While the Baltimore Orioles have “legitimate interest” in adding
free agent Adam LaRoche, the team is hesitant to surrender the first-round
draft choice it would take do sign the first baseman, reports Dan Connolly of
the Baltimore Sun.
Some within the Orioles’ organization would be willing to give LaRoche a third year on a fair-market deal, but if they signed him, it would run counter to executive vice president Dan Duquette’s plan of rebuilding from the draft.
LaRoche is reportedly seeking a three-year contract with an
average annual salary north of $10 million. This is not the concerning part to
the Orioles, as Connolly notes that there are some in the organization that
would be willing to extend the 33-year-old this sort of offer.
However, Baltimore is reluctant to part ways with the draft
choice it would have to send to the Washington Nationals in order to ink the
veteran slugger.
The Orioles have a need for a middle-of-the-order bat and a
potential void at first base if they can find someone better defensively than
Chris Davis. LaRoche won a Gold Glove at the position last season while hitting
.271/.343/.510 with 35 doubles and 33 home runs.
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