Sources: Orioles were in on Cespedes

[SticksandStones]

Fowler does not cost a pick.

Think he should be signed if the cost is decent.

Gallardo is an upgrade but risky and expensive. Not going to complain we have him, but also happy passing.

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Fowler does cost a pick, unfortunately.

[canonfaz]

Fowler does not cost a pick.

Think he should be signed if the cost is decent.

Gallardo is an upgrade but risky and expensive. Not going to complain we have him, but also happy passing.

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Fowler definitely DOES cost a pick.

[Mooreisbetter27]

Fowler does not cost a pick.

Think he should be signed if the cost is decent.

Gallardo is an upgrade but risky and expensive. Not going to complain we have him, but also happy passing.

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Not sure where you got this. Fowler declined a qualifying offer. Only way he doesn't cost a pick is if he signs in June (?) I believe.

[Stotle]

I think you are right and I do not want you to be.

Maybe it will give Baltimore the inside track on signing Gallardo the younger in the later rounds to an overslot deal...

[srock]

Not sure where you got this. Fowler declined a qualifying offer. Only way he doesn't cost a pick is if he signs in June (?) I believe.

I hate googling on my old phone...

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[TheDirtyBird]

I hate googling on my old phone...

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[emoji28][emoji28][emoji28][emoji28] been there, no judgement here

[DrungoHazewood]

Hmmmm........

What's your take on Gallardo? You know I'm highly skeptical, but I'm open to arguments why his plummeting K rate and velocity and draft pick compensation is not a plague of locusts descending on Baltimore.

[weams]

Fowler does not cost a pick.

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He does actually and you do lose your sandwich pick as well if you sign two. Pick 14 and 29 would be gone for Gallardo and Fowler.

Link for both facts.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/162810252/dexter-fowlers-best-five-fits-in-free-agency

[Dr. Unk]

But.....we got Efren Navarro!

[Stotle]

What's your take on Gallardo? You know I'm highly skeptical, but I'm open to arguments why his plummeting K rate and velocity and draft pick compensation is not a plague of locusts descending on Baltimore.

There's some room for argument as to K-rate in that he didn't have a consistently low K-rate last year -- more periods where he wasn't missing bats and periods where he was striking out folks at a fine clip. My concerns would be that when the other shoe does drop for good it could be a quick descent.

Interesting player if you are giving up a second round pick or no pick, but I don't like losing a mid-1st rounder and wouldn't bet on him being a dependable contributor throughout the life of the contract.

[DrungoHazewood]

There's some room for argument as to K-rate in that he didn't have a consistently low K-rate last year -- more periods where he wasn't missing bats and periods where he was striking out folks at a fine clip. My concerns would be that when the other shoe does drop for good it could be a quick descent.

Interesting player if you are giving up a second round pick or no pick, but I don't like losing a mid-1st rounder and wouldn't bet on him being a dependable contributor throughout the life of the contract.

Thanks. Mostly mirrors my concerns. Assume he declines through the life of the deal and you get a market value around 4/$40M, but with the pick attached it's half that. So any contract being rumored is way out of that league.

[Enjoy Terror]

Fowler does not cost a pick.

Think he should be signed if the cost is decent.

Fowler costs a pick. You may be thinking of Austin Jackson.

[Rene88]

To me, this goes back to Tony's post from yesterday about Pedro Alvarez. He is the guy I would target IMO. I would sign any and everyone to a MiL contract that has a pulse. I would consider Guts, A Simon and most importantly Fister for the staff. Weak sauce, but it is what it is at this point. Full throttle on the offense.

[justice98]

This is exactly what I suspected. That what we thought the budget was, wasn't the actual budget. We were short changing the available funds and what Angelos was/is willing to spend.

[jamalshw]

The fact the Orioles played on Cespedes after getting Davis tells us that the Birds have money to spend on the RIGHT player. It doesn't mean we have $20M for 2016 to burn. It just means that we can add a bit more to the payroll if the right opportunity arises.

To me, given Duquette's comments regarding the draft pick, that doesn't mean the money's there for Gallardo or Fowler, but could be there for a trade for an OF if it fits. We could eat some money in a Either/Wood deal. We could eat some money in a deal for a Colorado OF. (Of course, prospect cost is still an issue).

I still think the most likely result is a signing of David Murphy/Matt Joyce and Mat Latos/Doug Fister, but I think the opportunity is still out there for more if the price is right.

The other thing to consider, is this: if we don't do anything big between now and the season, if we're in it in July, we've got flexibility in the payroll to make another in-season move (and further deplete our minor league depth).