Per Rosenthal: Balfour (FINALLY) to Orioles...

[terps19]

Mike Wright, maybe? I still like Steve Johnson for closer.

You like/trust a guy who has pitched very little in the majors to shut down other teams in the 9th? He didnt exactly light up the minors with a 4.15 ERA

[MarylandAaron]

Update:http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/orioles-made-offers-to-cruz-balfour-axford.html

So apparently the O's are one of three teams that have made offers to Balfour. The article also says that the O's are in on an unnamed SP.

[Guest]

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Orioles&src=hash">#Orioles</a> are not the team that has offered Balfour a 3rd-year vesting option, according to a source. Balfour has 2-year offer from 3 teams.</p>— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) <a href="

">December 12, 2013</a></blockquote>

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[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Orioles&src=hash">#Orioles</a> are not the team that has offered Balfour a 3rd-year vesting option, according to a source. Balfour has 2-year offer from 3 teams.</p>— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) <a href="

">December 12, 2013</a></blockquote>

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[TonySoprano]

Especially not after being dicked around for 3 days at the Winter Meetings.

As if no free agent ever had to wait that long for a contract??

[crawjo]

I love how people speak authoritatively on negotiating strategy when they are necessarily almost entirely ignorant of those negotiations or the various factors in play.

[sportsfan8703]

Well at least I'm laughing. I read SD and clev are battling over Benoit. The Maryland game will be a welcomed distraction. But crabcakes and losing to BC is what MD does.

[TonySoprano]

When there's competition, you have to move fast. We were front runners and now there are 3 teams involved, one of which has a better offer than us. We moved to slow IMO.

It is also possible his agent was smart enough not to take the first offer and wanted to wait for other suitors. We won't know how we did until we see where he signs. Of course, if it's elsewhere, the talking point has already been written about how we didn't want to go for a three-year deal with a 36 year old closer.

[Aristotelian]

There's nothing we can do about it if another team is willing to risk three years. I am fine if DD wants to let another team take that risk. The time to get upset was when we let Boston get Mujica for 2 years/$10 million and Anaheim getting Joe Smith at 3/$16. We could have beaten either of those and still gotten a bargain compared to what Balfour is asking. Now we are stuck fighting over a 36 year old who wants $7+ million a year.

[Scrat1]

Yeah I was a little surprised we weren't in on Mujica at that price.

[Number5]

Yeah I was a little surprised we weren't in on Mujica at that price.

Maybe we were. Maybe the guy just wanted to sign with Boston. Or maybe we didn't want him for some reason. Who knows?

[SteveO]

There's nothing we can do about it if another team is willing to risk three years. I am fine if DD wants to let another team take that risk. The time to get upset was when we let Boston get Mujica for 2 years/$10 million and Anaheim getting Joe Smith at 3/$16. We could have beaten either of those and still gotten a bargain compared to what Balfour is asking. Now we are stuck fighting over a 36 year old who wants $7+ million a year.

^^^This^^^

Dead on.

[Aristotelian]

All right, so Balfour can stick three years up his a**. Let him be somebody else's problem in 2016. What's up with Jesse Crain? Haven't heard any rumors on this guy. Should be cheaper than Balfour. I wanted Mujica or Joe Smith, but Crain would make sense as another guy with closer stuff who just hasn't had the opportunity yet, capable of similar numbers as JJ but half the cost. If Mujica gets 2/$10, give Crain 2/$9. If DD can make it happen, I can be a happy customer.

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>All week, officials from clubs told me the asking price on relievers was higher than expected. Boone Logan's price tag confirms it.</p>— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) <a href="

">December 13, 2013</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Rockies are close to signing reliever Boone Logan to a 3-year deal worth more than $14 million, source confirms. <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSportsLive">@FOXSportsLive</a></p>— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) <a href="

">December 13, 2013</a></blockquote>

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Yup cant blame Balfour at all for taking his time.