The Orioles remain in free agent limbo, apparently waiting for Chris Davis to come to his senses and accept their seven-year contract offer. But every day that passes without resolution on that front, the club gets closer to the point where it will make more sense - to Dan Duquette - to wait around and see if he can catch a falling star.
Duquette did that with Nelson Cruz and it made him the Major League Executive of the Year after the 2014 season. Don’t think for a minute he’s not hoping that baseball runs out of teams with big money before it runs out of viable free agent players.
Maybe that’s the plan already and maybe it’s not. If it is, it’s a dangerous game that could leave the Orioles worse off than last year if Davis eventually finds a better contract and the rest of the quality players end up elsewhere.
The same questions remain unanswered:
Does Davis have any other serious suitors? Well, you have to wonder with agent Scott Boras trying to convince all the big-market teams without an opening at first base that Davis is really a right-fielder in disguise.
Is Boras holding the Orioles hostage or are the Orioles using Boras as cover? Conspiracy theorists have to wonder if the O’s already know they won’t be able to re-sign Davis and are taking advantage of the slow market to buy time until the February free agent fire sale.
Is the Orioles offer really still on the table? It appears to be, even though they technically pulled it back when Davis didn’t initially accept it. But maybe it isn’t and the club is giving the appearance that the door remains open to keep from further damaging Davis’ market value.
Whether they sign Davis or not, is there enough money in the budget to fix the starting rotation? Depends on what you mean by “fix.” Duquette will come up with a veteran starter over the next month or so, but the guy likely will be a medium-priced gamble with some upside.
Chris Davis
