carlos lee

Former Orioles ace Mike Mussina saw his vote total climb again in the balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but missed out on induction, while Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman earned induction as the class of 2018.

The Orioles head into free agency — which starts in earnest Saturday with free agents permitted to negotiate with all 30 teams for the first time this offseason — in a much different situation than this time last year. Executive vice president Dan Duquette is not only in place as club's decision-maker, but he seems to be established as a man with a plan.

Now that the Orioles have declined the $11 million option for next year on Mark Reynolds, the club has two options to try to keep the 29-year-old first baseman.

As expected, the Orioles have declined their $11 million option on first baseman Mark Reynolds for next season, but that doesn't mean that Reynolds' days in a Baltimore uniform are over.

If you would have asked me in May if there were any chance of Mark Reynolds returning to the Orioles in 2013, it would have been a short conversation. "Nope," would have been the answer.