Duquette says signing Davis a priority.

[ChuckS]

Signing Davis will be a priority until his asking price exceeds 100 million. And it will.....

[mcgraw238]

As should every one of us.

That being the case though, I don't need Bordick, Buck, or DD telling me how great Christian Walker, Alvarez, or Mancini is. Davis' departure will leave a huge hole in our lineup that needs to be filled with an impactful bat. If playoffs every year is the standard, like Buck said yesterday, then this coming offseason needs to look materially different than last. You know Tony's mantra...

[mdbdotcom]

We could offer him an 8/120 deal with an opt-out after year 3.

[ArtVanDelay]

Don't mean to be snarky, but what year did the Orioles win a pennant with Jones, Manny and Chris? Last pennant I can remember was 1983.

So we shouldn't keep Manny Machado either since he hasn't won a pennant in 3 years? You'd be a great GM.

[ChuckS]

You gotta think Davis, Upton, Heyward, and Cespedes are all going to get 100 mil plus contracts. I think Davis is the most high risk of the four of not living up to the contract with his streakiness/inconsistency. Bat speed can be a problem for Davis at times and what do we expect to happen as he approaches his mid-30's?

I'm not against signing Davis, but he should only be a fall back option if we aren't able to land Upton or Heyward. If you are going to spend 100 plus mil, better to do it on the safer bet.

[33rdst]

So we shouldn't keep Manny Machado either since he hasn't won a pennant in 3 years? You'd be a great GM.

Yeah Kansas City should dump their entire roster. None of those guys have won a WS. Why would Houston want to keep any of those bums. Not a playoff in the bunch.

[OFFNY]

Don't mean to be snarky, but what year did the Orioles win a pennant with Jones, Manny and Chris? Last pennant I can remember was 1983.

So we shouldn't keep Manny Machado either since he hasn't won a pennant in 3 years?

You'd be a great GM.

1963 Orioles: 86-76

1964 Orioles: 97-65

1965 Orioles: 94-68

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/

These teams had nothing to show for their effort.

In hindsight, they probably should have blown it up ...... or at the very least, anyone who commends these teams should be put in their place, and reminded that there are no flags or banners of them flying high in Oriole Park.

[33rdst]

You gotta think Davis, Upton, Heyward, and Cespedes are all going to get 100 mil plus contracts. I think Davis is the most high risk of the four of not living up to the contract with his streakiness/inconsistency. Bat speed can be a problem for Davis at times and what do we expect to happen as he approaches his mid-30's?

I'm not against signing Davis, but he should only be a fall back option if we aren't able to land Upton or Heyward. If you are going to spend 100 plus mil, better to do it on the safer bet.

One factor in CD's favor in this market is position scarcity. Not another first baseman in his class among the 2016 free agents.

[ChuckS]

One factor in CD's favor in this market is position scarcity. Not another first baseman in his class among the 2016 free agents.

True. Which is why his contract will will exceed 100 million without a doubt.

He will be the premier power bat this offseason. Some of the other FA's are more well rounded ball players, but none capable of hitting 40 plus homeruns in a season like Davis is.

[TINSTAAPP]

Are you willing to pay fair market value for any hitter? If so, who is that hitter and what type of contract do you think it takes to get him?

Machado obviously. I would give him a $300 million contract in a heartbeat. If you look at the top organizations in recent memory, they rarely gave out more than one or two mega contracts. Theo Epstein didn't sign a single player to a $100 million contract until the 2010 off-season when he was with the Red Sox. Matt Holliday is the only mega contract the Cardinals have given out in recent years and he was a much more proven and consistent hitter than Davis was. A smart organization will be prudent about giving out big contracts.

[spiritof66]

Going five is a stretch I think. Although the O's may take the risk. Six or seven would be dumb. The bigger question for me is can the devote 17% of their budget to one player.

Some tough questions here. It's hard to know what Chris Davis' performance level will be in 2016, let alone 2020. We don't know how many teams will be pursuing him or how far out they'll be willing to know, so we're guessing what it would take to retain him.

I think it's important to keep in mind that the big question isn't how high to bid to retain Chris Davis, but how to keep this a winning team within the budget constraints (themselves unclear in light of the uncertainty over MASN -- don't want to get started on that), not an easy thing for the Orioles to do. I think DD has been pretty effective in looking at things that way, rather than just trying to collect a bunch of real good layers and then figuring out later what to with them, as some of our competitors have done from time to time.

That was the context for my post a little while ago, pointing out that there is little LH power on this team or in the organization. Replacing Chris Davis isn't like replacing Tommy Hunter. If Davis goes, it's not just a matter of trying to find another first baseman and replacing his WAR. Unless you think there's a different formula for winning at OPACY, you need to add some LH power hitters, or one big-time one. Recent experience convinces me that they're not likely to be found in the dumpsters or bargain basements. To field a winning team without Chris, IMO, the Orioles almost certainly will need to bear premiums/overpayments elsewhere.

[24fps]

1963 Orioles: 86-76

1964 Orioles: 97-65

1965 Orioles: 94-68

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/

These teams had nothing to show for their effort.

In hindsight, they probably should have blown it up ...... or at the very least, anyone who commends these teams should be put in their place, and reminded that there are no flags or banners of them flying high in Oriole Park.

Not true. Those teams can claim at least one die hard Orioles fan who believes people who can only focus on championships to the expense of everything else are tragic victims of media poisoning.

[weams]

Ben Zobrist. 2/26

Colby Rasmus 2/18

Gerardo Parra 3/36

[weams]

Not true. Those teams can claim at least one die hard Orioles fan who believes people who can only focus on championships to the expense of everything else are tragic victims of media poisoning.

The day after the World Series parade, that team is dismantled.

[TINSTAAPP]

Maybe I wasn't clear. Would you not sign any FA hitters THIS OFF SEASON?

If so, who would you target and what type of contract do you think it would take to land that player?

Only hitters (for major money) I would go after is Dexter Fowler or Denard Span. The Orioles desperately need a table-setter at the top of the lineup who can get on-base consistently. And I view the Orioles hitting problems differently than you do. I don't think the Orioles need to make any major position player signings. Their problem is not lack of star power or elite offensive players in the lineup. Their main problem is how many black holes they have in the everyday lineup (Hardy, both corner outfielder positions, DH when Paredes is in a slump which is fairly often). You can't really do anything about Hardy but if you fill the other three positions with capable offensive players, the offense will improve next year whether Davis is here or not. I would rather have the Orioles sign a frontline starting pitcher. The FA market is flooded with good pitchers (Anderson, Cueto, Colon, Fister, Gallardo, Price, Latos, Iwakuma, Zimmerman). Signing one or two of those guys would make a bigger difference than signing someone like say Jason Heyward to a massive contract.