After originally seeking a two-year, $16 million contract Vladimir Guerrero has lowered his demands to one year and $8 million, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.
Guerrero earned $6.5 million in 2010 via a one-year deal with the Rangers and slumped down the stretch before struggling mightily in the playoffs, so with plenty of other veteran designated hitter options on the market this offseason he had little chance of ever securing a two-year offer.
And now that most teams have filled their DH openings the odds of him getting $8 million in 2011 are pretty slim too. Rosenthal notes that the Orioles remain interested in Guerrero but deem that price too high, which jibes with the report from Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that they’ve spoken to Guerrero’s agent recently but “the two sides are not close to a deal.”
Had he been seeking a one-year deal from the start of the offseason Guerrero may have landed a full-time gig already--and potentially could have returned to Texas--but dropping his asking price after a half-dozen other veteran bats have found homes and the Rangers are completely out of the mix to re-sign him could leave him choosing between part-time jobs in addition to less money.