And then, there was Pudge.
After watching another coveted free agent land elsewhere yesterday, when Cliff Floyd agreed to a $26 million deal with the New York Mets, the Orioles found themselves stuck again.
Still hoping to add a hitter who can boost their stagnant offense - not to mention a star who can generate interest with their sagging fan base - their options outside the trade market became rather limited.
Basically, it's down to former Texas Rangers catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez and a group of players who weren't tendered contracts yesterday by their old teams - a group highlighted by former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Cruz Jr.
Negotiations with Rodriguez have broken down once, but the Orioles hardly seem in a panic about losing him to another team. His market is so limited, his agent has suggested Rodriguez might play next season in Japan.
"We're still hopeful that Pudge can work with us, and we can find a way to resolve that," Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie said yesterday. "But I think right now, the conversations are very limited, if any at all."
The Orioles made three offers to free agents this week. All three turned them down.
On Tuesday, they offered Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui a contract that Orioles officials called very similar to the three-year, $21 million deal he signed with the New York Yankees.
That same night, the Orioles offered Rodriguez a deal believed to be worth at least $18 million over three years. He told them to take a hike. Rodriguez, who just finished a five-year, $50 million contract with the Rangers, is said to be seeking closer to $11 million a season.
On Thursday, the Orioles offered Floyd three years at about $19.5 million. That was about $4 million more than the Los Angeles Dodgers - a favorite to land Floyd - offered.
The Orioles gave Floyd a deadline - 8 last night - to accept their offer, but the Mets swooped in and added a fourth year to their deal at the same average annual salary, $6.5 million. He reached agreement with the Mets in the afternoon, and the deal will become official when he passes a physical today.
Privately, the Orioles viewed the Floyd signing as their biggest disappointment of the offseason. They made a competitive offer, and hopes were high when he declined Boston's arbitration offer.
Heading into the offseason, the Orioles identified several free agents who could help bolster their offense: Jim Thome, Edgardo Alfonzo, Matsui, Floyd and Rodriguez.
Thome was never seriously in the cards, especially at the six-year, $85 million price the Philadelphia Phillies paid. Acquiring Alfonzo would have required the Orioles to free up space for him at second or third base. And despite their faint hopes, Matsui had seemed destined to sign with the Yankees for months.
Floyd was a better all-around fit. Like Thome and Matsui, he's a left-handed hitter suited for Camden Yards, with the short dimensions to right field. Floyd hit .288 with 28 home runs and 79 RBIs last season with the Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos and Red Sox.
Despite numerous nagging injuries, Floyd, 30, hasn't been on the disabled list since 2000. Rodriguez, 31, is a right-handed hitter who has spent time on the DL in each of the past three seasons.
Still, no one in this free-agent class has more credentials than Rodriguez, who is a 10-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove Award winner and the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player.
As of yesterday, the market for Rodriguez still seemed bone dry. The Chicago Cubs haven't talked to his agent, Jeff Moorad, since Sunday. Like the Orioles, the Cubs keep saying they won't reopen the discussions until Rodriguez lowers his asking price.
"We're open to conversations [with Rodriguez]," Beattie said. "It just has to be closer to our numbers than theirs, from our perspective. We have options.
"We have a young catcher [Geronimo Gil], we have a backup [Brook Fordyce], and if something didn't work out, we're prepared to go on."
A bunch of new players hit the free-agent market yesterday as teams reached the deadline to tender contracts to players not signed for 2003. As expected, the Orioles cut ties with center fielder Chris Singleton, who made $1.4 million last season and would have probably doubled that through arbitration.
The Blue Jays made a similar decision with Cruz. He made $3.95 million last season and hit .245 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. Orioles officials said they would look into the possibility of signing Cruz as a free agent. In this market, they reasoned, his price could be half what he made this past season.
Cruz, 28, is a switch-hitter who had 34 home runs in 2001. He's a better hitter for average from the right side of the plate, but hits more home runs batting left-handed.
Beyond Cruz and Rodriguez, the Orioles probably will have to address their lineup needs through a trade.
"The reason you push [the free-agent market] first, is you can spend your money without giving up players," Beattie said. "[With trades], you've got to spend your money and give up players. So you'd prefer to go through free agency first."