Baltimore Orioles
Committed payroll for 2016: $41.8 MM
Incumbent outfielders: Adam Jones
The Orioles have a pressing need for corner outfield help. Adam Jones is the only outfielder guaranteed to be back in Baltimore next year. The Orioles have said publicly that signing Chris Davis is their number one priority entering the free-agency period. If the Orioles somehow find a way to get a deal done with Davis and Scott Boras, then there is no chance they sign Cespedes.
Claiming that you want to re-sign Davis shows that a front office that has never handed out a nine-figure contract is willing to do just that. If that money does not go to Davis, management needs to look elsewhere to fill some gaping holes on the roster. The Orioles leftfielders were among the worst in all of baseball in 2015. Rightfield was not much better, really only buoyed by the fact that Davis spent some time in the outfield.
Cespedes is a long-shot for the Orioles, but if they lose out on the services of Davis, the team should at the very least, throw its hat in the ring for La Potencia. It’s worth noting that the Orioles do have several young Cuban players in their farm system who could join Cespedes on the 25-man roster in 2016.
The Angels let Murphy go already.
yep. article was written yesterday morning before the decision was made. not a surprising decision to pass on murphy.