Day Four of the Winter Meetings

Day Four of the Winter Meetings
SAN DIEGO - We've reached the finish line of the 2014 Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The Rule 5 draft will be held at 9 a.m. PST, followed by a frantic race to the airport. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad baseball world. The Orioles apparently will head home with a selection in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft and possibly a pick in the Triple-A phase. Last year, they took Michael Almanzar and Julio Borbon. The earth didn't shake. The only real excitement generated by...

Orioles have "limited" interest in Aoki

Orioles have "limited" interest in Aoki
As the Winter Meetings approach on Monday, I'll continue to field questions regarding the Orioles' interest in specific players. I can confirm some, make an educated guess on others and plead ignorant on most. I've been asked about free agent outfielder Nori Aoki, who batted .285/.349/.360 this year in 132 games with the Royals. I'm told that the Orioles have "limited" interest in Aoki. I'd expect executive vice president Dan Duquette to meet with agent Nez Balelo of CAA Sports next...

Because you asked about Aoki ...

Because you asked about Aoki ...
And asked ... and asked again ... I was told by an industry source tonight that the Orioles "weren't believed" to have placed a bid on Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki. That's the closest I've come to a firm confirmation. The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki with a $2.5 million bid, according to Yasuko Yanagita of Hochi Shimbun via Twitter. Aoki's team, the Yakult Swallows, accepted the bid. The Brewers have an exclusive 30-day negotiating window to work out a contract...