The Orioles have signed 35-year old righty swinging 1B Derrek Lee to a 1-year deal. Lee played in 148 games for the Cubs & Orioles last season and he was 142 of 547 (.260 avg, .774 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 19 homers and 80 RBIs. Lee has now played in 1,829 games in his first 14 seasons in the majors and he is 1,843 of 6,527 (.282 avg, .865 OPS) with 1,026 runs scored, 312 homers, 1,019 RBIs and 102 stolen bases. This was a great move for the Orioles because Lee is a complete player. He is a good hitter and a great defensive 1B as he has won 3 Gold Gloves so far in his career. The O’s whole infield just got better both offensively and defensively with the addition of Derrek Lee.

The Orioles have some work left to do before spring training as they still need a starting 1B, a veteran starting pitcher, a lefty reliever and a pitcher to compete with Koji Uehara for the closer’s job. Derrek Lee or Adam LaRoche would be a great fit at 1B and they are both still free agents. I would also consider signing either Brad Penny or John Maine on an incentive laden deal as they could both pitch near the top of the rotation if healthy. The Orioles have been in contact with Kevin Gregg with the idea that he would be the closer in 2011. I think a better and cheaper alternative might be to bring in a guy like Jon Rauch to compete with Uehara for the closer’s job because Uehara deserves a chance to close based on how he pitched last year. I think Hideki Okajima would be a good fit as the second lefty in the pen behind Mike Gonzalez. If the Orioles can fill those four needs that they have, they will not finish in last place in the A.L. East in 2011.

The Orioles have signed 28-year old righty reliever Jeremy Accardo to a 1-year, $1.08 million dollar deal. Accardo pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 0-1 with a 8.10 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. He also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 3-2 with 24 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Accardo has now pitched in 204 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 7-17 with 38 saves, a 3.95 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. I like this move for the Orioles as Accardo has been a solid major league pitcher in the not so distant past.

The Orioles have signed 30-year old switch hitting SS/2B Cesar Izturis to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal. Izturis played in 150 games last season for the Orioles and he was 109 of 473 (.230 avg, .545 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 1 homer, 28 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,167 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,030 of 4,025 (.256 avg, .619 OPS) with 418 runs scored, 15 homers, 289 RBIs and 109 stolen bases. Izturis will serve as the Orioles utility man in the infield as he can handle SS, 2B or 3B defensively.

The Orioles have acquired 28-year old righty swinging shortstop J.J. Hardy, 30-year old righty swinging infielder Brendan Harris and $500K from the Twins for 27-year old righty reliever Jim Hoey and 24-year old righty reliever Brett Jacobson. Hardy played in 101 games for the Twins last season and he was 91 of 340 (.268 avg, .714 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 hoimers and 38 RBIs. He has now played in 672 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 634 of 2,415 (.263 avg, .746 OPS) with 323 runs scored, 81 homers and 303 RBIs. Brendan Harris played in 43 games for the Twins last season and he was 17 of 108 (.157 avg, .446 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Harris has now played in 485 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 412 of 1,587 (.260 avg, .701 OPS) with 194 runs scored, 29 homers, 158 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Jim Hoey pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the O’s last season and he was 6-0 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. But, Hoey never pitched well for the O’s. He pitched in 35 games (0 starts) in parts of two years with the Orioles and he was 3-5 with a 8.13 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. Brett Jacobson came into last season as the Orioles’ #16 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Jacobson pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 8-1 with 1 save, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He pitched in 97 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he was 12-8 with 8 saves, a 3.09 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

I really like this deal as the Orioles have now rebuilt the left side of their infield with Hardy and Reynolds.