According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles have agreed to terms with reliever George Sherrill on a one-year, $2.75 million contract. Sherrill asked for $3.4 million and the O’s submitted a $2.2 million bid back when arbitration figures were due. It seems they found some sort of middle ground. Sherrill, who saved 31 games last season, will have to fight to keep the closer’s role this spring. His main competition will be Chris Ray. So read that as no competition but OI thinks Sherrill is traded in spring training. You heard it here first.

The Orioles announced that pitcher Brian Burres was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays after the O’s designated him for assignment to make room for newly-acquired hurler Rich Hill.

Hill, in an interview with Roch Kubatko of MASN, related his ‘08 control issues to a lower-back injury that he suffered in the middle of spring training. “I tried to compensate so I could compete,” Hill said. The left-hander claims to feel much stronger since undertaking a weight-lifting program and changing his diet. “I eat a lot more…correctly,” he said. If he can figure out his control, Hill has the skill set to be a solid starter in the American League.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 11:30 PM by Editor and is filed under Players. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.