According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Orioles are in talks with Kevin Gregg. This isn’t really news, because we already heard this before, but it’s the holidays and people are drinking lots of eggnog and stuff.
Gregg, 32, posted a 3.51 ERA along with a career-high 37 saves with the Blue Jays this past season, but he also averaged 4.58 BB/9 and has a 4.03 ERA for his career. Racking up saves will get you paid (see: Fernando Rodney with the Angels last offseason), but Gregg is obviously far from elite as far as closers go.
There’s also the question of why the Orioles would feel compelled to sign Gregg, especially since he would be no lock for the ninth inning now that the club has re-signed Koji Uehara. Don’t forget that Mike Gonzalez -- who was signed last offseason to be the closer -- is still under contract for $6 million next season. Either the Orioles are jonesin’ to spend some dough after being spurned by multiple free agents or they have concerns that Uehara and Gonzalez won’t be able to stay healthy. The latter sentiment is probably justified.
