I keep talking about the three-year, $21 million contract offer the Orioles have out to Adam LaRoche as if it’s written in stone someplace, but it’s not. Yes, it’s been reported by multiple outlets, but today Buck Showalter was on MLB Network Radio and, while confirming that the Orioles are interested in LaRoche, he said that the offer being reported wasn’t actually in place.
I didn’t hear it live and I don’t have the transcript. All I have is Jim Duquette’s tweet that Showalter said “that report’s not right by the way.” Kind of non-specific. It’s possible that there’s an offer but it’s lower. It’s possible that it’s more of a framework than an offer. Hard to say based on Showalter’s comment, which was apparently a mere aside. But he did say that everyone is getting it wrong.
If there really was no hard offer out there it would explain a hell of a lot. Such as why Adam LaRoche hasn’t accepted it seeing as that it’s more money and years than you figure he’d get anywhere else.
Still in need of explaining: why each winter there are reports of giant offers to Adam LaRoche that don’t go contradicted for extended periods. Remember last year when he was supposedly getting $17 million from the Giants? yeah, that wasn’t true. Except everyone was saying it was for a long damn time. Normally that kind of misinformation is debunked rather quickly.
With that note, the commenters who like to take me to task for liking contract offer gossip may commence their bashing and moralizing.