orioles
Top 10 free agents who fit team's needs
Picture is clearer with time for qualifying offers expired
Monday's deadline for free agents to accept or decline qualifying offers from their previous teams set the majority of the offseason market, giving teams a clear idea of whom they might target and what it might cost to do so.
The Orioles, whose stated goals have been adding a corner outfielder who can improve them defensively and a catcher in case Matt Wieters signs elsewhere, will find a decent number of players who could help in 2017 and beyond.
Besides their own free agent, Mark Trumbo, there's a class of unsigned players who could fit well into the Orioles' already strong lineup without breaking the bank (as judged by the market as a whole, if not by those on Eutaw Street).
Here are 10 players who fit the Orioles' needs this offseason, what they'll be looking for on the open market and whether the fit in Baltimore is more than just a pipe dream.
If teams saw the uptick in power across the game this year and are willing to accept Trumbo's flaws for his powerful bat, a return will be difficult. But if the few teams in the market for sluggers who might soon be limited to first base or designated hitter spend elsewhere, Trumbo's best bet might be to return to the Orioles on a mid-range deal and hope for another crack at free agency down the line.
Instead, the Texas Rangers got him for that role. Desmond, 31, had a scorching first half, then cooled and ended the year batting .285/.335/.446 with 22 home runs. It was still his best year since 2013, and with the ability to play all three outfield positions and fill in at shortstop, there will be plenty of suitors. The Orioles will especially love the right-handed hitter's career .281 batting average against lefties, but will have to decide whether they love a contract that could be in the four-year, $60 million range.
It helps that Reddick has hit well at Camden Yards in his career, batting .400/.442/.725 with 14 extra-base hits in 24 games there. He has frequently been connected to the Orioles as an in-season trade target in recent years. Reddick might be attainable on a three-year deal at an affordable price. Both sides could do worse than making one early this offseason.
The Orioles' offer was below market value for Cespedes, however. And hitting 31 home runs with an .884 OPS last year for the New York Mets means the 31-year-old right-handed hitter has no reason to settle for less than the $25 million per year he was making on the contract he opted out of. It's a little rich for Baltimore, but he's worth mentioning.
The left-handed hitter has fallen off at the plate since he hit 18 home runs with an .835 OPS in 2013, but he is one of the better defensive catchers on the market and provides on-base potential as well.
He'll hope a .284/.362/.543 batting line with eight home runs in 33 games with the Rangers at the end of the season will be enough for teams to regard him as the star he once was. If the Orioles view him as such, then perhaps the fact that he played himself out of a major contract will work in their favor.
The tools indicate Saunders, 29, is far better than the career .235 hitter he was for the Seattle Mariners and Blue Jays. While he has his problems in the outfield, his 14 career home runs in 42 games against the Orioles, 10 at Camden Yards, make that easy to overlook. The left-handed hitter wouldn't fill the defensive need in the outfield, but they've overlooked that for an intriguing bat before.