The New York Mets have remained in contact with the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates about Ike Davis.

The Mets haven't been able to pry top pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez away from the Orioles in trade talks.

Rodriguez, 20, posted a combined 3.41 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 145 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2013.

The Baltimore Orioles are looking for a starting pitcher, but they aren't going to bid high on someone like Masahiro Tanaka.

The Orioles also view Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana as too expensive.

They are more likely to target a veteran with a stable track record like A.J. Burnett or Bronson Arroyo.

Paul Blair, an eight-time Gold Glove winner that helped the Baltimore Orioles win two World Series, has died at 69.

Blair died Thursday night at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.

His wife, Gloria, told The Baltimore Sun that Blair played a round of golf with friends Thursday morning and later lost consciousness at a celebrity bowling tournament.

"Paul was honestly too tired, but he never says no," Gloria Blair said. "During a practice round, he threw two or three balls, then sat down and told a friend, 'I feel funny' and kind of collapsed. He lost consciousness and they called 911 and the ambulance took him to (Sinai), but the doctors there told me they never got a pulse."

The Baltimore Orioles have a vacancy at closer and Tommy Hunter appears to be the leading in-house candidate for the job.

The Orioles are making a push for free-agent Fernando Rodney, but he may prove to be too expensive.

Hunter collected four saves in 2013, the only ones of his career. He met with Buck Showalter late last season to express his desire to remain a stater, but closing excites him.

"Hell yeah, I'd be OK with it," he replied. "Why wouldn't I?"

One agent plans to begin dealing with the Baltimore Orioles differently in the wake of the broken down deal with Grant Balfour.

His solution is not to discuss money with the club until they have examined the player's medical records.

Balfour agreed to a two-year, $15 million deal Baltimore before the club backed out after his physical.

The Baltimore Orioles will not sign Grant Balfour.

"We would never say never or close the door, but we're going to turn our attention elsewhere," Dan Duquette said.

The Orioles agreed to terms with Balfour on a two-year, $15 million contract earlier this week, but problems with the physical placed the contract in jeopardy.

Troy Patton has been suspended for the first 25 games of next season after a positive test for a banned amphetamine.

The Baltimore Orioles reliever became the 15th player suspended this year under the Major League drug program following 14 penalized as a result on MLB's Biogenesis investigation.

Grant Balfour's deal with the Baltimore Orioles is in jeopardy of falling through due to a concern over his physical.

The deal could be revived with a lesser contract, according to a source.

The Orioles had a news conference scheduled for Friday to introduce Balfour that has been postponed.

Balfour originally agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal with Baltimore.

The Baltimore Orioles have reached an agreement with Grant Balfour on a two-year, $14 million contract, according to a source.

According to multiple reports, an additional $500,000 will be deferred each year.

The 35-year-old went 1-3 with a 2.59 ERA and 38 saves last season with the Oakland Athletics.

The Baltimore Orioles are nearing a two-year contract agreement with Grant Balfour, according to sources.

It had been reported that the market for Balfour heated up on Tuesday.