With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, sports fans all over the country are going to turn to baseball and spring training. Before the pitchers and catchers report, however, many teams have to finish filling out their rosters.
One of those teams, the Baltimore Orioles, is trying to remain viable in an American League East division featuring heavyweights willing to spend lots of money to improve. While the Yankees saw their best player, Robinson Cano, walk to Seattle via free agency they added a number of pieces all around the diamond to make the team better rounded. The biggest piece was adding Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka to bolster the rotation.
Baltimore has made zero big splashes, likely hoping to rely on its potent lineup to keep them in the mix. A big part of that was Chris "Crush" Davis, who had a breakout season of epic proportions in 2013 that included 53 home runs, 138 RBI, and a .286 batting average, all career-highs. He was offered a long-term extenson by the O's, according to Orioles executive Dan Duquette, but progress has been slow.
That was apparently news to Davis, who responded by telling media "Really? Did he say anything else? Dang it. Keep me up to speed on that."
Davis has been clear that he enjoys Baltimore, and would like to stay. "I've said it before and I'll say it every day -- I love being in Baltimore," he told reporters. "This has been a place that's really felt like a second home to me. Just thinking about Opening Day last year, it's hard not to fall in love with this city and the fan base. The fans really understand the game of baseball, so I'd love to stay here."
On top of keeping Davis happy, the Orioles must improve their pitching. Rumor has it they are eyeballing A.J. Burnett, the 37-year-old ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates last season. Burnett is very familiar with the division, having spent six of his 15 MLB seasons with the Blue Jays and Yankees.
Last season Burnett was 10-11 with a 3.30 ERA, completing two successful seasons in Pittsburgh to resurrect his career that had fallen by the wayside in New York. The Pirates are said to still be interested in re-signing Burnett if he plans on pitching, which reports indicate he plans on doing.
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