Orioles seem to prefer Cruz to Morales

[MrOrange82]

2-year w an opt-out clause after yr 1 seems to be potentially on the table

I don't like that at all.

That was my gut reaction, but the story raises an interesting point. Should Morales opt out of his contract, the O's would essentially be moving up from a second round pick this year to a compensation pick in next year's draft. If that's the case, it makes the opt-out beneficial to everyone.

[OFFNY]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Orioles&src=hash">#Orioles</a> seem to prefer Cruz to Morales. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Mariners&src=hash">#Mariners</a> also figure for Cruz if they save on SP with Capuano. Talks with him, per <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS">@JonHeymanCBS</a>.</p>— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) <a href="

">February 18, 2014</a></blockquote>

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And, their apparent preference came to fruition.

[CA-ORIOLE]

As expected, it all boiled down to years/dollars.