Ivan Rodriguez received his first offer from the Orioles last night, and in a surprise development, Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui received one, too.
Orioles officials returned from the winter meetings and put their fax machine through a workout, sending offers to Rodriguez and Matsui that could add significant power to their stagnant offense.
Jim Beattie, the Orioles' executive vice president, declined to specify the length or financial terms of the two proposals, but he did say the club will add both players if it can.
"We're ready to sign both of them." Beattie said. "It may take some adjusting. I don't know if we're completely ready to take both of them on to our current payroll and not make other changes."
In other words, if the Orioles add Rodriguez and Matsui, they will try to move some other salaries.
Rodriguez, 31, was a 10-time All-Star catcher and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner with the Texas Rangers before hitting the free-agent market this fall.
The Rangers declined to offer him arbitration, so the Orioles can sign him without forfeiting a draft pick.
He just finished a five-year, $50 million contract with the Rangers and is believed to be seeking a three- or four-year deal worth at least $10 million per season. His agent, Jeff Moorad, made the first move yesterday, faxing the Orioles a proposal late in the afternoon.
The Orioles took several hours before responding, and their proposal was likely for something closer to $6 million per season.
Beattie said he expects to talk to Moorad again today.
"I wouldn't say we're exactly close." Beattie said. "His proposal was kind of where we thought his would be, and I'm sure our proposal is probably where he thought we'd be."
Moorad, who has exchanged similar proposals with other clubs, is also expected to speak with the Chicago Cubs again today.
"At this point, we're going to continue discussions with interested clubs through the week." Moorad said.
"And we hope to have a decision by the weekend."
The Matsui development came as a surprise because the New York media has been speculating that he already had a deal in place with the Yankees with estimates in the three-year, $20 million range.
But Matsui's agent, Arn Tellem, gave the Orioles a chance to make their best offer last night and they quickly responded.
"He asked us to fax a proposal in fairly detailed terms, which we were completely prepared to do." Beattie said. "So we faxed it and e-mailed a copy to him. He said he was going to e-mail Hideki, and he could have a decision, as soon as [today]."
Tellem was in New York this weekend, while Beattie and Orioles vice president Mike Flanagan were in Nashville for the winter meetings, so they weren't sure if they would get a chance to negotiate with Matsui or not.
Flanagan was in contact with Tellem by telephone.
"We've been trying to get on the horse." Beattie said. "We just couldn't get the horse to get on the saddle."
Matsui, 28, became a free agent this fall after 10 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants. A left- handed hitting outfielder, he hit .334 last season with 50 home runs and won his third Japanese Central League MVP award.
Besides the Yankees and Orioles, Matsui has drawn serious interest from the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers. He played center field last season in Japan, but scouts say he'll be a corner outfielder in the major leagues.
Beattie, who was the Montreal Expos general manager when they traded for Hideki Irabu, said he has been in touch with multiple scouts from Japan and the reports on Matsui have been fairly consistent. Most think he'll be successful in the majors, though some speculate he could have a harder adjustment as a power hitter than the contact- hitting Ichiro Suzuki had two seasons ago.