O's have made final offer to vlad

[El Gordo]

Or that he would rather play somewhere else. Baltimore still may be high on his list, but he wants his first choice to come through. I know it seems unlikely because he hasn't signed here yet, but its possible.

High on his list? What are you smoking? What list? There are no teams that have a place for him. At one time he could have signed with Texas or LAAA but he was asking too much and they have moved on. The question is does he want to play at all or play here. The fact that he has to think about it ought to tell you something.

[EtotheKallday17]

High on his list? What are you smoking? What list? There are no teams that have a place for him. At one time he could have signed with Texas or LAAA but he was asking too much and they have moved on. The question is does he want to play at all or play here. The fact that he has to think about it ought to tell you something.

Not the list of teams that want him. The list of teams he would like to play for. Which is not very long, but I'm sure the Orioles are still on there because it beats Japan or retirement.

[El Gordo]

Not the list of teams that want him. The list of teams he would like to play for. Which is not very long, but I'm sure the Orioles are still on there because it beats Japan or retirement.

Vlads "list" at the beginning of the winter were contending teams with Latin friendly clubhouses and communities. Baltimore was and is not on that list. Vlad is a guy who is set in his ways and doesn't like change. He is very attached to his mother and has her live with him during home stands. If she does not feel comfortable living in Baltimore that's a big deal for him. He could very well retire.

[BRob411]

Vlads "list" at the beginning of the winter were contending teams with Latin friendly clubhouses and communities. Baltimore was and is not on that list. Vlad is a guy who is set in his ways and soesn't like change. He is very attached to his mother and has her live with him during home stands. If she does not feel comfortable living in Baltimore that's a big deal for him. He could very well retire.

I could actually see him retire and it wouldn't shock me. As much as I would like him here I'm starting to sense that he doesn't feel good about coming here. I'm ready to focus on the idea of Nolan Reimold becoming the player most of us believe he can be and accepting that Vlad may not be an Oriole.

[crawjo]

He would be silly to retire, because he really has more to offer the sport. If worse comes to worse, just take the Orioles offer, get the ABs for one year, work hard to put up good numbers, and then lower your demands for the next offseason and see if you can get a gig with a more "Latin friendly" club. We're just talking about being an Orioles player for six months here. It's not like he's being asked to move his family to Kabul Afghanistan for the next three years.

[Arthur_Bryant]

I think it's pretty obvious. A while ago, AM told Vlad's agent we were interested on a one year deal for a very low base salary around what the other mid-30s DH's got (~2 MM). To this, Vlad's camp said "um, no thanks."

Vlad waited around for a while without any other serious offers and saw almost all of his suitors move in other directions.

AM came back and said "We're still interested if the price is right. We're still not going to match your demands, but we can make a final offer of 1 year/4.5 MM. Feel free to think it over, we are not imposing a deadline, but we won't increase the deal."

Now Vlad is waiting for a Deus Ex Machina from another organization. There's no need for him to accept the deal immediately, since BAL has not imposed a deadline, but he knows the offer's not getting raised. There's no need for the two sides to be in communication until Vlad accepts or rejects the offer.

I think this nails it exactly. There is far more urgency on OH than the actual situation merits. I doubt that either AM or Vlad and his agent are sitting around hitting F5 while going slowly crazy with impatience.

[El Gordo]

He would be silly to retire, because he really has more to offer the sport. If worse comes to worse, just take the Orioles offer, get the ABs for one year, work hard to put up good numbers, and then lower your demands for the next offseason and see if you can get a gig with a more "Latin friendly" club. We're just talking about being an Orioles player for six months here. It's not like he's being asked to move his family to Kabul Afghanistan for the next three years.

The guy can't play the game the way he could when he was in his prime. He was once a 5 tool guy and now he is just a bat. And the bat isn't as good as it used to be. He doesn't need more money. How much fun is it for him any more? If it's still fun, it comes, IMO, from the competition, the chance at a ring, his mom's home cooking, and the clubhouse commaraderie. How much of that does he get in Baltimore?

[El Gordo]

I think this nails it exactly. There is far more urgency on OH than the actual situation merits. I doubt that either AM or Vlad and his agent are sitting around hitting F5 while going slowly crazy with impatience.

Yep. There is still an outside chance Texas will trade Young, and LAA might make an offer close to the O's $4.5MM. Why not wait until the very last minute.

[crawjo]

The guy can't play the game the way he could when he was in his prime. He was once a 5 tool guy and now he is just a bat. And the bat isn't as good as it used to be. He doesn't need more money. How much fun is it for him any more? If it's still fun, it comes, IMO, from the competition, the chance at a ring, his mom's home cooking, and the clubhouse commaraderie. How much of that does he get in Baltimore?

Right, my point is you take a less than ideal contract to keep yourself in the game for one year, then try to sign with a contender next offseason. He turns 36 years old next week. If he plays out the string as a DH, maybe he wins a title, maybe he gets to 500 home runs, maybe he gets to 3000 hits. If he had no plans on retiring coming into this offseason, it would be stupid to retire just because he would have to play with Baltimore for one season. By all reports he was looking for a 2-year deal at the start of the offseason, so I don't think he should let his limited options in Jan. 2011 determine that he doesn't need to play baseball anymore. As others have pointed out, it's not like Latinos are unheard of in Baltimore. I'm sure his Mom can do just fine in the city for a few months. He has the money to make himself as comfortable as he needs to be.

[El Gordo]

Right, my point is you take a less than ideal contract to keep yourself in the game for one year, then try to sign with a contender next offseason. He turns 36 years old next week. If he plays out the string as a DH, maybe he wins a title, maybe he gets to 500 home runs, maybe he gets to 3000 hits. If he had no plans on retiring coming into this offseason, it would be stupid to retire just because he would have to play with Baltimore for one season. By all reports he was looking for a 2-year deal at the start of the offseason, so I don't think he should let his limited options in Jan. 2011 determine that he doesn't need to play baseball anymore. As others have pointed out, it's not like Latinos are unheard of in Baltimore. I'm sure his Mom can do just fine in the city for a few months. He has the money to make himself as comfortable as he needs to be.

Yes, but the fact that he expected to get 2/16 from Texas, and he is being offered 1/4? from Baltimore, is a big dose of reality for a proud guy to have to face. I bet he's asking himself how much is it really worth to keep playing.

[Birds08]

Can someone provide the link?

[Chevytrckman3]

Have fun eating moms cooking during the season Vlad. You want to play in a city with a latin influence? You want a team with a latin influenced clubhouse? Well, good luck. Those teams that can provide that don't want you, and now you may be down to Toronto or retirement. Atleast if you retire, you can go back to the DR full time. If i'm the Orioles, i'd wait it out and if he comes running back to AM, i'd say the best we can do now is a minor league deal with an invite to ST.

[palmer22]

No Detroit for Vlad, according to MLB Trade Rumors...

[Chevytrckman3]

No Detroit for Vlad, according to MLB Trade Rumors...

I never saw them as a possibilty, since they basically have a Vlad in Magglio Ordonez already. His options really aren't that great, unless he wants to go to a NL team and just be a PH off the bench. And he isn't getting 5 mil a year to do that. This whole situation is aggrivating me. At this point, if i'm AM, i publicly pull the offer, and tell Vlad to take a hike and good luck getting much of aq deal now. We don't need him bad enough to allow him to hold out this long and shop our offer.

[NCRaven]

Vlads "list" at the beginning of the winter were contending teams with Latin friendly clubhouses and communities. Baltimore was and is not on that list.

How can you say that we're not a "Latin friendly clubhouse?" Didn't we re-sign Izturis to be our Hispanic outreach coach-on-the-field? That is actually the best and probably only reason that I could think of for bringing him back.