Dan Duquette had a busy Wednesday, and that’s not even counting finalizing the acquisition of slugger Mark Trumbo and relief pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser from Seattle in exchange for catcher Steve Clevenger.
The Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations also acquired catcher Francisco Pena from Kansas City for cash considerations. The 26-year-old batted .251 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 95 games with Triple-A Omaha this past season and appeared in nine major league games for the Royals over the last two years.
To make room for Pena on the 40-man roster, the Orioles designated infielder Paul Janish for assignment. The slick-fielding 33-year-old hit .286 in 14 games with Baltimore this past season.
The biggest event of the day was the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, and the Orioles did exactly that with infielders Manny Machado and Ryan Flaherty, right-handed pitchers Brad Brach, Miguel Gonzalez, and Chris Tillman, lefties Brian Matusz and Zach Britton, and Trumbo. Baltimore agreed to one-year contracts with outfielder Nolan Reimold and right-hander Vance Worley to avoid arbitration with both.
The club and tendered players will exchange salary figures in January with arbitration hearings then scheduled for February. In most cases, the parties settle terms before ever going to arbitration.
The Orioles did not tender a contract to outfielder David Lough, making him a free agent. Last season, the 29-year-old was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk before having his contract selected in late September, but a .201 average in 84 games made him expendable.
Janish and right-handed pitcher Steve Johnson were also non-tendered after both had been designated for assignment earlier in the day.
