free agent after this season and the A's are not allowing teams a window to negotiate an extension. The Orioles are worried Hudson could easily walk away after this season.
Hudson suddenly has become the hottest commodity on the available player market, with the A's believed to be talking to as many as 10 teams about him. A source close to Oakland said Hudson will be traded before the end of the winter meetings.
Oakland General Manager Billy Beane's asking price is uniformly high -- generally the best young player or players on the targeted team's roster -- according to sources familiar with those talks. Baltimore's conversation with Oakland have centered around left-handed starting pitcher Erik Bedard.
Among the involved teams are the Los Angeles Dodgers (the A's are seeking a package built around Edwin Jackson), the Atlanta Braves (Marcus Giles), the St. Louis Cardinals (Dan Haren, Rick Ankiel) and the Cincinnati Reds (Adam Dunn).
The team that acquires Hudson will have to negotiate an extension prior to March 31, a cut-off date set by Hudson and his agent Paul Cohen, otherwise the pitcher will test the free agent market in 2005. One industry source said Hudson would be willing to sign an extension with the Orioles under certain circumstances. Hudson, in signing an extension, would command more money than Pavano, perhaps another reason for concern to Baltimore. The source said Hudson has listed 15 teams that he is opposed to joining, though he doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract to block any move. The Orioles are not one of those teams, and Hudson is at least intrigued by the idea of being dealt to Baltimore, where he would rejoin former teammate and friend Miguel Tejada.
Although the Cardinals, in particular, have had success romancing one-year rentals (Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen) into signing long-term deals after the fact, the Orioles may see it as a gamble not worth taking.
Aside from Pavano and Hudson, the hottest action at the Anaheim Marriott centered on the trio of power-hitting corner infielders on the market -- third baseman Adrian Beltre and first basemen Carlos Delgado and Richie Sexson.
The Seattle Mariners have been the most aggressive pursuers, making offers to all three players, according to a team executive -- with the understanding it will pull back the other offers once one player accepts. The general consensus is that the Mariners will wind up with Delgado, perhaps as early as Sunday.
The Orioles, too, are hoping to wind up with either Sexson or Delgado as their first baseman, although Thursday's signing of Troy Glaus by the Arizona Diamondbacks (four years, $45 million) was a discouraging sign for Orioles executives. The Orioles met with David Sloane, agent for Delgado, on Friday afternoon, but sources say talks are in preliminary stages.
The Boston Red Sox were moving quickly to address the holes in their starting rotation, with rival executives predicting Pedro Martinez will be wrapped up in a matter of days. In addition, if the Red Sox fail to land Pavano, they could turn to veteran left-hander David Wells.
Wells's agent, Gregg Clifton, confirmed he has had talks with the Red Sox, as well as the Cleveland Indians, regarding Wells.
In terms of impact, Friday's biggest signing was that of 39-year-old center fielder Steve Finley by the Anaheim Angels for two years $14 million, which effectively takes them out of the running for Carlos Beltran -- the 27-year-old center fielder considered the prize of the market.
With Anaheim out, the New York Yankees are expected to intensify their efforts to land Beltran, and Yankees executives were scheduled to meet with agent Scott Boras late Friday night. Boras's initial asking price was reported to be $200 million over 10 years, and Boras is expected to hold to that price for some time, meaning Beltran might not be signed until well into the New Year.
"It's a very aggressive market," said Boras, whose formidable stable of free agents this winter includes Beltran, Adrian Beltre, Magglio Ordoñez, Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe.
