As Orioles officials convene later this week at baseball's annual winter meetings, they'll be equipped with a detailed listing of players who, for the right price, could fill their needs and possibly end a run of five consecutive fourth-place finishes. While finding a slugger for the middle of their lineup remains a priority, they also must focus on a replacement for popular shortstop Mike Bordick.
They can shop the free-agent market or pursue a trade, with rumors coming out of New York that the Orioles are investigating a deal involving pitcher Scott Erickson and Mets shortstop Rey Ordonez. The options are plentiful, but what direction will they go?
Mike Flanagan, the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations, didn't return phone calls yesterday, and special assistant Ed Kenney declined to comment on potential trade discussions, but Newsday cited a person involved in the Mets' planning as confirming an Erickson-Ordonez deal could be in the works.
The Orioles also are known to have interest in three free-agent shortstops: Deivi Cruz, Jose Hernandez and Rey Sanchez.
Ordonez, who turns 32 next month, has carved his reputation with his glove. A dazzling fielder who wasn't as consistent this season, he fell out of favor in New York and has been made available. He earned $6.25 million while batting .254 with one homer and 42 RBIs. Ordonez also committed 19 errors in 144 games, the most since his rookie season in 1996.
Flashier in the field than Bordick, Ordonez wouldn't provide much of an upgrade offensively. He's never hit higher than .258 in seven major-league seasons and doesn't have much power.
Ordonez would come at a steeper price than other players the Orioles have targeted, but they also would be subtracting Erickson from the payroll. The team's No. 1 starter coming out of spring training, he'll make $6.6 million next season before becoming a free agent. But as a 10-5 man - 10 years in the majors, five with the same club - he would have to approve a trade.
Erickson's agent, Rick Thurman, was out of the office yesterday and couldn't be reached.
Moving Ordonez, who also has one year remaining on his contract, has become a priority for the Mets. Former manager Bobby Valentine benched him for the last two games after Ordonez called the fans "stupid" while complaining about their treatment of him and his family. The team is looking for a stopgap until top prospect Jose Reyes, who hasn't played above Double-A, is ready for the majors. The Mets regard him as untouchable.
Erickson would fill out a rotation that recently added former Atlanta Braves left-hander Tom Glavine through free agency. The Mets' fifth starter, John Thompson, is eligible for arbitration, and they wouldn't mind replacing him. They were interested in Erickson at the 2000 waiver deadline, before an elbow injury that required ligament-transplant surgery.
Meanwhile, an Orioles official denied that the club was trying to send pitcher Sidney Ponson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Felipe Lopez. But the switch-hitting shortstop could be obtained in the right deal. Lopez, who just completed his second season in the majors, batted .227 in 85 games and lost his starting job to Chris Woodward.
Among the free agents, the Orioles showed early interest in Cruz, who spent last season with the San Diego Padres. Cruz's agent, Elliott Vallin, began discussions with Syd Thrift before the front office shake-up, and has since spoken with Flanagan and Jim Beattie, the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations.
"It's just a matter of working things out, like anything else," said Vallin, who is preparing a packet on Cruz that he'll send to Beattie and Flanagan. "It's still fresh. We were waiting to see what would happen with the Mike Bordick situation. We're just kind of feeling things out."
Cruz, 30, batted .263 with seven homers and 47 RBIs in 151 games. He also committed 15 errors, two fewer than his 2001 total. Once rated among the Detroit Tigers' top prospects, he batted .302 with 82 RBIs in 2000.
"Deivi has played most of his career in the American League and loves the park in Baltimore," Vallin said. "He has a lot of friends on the club. Tony Batista is a good friend of his. I think it would be an ideal situation for Baltimore with Deivi. He's healthy and playing better than ever."
He also makes better contact than Hernandez, 33, who struck out 188 times and was benched late in the season. Hernandez piled up 185 strikeouts in 2001 and might not be a good fit for a team that needs to improve its on-base percentage. But other numbers intrigue the Orioles, including his .288 average, 24 homers and 73 RBIs.
Hernandez, who committed 19 errors in 152 games, has been in the majors for 11 seasons - the last three with the Brewers. He's a .255 career hitter with 1,053 strikeouts in 1,173 at-bats.
Sanchez made 100 appearances at second base for the Boston Red Sox, compared with 10 at shortstop. He appeared in 148 games at shortstop in 2001 with Kansas City and Atlanta. A career .275 hitter, Sanchez has played for six teams since breaking into the majors in 1991. He batted .286 this season.
Kenney said the Orioles' interest in the three free agents doesn't fall in any particular order. Team officials will continue to gather information later this week, meeting with agents and general managers, and perhaps bringing home a replacement for Bordick while crossing one need off their growing list.