Duquette: Signing Davis is a priority
Executive vice president of baseball operations says pending free agent is key player
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles, who have six pending free agents, are prioritizing Chris Davis.
"I can tell you this: We do want to sign some of our key players for the future," executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said at Saturday's season ticket holders' event, "and Chris Davis is one of them."
Davis is on a tear at the plate, hitting his 33rd and 34th homers of the season in Saturday's 4-3 walk-off win. The slugger has homered six times in his past six games and has a league-leading 88 RBIs.
Davis, who is represented by Scott Boras, is not the only big-name free agent in Baltimore. Matt Wieters, Gerardo Parra, Wei-Yin Chen, Darren O'Day and Steve Pearce are others.
"We are going to sign some of them," Duquette said of the free agents. "And some of them, we are not going to sign."
Duquette also cited the organization's farm system as something that keeps him hopeful the team can continue to be competitive every year. The yearly Q&A session also saw him reiterate that the O's were not comfortable offering Nelson Cruz -- who signed with Seattle -- a four-year deal this winter.