Determined to add a free-agent slugger to the middle of their lineup, the Orioles turned to option No. 3 yesterday.
After losing out to the New York Yankees on Hideki Matsui and hitting a roadblock in their negotiations with Ivan Rodriguez, the Orioles made their first offer to free-agent outfielder Cliff Floyd.
Floyd had until midnight to decide whether he would accept arbitration from the Boston Red Sox, so his agents spent the afternoon exploring other options.
The Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets were all in the running, so there was a good chance Floyd would reject arbitration from the Red Sox and remain a free agent.
"We made an offer. He said he was going to sleep on it," executive vice president Jim Beattie said last night.
The Orioles met with Floydcm EQs agents brothers Sam and Seth Levinson on Monday night in Nashville, Tenn., before leaving the winter meetings.
"We've been in the mix [with Floyd] from the beginning," Orioles vice president Mike Flanagan said.
Adding to their interest, the asking price didnt seem very high yesterday. The Dodgers appeared to be the favorites to lure him from the Red Sox, and they were said to be contemplating a three-year, $18 million offer. Orioles officials indicated they would be open to a three-year proposal of their own.
Floyd, 30, hit .288 with 28 home runs and 79 RBIs last year. He began the season with the Florida Marlins and was traded to the Montreal Expos before getting shipped to the Red Sox.
The Orioles view him as a potential everyday left fielder, and his left-handed bat has them particularly intrigued because of the short dimensions to right field at Camden Yards.
Matsui is also a left-handed-hitting outfielder, and that explains why the Orioles were so interested before he signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Yankees yesterday. Orioles officials said they made a very similar offer but felt they were somewhat handicapped because they entered the process later than the Yankees and couldnt convince Matsui to visit Camden Yards.
Once Matsui signed, the top two hitters on the free-agent market became Floyd and Rodriguez. The Orioles were considered the clear favorites to land Rodriguez before they exchanged offers on Tuesday and found themselves more than $5 million apart annually on a three-year deal with one or two option years.
Rodriguez's agent, Jeff Moorad, made the first proposal, and the Orioles came back with theirs a few hours later. On Wednesday, Moorad told them the conversations would be dead in the water, unless the Orioles upped the ante significantly. Beattie said the team would have no qualms whatsoever moving on.
Yesterday, the two sides werent any closer.
We left the door open, Flanagan said. They've got the ball.
Still, Flanagan said the negotiations with Rodriguez were not beyond repair.
We didn't think Pudge was going to jump at the first offer he got, Flanagan said. My guess is he will be one of the last [high-profile free agents to sign].
In other Orioles news:
They will likely cut ties with center fielder Chris Singleton today, by choosing not to tender him a contract by the midnight deadline. Yesterday, the Orioles were still talking to a couple teams about potentially trading Singleton, who hit .262 last season with nine home runs and 50 RBIs.
A non-tender will leave the Orioles with nothing to show for last winters trade that sent prospect Willie Harris to the Chicago White Sox for Singleton. Harris hit .233 and stole eight bases in 49 games as a rookie with Chicago this past season.
Basically, Singleton no longer fits into the Orioles plans financially because he is arbitration eligible and will likely double the $1.4 million salary he made last year. He became expendable when the Orioles acquired Gary Matthews from the New York Mets and watched him blossom into an everyday player.
When Greg Maddux accepted arbitration yesterday, it meant the Atlanta Braves now have six starting pitchers for five spots.
Other teams began making offers for newly acquired Russ Ortiz and Kevin Millwood. As of yesterday, the Orioles had yet to talk to the Braves about a starting pitcher, and it will be tough for them to find a match.
The Braves talks with St. Louis have reportedly centered on Fernando Vina, a second baseman and leadoff hitter.