Notes from the Post!

[Frobby]

7 years, $119 mm is out of the question, but it simply does not help the team to be quoted as saying they were "floored" by the demand. It simply reinforces the impression that the O's are out of touch with the marketplace.

Player demands should never "floor" anyone.

Scott Boras wants a 10 year contract for Beltran. Unless Big Stein loses his mind this will not happen. In ten years Beltran will be 37, the same "age" as the Cubs current RF(and possibnly the Cards 1b). The numbers I am hearing are 7 years, $140 million.

Players are going to ask what they are going to ask. What the O's need to do, if they want to pursue Soriano, is put a realistic starting offer on the table and go from there, rather than saying they are "floored" by a player's demands.

[Hank Scorpio]

Honestly, this is one time I agree with the Orioles officials who are floored by a free agents salary request. Soriano will not be able to duplicate his statistics from last year. It was a career year. A seven year contract for $119 ($17,000,000 a year through 2013, if my math is correct!) would be an albatross for whatever team signs him. Let the Yankees do it. They'll regret it in the morning.

This guy will be lucky to hit 30-35 HRs next year and his numbers are going to start to decline thereafter as well. By the end of that contract, I don't see him as being productive at all. Sure, I'd like a player of his caliber, but not at anything near that salary and not at anything near that length of time. Signing Soriano to a contract like that would doom the Orioles to non-contention for years to come.

I doubt he'd demand as much from the MFY's as he would demand from a perrennial loser like us...

[DrungoHazewood]

To be fair, the Post just said an unnamed source claimed the FO was floored by the demand. It's not like Flanny came out and said "wow, $120M is crazy, we were totally blindsided by that." Maybe they were floored, but they didn't hold a press conference to let the world know they think Soriano is insane.

And just to weigh in here... $120M for seven years for Soriano is madness. For that the O's could get a LF platoon, a good backup catcher, a #3 starter, some bench help, and have plenty of change left over.

[nadecir]

7 years, $119 mm is out of the question, but it simply does not help the team to be quoted as saying they were "floored" by the demand. It simply reinforces the impression that the O's are out of touch with the marketplace.

Player demands should never "floor" anyone.

Players are going to ask what they are going to ask. What the O's need to do, if they want to pursue Soriano, is put a realistic starting offer on the table and go from there, rather than saying they are "floored" by a player's demands.

I think "floored" was just an honest reflection someone's emotion in the Orioles front office who has knowledge of player contract demands. The Orioles front office honestly thought they could get Soriano signed for a lot less money than $119 million.

The thinking of the Oriole front office was probably something along the lines, "We'll make an initial 5 year, $60 million dollar contract offer to Soriano and negotiate from there." The "floored" aspect came into play when it became clear to the front office that this offer would be ignored by Soriano as the starting point. My guess is there maybe has been some conversation with Angelos, and he agreed that we could make an initial offer to Soriano. But it is now evident that this initial offer would be way too low. I think floored just means disheartened by his demands.

I agree this comment suggests that the Orioles don't have a good idea on how high contracts will go this offseason.

[Sports Guy]

I said a few months ago that i could see Soriano getting Beltran's deal.

He may not get the 7th year but i expect him to get no less than 6/96 guaranteed.

[Frobby]

I think "floored" was just an honest reflection someone's emotion in the Orioles front office who has knowledge of player contract demands. The Orioles front office honestly thought they could get Soriano signed for a lot less money than $119 million.

The thinking of the Oriole front office was probably something along the lines, "We'll make an initial 5 year, $60 million dollar contract offer to Soriano and negotiate from there." The "floored" aspect came into play when it became clear to the front office that this offer would be ignored by Soriano as the starting point. My guess is there maybe has been some conversation with Angelos, and he agreed that we could make an initial offer to Soriano. But it is now evident that this initial offer would be way too low. I think floored just means disheartened by his demands.

I agree this comment suggests that the Orioles don't have a good idea on how high contracts will go this offseason.

1. Soriano will not get 7 years, $119 mm.

2. 5 years, $60 mm would be a stupid opening offer. It would be the equivalent of what we did with Vlad in 2003 and Delgado in 2004. if the O's are serious, they need to be much closer to where this eventually will go. If you want Soriano (I will leave that discussion aside), put 5 years, $77.5 mm on the table. That is a very credible opening position; he won't get less than that.

[rolliefingers]

$120M for seven years for Soriano is madness. For that the O's could get a LF platoon, a good backup catcher, a #3 starter, some bench help, and have plenty of change left over.

And that's what they should do. Just forget about the big names and focus on the under-the-radar guys that everyone else won't be after until January or February.

[jmehta]

where does that put us with lee? with boras as his agent, i can't see any less than market value, but the numbers that we're being thrown around a few months ago were in the 5 year, 75 million range -- anyone have any guesses or links? b/c that looks like a bargain right now.

[Sports Guy]

Why are we interested in Floyd?

I hope Benson demands a trade.

[TonySoprano]

I thought, technically under tampering rules, teams weren't allowed to discuss numbers, until the player is officially a free agent on November 11th. Maybe Soriano's agent put his opening numbers on the table and the Orioles played poker-face.

Anyway, if the Orioles were "floored," I hope at least it was plush-carpeted, because hitting a hard floor can really hurt.

[rolliefingers]

I also like that it predicts we will tender Lopez a contract. He's a FA after this year; methinks he's pitching well this year.

[PaulFolk]

Why are we interested in Floyd?

I hope Benson demands a trade.

Why? Wouldn't that give us very little leverage in trade talks?

[DrungoHazewood]

I hope Benson demands a trade.

I don't, because that artifically lowers his value. If he demands a trade everyone in the world knows it, and knows that the O's are in a position where they have to get rid of him no matter what the final offer is.

[mikezpen]

The Orioles were never going to get Soriano or Lee and that s/b obvious by now.I think they'll come out w/some lowball offer and tell us how they REALLY tried to get Soriano-same crap every year.

But the Rodrigo move IS a good one. With pitching as expensive as it is, he'll have value to somebody.I cannot imagine his getting that big of a contract even if he goes to arbitration-not with the year he had.And that relatively low contract makes him even more tradable.I'd move Benson though,before he forces us to do it with a trade demand.

[Objectivity]

Honestly, this is one time I agree with the Orioles officials who are floored by a free agents salary request. Soriano will not be able to duplicate his statistics from last year. It was a career year. A seven year contract for $119 ($17,000,000 a year through 2013, if my math is correct!) would be an albatross for whatever team signs him. Let the Yankees do it. They'll regret it in the morning.

I think that salary is ridiculous for a team like the Orioles because it would become an excuse NOT to compete, much like Segui's "paltry" $28 million is still blamed for our being hamstrung for three seasons.

That being said, a team that is close to winning, with most of the necessary pieces, should definately make a deal at that level (once it comes down a bit, say 5-6 years). Soriano can put a team that's close over the edge and make them a contender.

This guy will be lucky to hit 30-35 HRs next year and his numbers are going to start to decline thereafter as well. By the end of that contract, I don't see him as being productive at all. Sure, I'd like a player of his caliber, but not at anything near that salary and not at anything near that length of time. Signing Soriano to a contract like that would doom the Orioles to non-contention for years to come.

You could have written the first half of your post three years ago. Would it have been true then? No. Is it true now? We don't know. Soriano is one of those players for whom fans say "He'll never repeat those numbers," yet he does.

Here's the real question. Would you sign Soriano to a five year deal if you knew you'd have an incredible shot at the World Series in three of those years? Hell yes. You'd make back the money in ticket and merchandise sales. Then, if he does start to decline, you pay half his salary and trade him for players who can help you reload for your next run.