July 2012 - Baltimore Orioles Wiretap

The Orioles have signed a pair of pitchers and invited them to Spring Training. Armando Galarraga and Pat Neshek were both inked to contracts. Galarraga went 3-4 in eight starts with Arizona last season. He fell one out short of a perfect game against Cleveland on June 2, 2010 with Detroit. Neshek had a 4.01 ERA in 25 relief appearances with San Diego last season.

The Orioles have a few items remaining on their offseason shopping list. Baltimore executive vice president Dan Duquette wants to add a late-inning reliever and remains interested in Edwin Jackson and Casey Kotchman. Kotchman, who turns 29 on Feb. 22, settled for a minor league deal with the Rays last winter, but joined them after Manny Ramirez's abrupt retirement and hit .306 in 500 at-bats.

The Orioles are interested in re-acquiring Koji Uehara from the Rangers. Texas is looking to relieve a potential bullpen logjam and Uehara kept his home in Baltimore after he was dealt last summer.

The Orioles have avoided arbitration with Robert Andino by agreeing to a one-year deal. Andino, 27, had his best season in 2011, playing the majority of his career-high 139 games at second base. He set career highs with 457 at-bats, 120 hits, 63 runs, five homers and 36 RBIs.

Infielder Wilson Betemit and the Orioles have agreed to a two-year, $3.25M contract. The Orioles announced the deal with the free agent Tuesday and say it includes a vesting option for 2014.

Nick Markakis expects to be limited in Spring Training until the first week of March, but he is focused on being 100 percent by Opening Day. Markakis had abdominal surgery on Jan. 6. Markakis is currently doing a lot of aqua therapy to strengthen his lower core, and recently incorporated light jogging into his workouts, which is a far cry from his typical offseason activity. "This could be a good thing," Markakis said of allowing his body time to heal. "I've never actually taken off a full offseason to rest. I talked to Aubrey [Huff] before I had my surgery, and he came off his best year after the surgery, and he was kind of on the same routine I'm on. He rested the whole offseason, and he got back in the swing of things after he had his surgery in January. I'm not saying I'm expecting to go out there and have my best year, but we'll see how things play out, and we'll go from there."

Johnny Damon may have a hard time finding a job if he isn't eventually signed by the Tigers, Orioles or Yankees. The Rays aren't going to re-sign him because they want more power from their designated hitter. Detroit might be an ideal spot following Victor Martinez's serious injury.

Adam Jones appears to be open to the idea of a contract extension with the Orioles. His name has been mentioned in trade rumors this winter. "That's up to [the Orioles]. The ball is in their court, right?" Jones said. "Nothing is up to me. I'm under team control for two years, so nothing is up to me. "I like Baltimore," he added. "I've planted some roots here. I like working in the city. If I am fortunate enough to be here a long time, I can build trees from those roots. I think the next few weeks leading up to spring training will be interesting."

Rick Peterson has officially joined the Orioles organization and is expected to serve as the team's pitching coordinator. The newly created position is a hybrid of the Minor League pitching coordinator position and that will provide added responsibilities in areas of players development and the farm system. Peterson was interviewed several times over a month-and-a-half period before the one-year deal was reached.

Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has revealed the five teams which have expressed interest in his services. Cespedes, who is awaiting word from Major League Baseball on his status as a free agent after defecting to the Dominican Republic, has worked out for most teams, but he said the most interest has come from the Cubs, White Sox, Orioles, Indians and Marlins.