Orioles Discussing Four-Year Deal With Nick Markakis (Signs w/ATL)

[tntoriole]

It is just impossible to know how hard a budget DD has to operate with. I mean if they go 4/44 or higher for Nick, does that mean absolutely that this money is now subtracted from the budget and from other offers/contracts or does it just mean that ownership was willing to spend a bit more just because it is Nick and increase the budget a bit without it affecting other fiscal decisions this offseason.

[24fps]

I don't see how Nick/his agent are handling this is differently than the norm. MLBTR predicted a 4/$48 deal for Nick. The agent and GM from the Jon Heyman prediction article both predicted 4/$50. Billy Butler is getting $10 m a year over three years coming off of a much worse 2014 season than Nick and without any defensive value at all. It is certainly not insane to seek $13 or $14 m a year at this stage in the offseason. Nick and his agent would be doing themselves a disservice not to do that.

It is also pretty clear that Duquette is not going to budge or concede very much. Otherwise, the deal would be done. They really aren't that far apart. I am sure Nick's agent is hoping that around at or around the Winter Meetings, some team will make a 4 year offer for Nick at 4/$40, 4/$44 or something like that which they can use to force the O's hand to raise their offer. I don't see that happening though. Nick is doing what he has to do to maximize his value but in the end I think the O's get him on their terms.

I completely agree with this reasoning. However I would be surprised if DD is willing to go a penny above 4/40 unless there is the often discussed ownership bias towards Nick factoring in.

[Frobby]

Nick is batting right handed now?

You can not compare the two given the current dearth of right handed power hitting.

I think the point is more about how the market has played out so far in general. The contracts doled out so far have been quite generous, as I detailed yesterday in the thread about fangraphs' crowdsourcing predictions. And I am not sure I'd classify Butler as a "power hitter" in any event. In the years he has been playing, he ranks 74th in homers, (and Nick, by the way, is 75th in that same span).

Honestly, we can all waste our breath arguing about how much Nick is worth compared to Butler, but in the end, the market will tell us.

[weams]

It is just impossible to know how hard a budget DD has to operate with. I mean if they go 4/44 or higher for Nick, does that mean absolutely that this money is now subtracted from the budget and from other offers/contracts or does it just mean that ownership was willing to spend a bit more just because it is Nick and increase the budget a bit without it affecting other fiscal decisions this offseason.

Dan and Buck have both indicated that they have all the resources they need in order to compete in though difficult AL East. They also have both indicated that the team would improve with smart business practices and promoting from within and from trades not free agency. Cruz and Markakis are free agents in Dan's mind.

[waroriole]

Nick is batting right handed now?

You can not compare the two given the current dearth of right handed power hitting.

What does Butler have to do with power hitters? Just because he's fat?

[Can_of_corn]

What does Butler have to do with power hitters? Just because he's fat?

If folks can pick and choose which years to count with Nick then I can ignore the last two seasons of Butler.

[weams]

What does Butler have to do with power hitters? Just because he's fat?

He looks like he should be one though. He is essentially Caleb Joseph with a bat.

[Can_of_corn]

He looks like he should be one though. He is essentially Caleb Joseph with a bat.

If you mean Joseph in the minors then sure.

[wildcard]

Dan and Buck have both indicated that they have all the resources they need in order to compete in though difficult AL East. They also have both indicated that the team would improve with smart business practices and promoting from within and from trades not free agency. Cruz and Markakis are free agents in Dan's mind.

What does that mean? Are you saying that the O's will not sign Cruz and Markakis because they are FAs?

[weams]

What does that mean? Are you saying that the O's will not sign Cruz and Markakis because they are FAs?

I mean I think Dan evaluates them both as FAs at this point. Neither are currently his players. Dan signs FAs. He does not believe in team building through free agency.

[weams]

What does that mean? Are you saying that the O's will not sign Cruz and Markakis because they are FAs?

What I mean is that the ownership is not the only place you need to look for frugal purchases. I do not think there is a hard payroll. I think the payroll is where they all feel comfortable sustaining winning baseball for the duration of their terms.

[wildcard]

What I mean is that the ownership is not the only place you need to look for frugal purchases. I do not think there is a hard payroll. I think the payroll is where they all feel comfortable sustaining winning baseball for the duration of their terms.

Brit thinks that if the O's sign Nick and Nelson they will have to cut payroll some where either. I don't know what to think about that at the moment.

Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has said there's enough payroll flexibility to add both Markakis and Cruz, though obviously that would mean having to find areas to pare down and perhaps players to non-tender to make that a legitimate option.

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/102426504/inbox-will-the-orioles-trade-ubaldo-jimenez-this-offseason

I do think Dan is very aware that he has 50M coming off the books in FA at the end of the 2015 season. I think he also knows that he has several cheap players on the farm that will probably be ready later this coming season or in 2016. And the O's will likely trade Jimenez in a salary dump the moment his value matches his contract price. They will get him starts next year to try to raise his value.

We could see a spike in payroll in 2015 and a lower payroll in 2016. But I am not sure. Just waiting and watching.

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>post panda, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFGiants?src=hash">#SFGiants</a> cast wide net (upston, cruz, tomas, torii, markakis, headley, scherzer, more) <a href="http://t.co/tq6DHBN52j">http://t.co/tq6DHBN52j</a></p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="

">November 26, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[VeveJones007]

Brit thinks that if the O's sign Nick and Nelson they will have to cut payroll some where either. I don't know what to think about that at the moment.

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/102426504/inbox-will-the-orioles-trade-ubaldo-jimenez-this-offseason

I do think Dan is very aware that he has 50M coming off the books in FA at the end of the 2015 season. I think he also knows that he has several cheap players on the farm that will probably be ready later this coming season or in 2016. And the O's will likely trade Jimenez in a salary dump the moment his value matches his contract price. They will get him starts next year to try to raise his value.

We could see a spike in payroll in 2015 and a lower payroll in 2016. But I am not sure. Just waiting and watching.

Jimenez would be his preference, but it would end up being Norris.

[Prayin4Reign]

I mean I think Dan evaluates them both as FAs at this point. Neither are currently his players. Dan signs FAs. He does not believe in team building through free agency.

Does Dan believe in team subtraction through free agency? I hope he holds both of them in a little higher regard than what you're indicating. They were both very important to the team last year.

Andrew Miller is one story and I never expected him to sign or really felt the Orioles had to, I think Nelson (albeit a DH) and Nick are a little more crucial. If Nelson doesn't sign I can even see the logic there because that's a big investment in a DH. But we would need to replace that kind of production in a big way.