Zen-like Todd
December-5th-2003, 07:24 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36737-2003Dec4.html
Orioles Focus on Tejada, V. Guerrero, J. Lopez
By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 5, 2003; Page D03
BALTIMORE, Dec. 4 -- With a major market-defining procedural deadline approaching this weekend, the Baltimore Orioles are gearing up for an all-out ambush on a slow-developing free agent market that could culminate at baseball's winter meetings Dec. 12-16.
According to team and league sources, the Orioles have narrowed their focus to three primary targets, of which they hope to land two: shortstop Miguel Tejada, right fielder Vladimir Guerrero and catcher Javy Lopez.
If they are successful, the Orioles will have completely recast their lineup, which has lacked a true No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5 hitter for most of the last three years.
Although the Orioles met face to face with the agents for Guerrero and Tejada -- both are represented by Fernando Cuza and Diego Benz -- and have had ongoing discussions with Lopez's agent as well, the team has not made any formal offers.
Most teams, including the Orioles, are holding back their initial contract offers until after Sunday's deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their free agent players -- decisions that affect draft-pick compensation in the event a free agent signs with another team.
"We're talking to all the free agents we think are going to help our club," said Orioles Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Jim Beattie. "But looking at the time frame, I think [Sunday] is going to be a big date. After that, things are going to get busy. Free agents don't like to be unemployed at Christmas. So I think the two-week period in between [Sunday and Christmas] will be busy."
The Orioles, with only $35 million in salary obligations for 2004 and ownership's permission to take the payroll as high as $75 million, are one of a handful of teams in baseball with ample money to spend. However, they still would rather avoid giving up draft picks. Free agents whose teams offer them arbitration Sunday will cost a draft pick to any other team that signs them.
In the case of "type A" free agents such as Guerrero, Tejada and Lopez, if their previous clubs offer them arbitration, the Orioles would have to give up a second-round draft pick to sign one of them (and a third-round pick to sign a second player, etc.). If the players are not offered arbitration, no compensation is required.
In most past years, it would have been an obvious decision for teams to offer arbitration to those free agents in order to get draft-pick compensation when they left. However, things began to change last winter when players started to realize that they were likely to receive higher salaries through arbitration than in a soft free agent market.
The Atlanta Braves, in the most noteworthy case, offered arbitration to pitcher Greg Maddux, thinking they would get a compensatory draft pick after he signed elsewhere, only to get stuck with him at a salary of $14.75 million when he accepted their offer of arbitration.
Guerrero, the Orioles' top target from the day the market opened, presents an interesting case study in a market thought to be even softer than last year's. His previous team, the Montreal Expos, offered him a five-year, $75 million contract extension during the season, only to pull it off the table after the World Series when his agents ignored it. Since then, Expos management has insisted it is no longer trying to keep Guerrero.
However, the Expos, who are owned and operated by Major League Baseball, appeared to free up payroll space Thursday by trading Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees for three cheaper players.
Orioles Focus on Tejada, V. Guerrero, J. Lopez
By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 5, 2003; Page D03
BALTIMORE, Dec. 4 -- With a major market-defining procedural deadline approaching this weekend, the Baltimore Orioles are gearing up for an all-out ambush on a slow-developing free agent market that could culminate at baseball's winter meetings Dec. 12-16.
According to team and league sources, the Orioles have narrowed their focus to three primary targets, of which they hope to land two: shortstop Miguel Tejada, right fielder Vladimir Guerrero and catcher Javy Lopez.
If they are successful, the Orioles will have completely recast their lineup, which has lacked a true No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5 hitter for most of the last three years.
Although the Orioles met face to face with the agents for Guerrero and Tejada -- both are represented by Fernando Cuza and Diego Benz -- and have had ongoing discussions with Lopez's agent as well, the team has not made any formal offers.
Most teams, including the Orioles, are holding back their initial contract offers until after Sunday's deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their free agent players -- decisions that affect draft-pick compensation in the event a free agent signs with another team.
"We're talking to all the free agents we think are going to help our club," said Orioles Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Jim Beattie. "But looking at the time frame, I think [Sunday] is going to be a big date. After that, things are going to get busy. Free agents don't like to be unemployed at Christmas. So I think the two-week period in between [Sunday and Christmas] will be busy."
The Orioles, with only $35 million in salary obligations for 2004 and ownership's permission to take the payroll as high as $75 million, are one of a handful of teams in baseball with ample money to spend. However, they still would rather avoid giving up draft picks. Free agents whose teams offer them arbitration Sunday will cost a draft pick to any other team that signs them.
In the case of "type A" free agents such as Guerrero, Tejada and Lopez, if their previous clubs offer them arbitration, the Orioles would have to give up a second-round draft pick to sign one of them (and a third-round pick to sign a second player, etc.). If the players are not offered arbitration, no compensation is required.
In most past years, it would have been an obvious decision for teams to offer arbitration to those free agents in order to get draft-pick compensation when they left. However, things began to change last winter when players started to realize that they were likely to receive higher salaries through arbitration than in a soft free agent market.
The Atlanta Braves, in the most noteworthy case, offered arbitration to pitcher Greg Maddux, thinking they would get a compensatory draft pick after he signed elsewhere, only to get stuck with him at a salary of $14.75 million when he accepted their offer of arbitration.
Guerrero, the Orioles' top target from the day the market opened, presents an interesting case study in a market thought to be even softer than last year's. His previous team, the Montreal Expos, offered him a five-year, $75 million contract extension during the season, only to pull it off the table after the World Series when his agents ignored it. Since then, Expos management has insisted it is no longer trying to keep Guerrero.
However, the Expos, who are owned and operated by Major League Baseball, appeared to free up payroll space Thursday by trading Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees for three cheaper players.