The Baltimore Orioles are still looking to improve this offseason. They've already added first baseman Derrek Lee, shortstop J.J. Hardy, third baseman Mark Reynolds and are pursuing outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. On top of that, they've added Kevin Gregg to the bullpen.
Now, the team has reportedly offered Justin Duchscherer a contract to bolster their starting rotation.
Last season, the 33-year-old righty only pitched 28.0 innings but had a 2-1 record and 2.89 ERA in five starts for the Oakland Athletics.
For his career, Duchscherer has a 33-25 record with an impressive 3.13 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .235 opposing batting average. In the 2008 season, he had a 10-8 record with a low 2.54 ERA and very low 1.00 WHIP.
Duchsherer was drafted in the eighth round by the Boston Red Sox in 1996.
In 15 career appearances and two career starts against the Red Sox, he has had great success, with a 2-0 record, 1.83 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, .161 opposing batting average and 7.65 K's/9.
Adding Duchsherer could solidify the Orioles as a competitive team. They may lack the star power like the Red Sox and Yankees, but they have the balance to potentially end their streak of 13 consecutive seasons with a losing record.
Last season, the Orioles had a disappointing 66-96 record and ranked second-to-last in the AL with a 4.59 ERA. However, under the management of Buck Showalter, they closed out the final 57 games with a 34-23 record, a .596 winning percentage that would have given them 96 wins in a 162-game season.
Brian Roberts, who's been with the team since 2001 and for his entire professional career, isn't the only one excited for his team's potential this year.
"The fans are excited, the city's excited, and other teams are taking notice that the Orioles played really solid baseball for 2 1/2 months," Roberts said.
"This is the first time in my nine years that we've had this momentum going into spring training," Roberts added. "Usually, it's been a down note, unfortunately, and the offseason has been half-hearted optimism. This year, people have looked back and said, 'Wow, maybe they are building on something.'"
The newly added Reynolds also said, "I think we're going to surprise some people."
