"I would have to say in my years of doing this, I've never had so much interest in one player... We expected a good number certainly, but there are teams wanting to move players to make room for him."
When I read this, I really had no idea whether this is just typical agent hoo-doo, in which they attempt to inflate demand by creating an artificial market for their client... that's pretty typical. And Boras is the most-evil and soul-less of them all, so that's obviously an aspect of this, but I was wondering if there might not be some truth to it? Yes, Beltre's OPS just one year ago (2008) was .693, but injuries and Safeco field in Seattle had a lot to do with that.
So I took a look at the market; in this case, other free agent third basemen:
As you can see... there isn't much out there, at least at this point. Other options are Miguel Tejada and Juan Uribe, who aren't listed as 3Bs (each can play SS); both can hit, but have marginal full-season value.
If a team doesn't get Beltre, then they're either going to have to trade for a 3B, promote from within, or go with an absolute stopgap, like Mora, Punto, or Cairo... Felipe Lopez does have some value, but probably not at a corner infield spot, and it's a pretty big drop from Beltre to him.
Soooo... this isn't all posturing on Boras's part. Beltre did hit .321 with 28 HR last year, and carried the Sox for stretches. I don't know that I'd want to make him my center-piece, but he's re-established himself as a top-tier 3B.
What;s that mean for the Orioles? Well, the Red Sox are going to re-prioritize re-signing Beltre, but he's a Boras client and will definitely test the market. The Orioles record over the last dozen years is a deterrent to almost any major free-agent acquisition, though, so it's doubtful they'd land him - but they may try. If the rumors are true and there's huge demand, the asking price will be massive.
If they don't sign Beltre, then they have a few internal candidates for third base:
Bell obviously has the most upside, being 24, and having a decent rack record of minor league success. They'd probably want him to win the job outright. Moore and Fox might make the team anyway, since each is versatile, and can swing the stick. Fox has more power than Moore, but Moore had a nice season at Norfolk last year, and can play all of the infield positions.
Not sure what will happen here - there might even be a candidate we haven't thought of yet, or they could pull off a trade. But the best thing for the O's is if Bell can win the job, and show that he belongs at this level.
Again, I missed a pretty obvious candidate: Ty Wigginton. With Roberts healthy and back in the lineup, the O's could use Wiggy at third base, provided they sign him. That would allow them significant flexibility, as if Bell claimed the job, Wiggy could resume his standard "super-utility" role, and still get 400+ ABs at 3 of the 4 infield spots. His slash line from 2010 was .248/.312/.415, with 22 HR in 699 plate appearances.
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