The Baltimore Orioles need a first baseman.
As former Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar might say: “It’s time for the O’s to cowboy up and get it done.”
That’s the feeling every Oriole fan is experiencing at this moment in time in regards to the first base situation, which has been dragging on for most of the offseason.
At first, it was losing out on their number one target, catcher/first baseman/DH Victor Martinez by two million dollars to the Detroit Tigers. Then came Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko signing with the Chicago White Sox.
Now, the Orioles are left with the last two “top” free agent first baseman left on the market in Derrek Lee and Adam LaRoche, and the urgency to sign one of them increases each passing day.
LaRoche was the Orioles’ main target between the two at the annual Winter Meetings in early December. It makes sense: He is fairly young (31) with a very consistent bat and a great glove. The only real drawbacks to him are the fact that he is a left-handed hitter, something the Orioles are already loaded with and that he wants a three-year deal, a length of time that the Orioles’ front office isn’t comfortable with.
It is safe to assume the Orioles had offered a LaRoche a lucrative deal weeks ago, but whether it was a two or three-year deal has yet to be released. Either way, LaRoche has sat on the deal for way too long, hoping either he got a better offer money or years-wise, or that a contender offers him a job.
LaRoche is a good player, but isn’t good enough for a team to justify bidding against themselves in order to win his services. This is why I now say that the Orioles need to grab Derrek Lee and grab him now, so that this whole ordeal is over and done with and they can focus on their pitching, the rotation and bullpen.
Lee is older (35), and is coming off an injured and down year. But Lee is a right-handed run producer (he drove in 80 runs last season in his down year, and averages 90 during a 162-game season), a great fielder and a clubhouse leader.
Coming off a year in which his thumb was injured, he can be expected to bounce back, much like third baseman Adrian Beltre did last year when he signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox,or former O Aubrey Huff did in San Francisco with the World Series champion Giants.
And like Beltre and Huff, Lee would be willing to sign a one-year deal in order to re-establish himself as a feared hitter, something the Orioles sorely lack and haven’t had since the 2005 season when they had an Opening Day lineup featuring Miguel Tejada, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro.
After having thumb surgery in the beginning of the offseason, Lee should be ready to go with the bat and glove on Opening Day 2011. It would be a real surprise to everyone in the MLB and whoever follows it if Lee doesn’t have a good year next season, if not a great one.
Lee would be very motivated to produce a good year in order to hit the free agent market in 2011 and get a three-year deal with an annual salary of $10 million or up.
The fact that he has played his entire career in the National League shouldn’t be used against him, as hitters of his experience and ability often aren’t defined by the league they play in. They can hit wherever and will step it up when the situation presents the need, such as the mentioned re-establishment of a one-year deal.
It was well known that at the beginning of the offseason, Lee wanted to sign with a contender and didn’t have any interest in Baltimore, despite his ties with President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail back in his Chicago Cubs days.
But it has been reported within the past few days that Lee has opened up a bit more to playing with a non-contender and playing for the Orioles. In hearing that news, MacPhail should have picked up the phone, called Lee’s agent and offered him a one-year deal at $10 or $11 million.
MacPhail needs to put an end to the question mark at first base for the Baltimore Orioles going into the 2011 season. This team can’t afford to waste any more time waiting on LaRoche to make up his mind.
The front office needs to put the pedal to the metal and get someone signed so that they can focus on the other teams needs. If LaRoche doesn’t want to come to Baltimore, then Lee would be crazy to pass up the opportunity at a chance to play with the great competition of the AL East and to prove himself on a $10 million salary.
Lee would be a good addition with the glove and in the clubhouse, leading a young team and teaching them how to win, as well as providing pop from the right side of the plate with an assumed bounce-back year.
Make the call, Andy. Make the offer. Do whatever it takes.
It’s time to “cowboy up” and get the team a real first baseman.
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