Baltimore signed LHP Omar Daal to a two-year, $7.5M contract right after the New Year. He'll reportedly receive $3M in 2003 and $4.5M in 2004 and has the ability to earn up to another $1M in bonuses based on innings pitched. The Orioles have not had a left-handed pitcher in their rotation in a couple years and listed starting pitching as something they wanted to add when the off-season began.

They've now spent a sizeable amount of money on the 30-year-old Daal, who's anything but a sure thing. Prior to the past two years, the Orioles might not have considered him for a rotation spot let alone looked at Daal as a top starter. He's frequently suffered from control problems during his career and sometimes had difficulty with homers and strikeouts. Last season in addition to inflating his stats with sixteen relief appearances, Daal benefited significantly from Dodger Stadium, posting an ERA of 3.39 at home and 4.48 on the road.

I don't believe the Orioles even should have concerned themselves with adding a starter considering the number of pitchers they have in the minors who will be able to start in the next two years. Worrying about having a lefty in the rotation just was silly at this point.

Baltimore was already set on RHP Rodrigo Lopez, RHP Sidney Ponson, and RHP Pat Hentgen filling three rotation spots, so now with the acquisition of Daal they plan to have RHP Rick Bauer, RHP Sean Douglass, RHP Scott Erickson, RHP Jason Johnson, and RHP John Stephens compete over the only remaining rotation spot. Bauer should continue to work out of the bullpen at this point, and Douglass doesn't present the others with much competition.

The Orioles should have accepted one of the offers for Erickson when they were on the table. Perhaps the torn labrum that has eliminated most of his trade value will prevent him from claiming a rotation spot, leaving Johnson as Stephens' major competition for the fifth starter's role. Hopefully, Baltimore won't fixate on the 6.05 ERA Stephens posted last season and will instead realize that he needs to be in the rotation now to maximize their future potential. His ERA last season was affected by the 1.8 HR/9 he allowed, which was supported by a .87 G-F. However, he's not demonstrated a homer problem in the minors, so there's a good chance that those problems were the result of some nervousness in his first exposure to the majors and should dissipate as he grows more comfortable. The remainder of his skills indicate he has the potential to develop into a top of the rotation pitcher.

Johnson has been a solid starter for the Orioles, but the 29-year-old lacks the upside of Stephens and will likely be eligible for free agency after the 2004 season. He should be traded so that he doesn't stand in the way of the younger pitcher's development.

In mid-December, Baltimore signed SS-R Deivi Cruz to a one-year, $1.2M contract that includes a $200,000 buyout on a $1.5M option for the 2004 season. Reportedly, Cruz also will receive an additional $300,000 each year when he reaches 500 PA.

I was pleased when the Orioles avoided the temptation to re-sign SS-R Mike Bordick after his impressive defensive season, as they have players fighting for at-bats at every position aside from catcher. While Baltimore certainly has people who could move aside if they acquired a real offensive force, Cruz merely adds another unimpressive bat to the mix. The Orioles were attracted to his defensive skills and intend to start him at shortstop even though Cruz's defensive reputation actually has gone down hill over the past few years. He's never displayed acceptable plate discipline, and his power skills are only moderate and inconsistent at best.

Meanwhile, both 2B-R Jerry Hairston and MI-R Brian Roberts should be able to provide Baltimore with comparable and likely better offense. While the Orioles don't like tying UT-R Melvin Mora down to only one position, this limits the number of at-bats he can find in the infield, pushing him towards the crowded outfield situation.

Baltimore has been under new supervision since early December when the Orioles announced that Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan would move into the top two roles in the front office and Sid Thrift's contract would be allowed to expire. Both signed three-year contracts. While Beattie's title is Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and Flanagan is merely VP of Baseball Operations, neither has more power than the other and all decisions are to be made jointly.

Beattie has seven years experience as the Expos' General Manager after serving with that club from 1995-2001. Flanagan has a long history with Baltimore, pitching all but a little more than three seasons of his 18-year career with the Orioles. He was working as a T.V. broadcaster for the team prior to accepting this position and supposedly has a closer relationship with owner Peter Angelos.

A former left-handed starter, I'm sure Flanagan played a large role in the signing of Daal. As you can tell, I don't feel the pair has made overly wise decisions thus far. They've already shown a dangerous predilection for defense and veterans. However, the Orioles definitely needed to move away from Sid Thrift, so hopefully they'll improve over time.