Are we still alive?

After yesterday’s first day of meetings, some of Twitter might not be, especially after finding out that the Orioles have offered Mark Trumbo a contract in the range of $52MM-$55MM for four years.

As Buster Olney tweeted, Trumbo wants a contract in the range of $75MM-$80MM, with a full no-trade clause. The Orioles aren’t biting on another no-trade clause, so the talks between the two sides haven’t made any progress.

The O’s gave Chris Davis a seven-year, $161MM contract with a full no-trade clause, as well as Darren O’Day, last offseason.

If Trumbo doesn’t accept the Orioles offer, the Rockies, and Rangers have checked in on him, however, TR Sullivan, writer for the Rangers, suggests that Jon Daniels (Rangers GM) said a big ticket first base DH free agent signing is “unlikely”.

Elsewhere, the first news of the day was reported by Roch Kubatko, involving Michael Saunders.

Spotrac projects Saunders to land a three-year, $48MM contract. The Orioles would not have to give up a draft pick because Saunders was not given a qualifying offer. So that’s a plus.

Saunders loves hitting at Oriole Park. Over the years, he’s batted .305/.376/.756 in 21 games at Camden Yards. He’s hit 10 HR’s, and has an OPS of 1.132. Saunders was voted to his first All-Star game last year, while finishing with a .253/.338/.478 slash line, and setting new career highs in plate appearances, doubles, home runs, and walks. However, he did set a new career high for strikeouts as well.

Saunders, however, had a -5 DRS in RF last season, with a -1.7 dWAR in 140 games. His overall WAR was a 1.3.

Now, on to Curtis Granderson….

Rosenthal reported this, and immediately sides were mixed. Half of Twitter liked the deal, the other half scoffed. Granderson is owed $15MM for 2017, and the Orioles don’t like that figure for a one-year trade. Giving up Brad Brach may come back to bite the Orioles. Brach was voted to his first All-Star game in 2016, and finished the season with a 2.05 ERA in 71 appearances.

The Orioles’ winningest reliever, Brach was a tale of two halves. Before the mid-summer classic, Brach pitched to a 0.91 ERA in 40 appearances, posting a 6-1 record, while allowing just 5 earned runs in 49.1 IP. After the break, Brach was a completely different pitcher. Through 29.2 innings in 31 games, Brach tallied a 3.94 ERA, with a 4-3 record.

On the other side of that trade is 35-year-old Curtis Granderson. Entering his 14th season in the majors, Granderson is a career .255 hitter through six years with the Tigers, four years with the Yankees, which included three All-Star appearances, and three seasons with the Mets. Granderson posted a 2.7 WAR last season with the Mets, but a -0.2 dWAR, splitting time in RF, CF, and LF.

For the Orioles to acquire Granderson, the Mets want a high-end reliever. For the Mets to trade Granderson, the Orioles will want the Mets to eat some of his 2017 salary. Neither side wants to budge.

Elsewhere in Oxon Hill, MD (the actual city where the Winter Meetings are being held), multiple teams have checked in on the Orioles bullpen. In a quote straight from Dan Duquette:

“We want to keep that strength intact.”

Dan Duquette also is showing no interest in trading Zach Britton. Instead, Duquette said Zach “deserves a good raise in arbitration”.

Duquette also said of the interest of the starters, “I don’t think that’s a real priority on our club.”

Also, in regards to a catcher, Duquette said the Orioles “would go two years on a veteran catcher”. “Matt is a free agent, so he’s not with the club”, Duquette said of Matt Wieters. The Nationals, and Braves have both expressed interest in signing Wieters.

All quotes courtesy of Roch Kubatko’s Twitter.

Steve Pearce accepted a contract from the Toronto Blue Jays early in the day. Pearce’s new contract is for two years, at $12.5MM. With the signing of Pearce, the Blue Jays effectively opted out of the race for slugger Edwin Encarnacion.

The Orioles are not, and have not been in that race to begin with.

And finally, Dan Duquette acknowledged the photoshopped picture of Manny Machado in a Yankees uniform. You know, this one:

“I noticed the other day when I picked up the Daily News, Manny was in pinstripes. I kind of like him in the Orioles uniform.”

I think we all can agree on that one.