O's Close to Signing Outfielder Payton

The Baltimore Orioles are close to signing free agent outfielder Jay Payton to a two-year contract, according to a baseball source. It's believed Payton, who would fill the team's void in left field, needs only to pass a physical next week to make the deal official. Last season Payton, 34, hit .296 with 10 home runs for the Oakland Athletics.

Payton was not the team's first choice to play left field. Baltimore targeted Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee at the start of the offseason, but were outbid by the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros, respectively.

During the winter meetings this week the Orioles had hoped to sign Luis Gonzalez, who signed a one-year, $7.3 million deal to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers because he preferred to stay on the West Coast. But Payton apparently wants to play for the Orioles.

"He seems to have an East Coast bias, which is helpful," Orioles Executive Vice President Jim Duquett e said on Thursday when discussing Payton.

The Orioles are still likely to pursue Tigers outfielder Marcus Thames, whom they tried to acquire this week at the winter meetings. Duquette was with the New York Mets when they drafted Payton in 1994.

-- Jorge Arangure Jr.