Baltimore Orioles Rumors: Pros and Cons of Top Offseason Targets

As December rapidly approaches, the free-agent market has begun to heat up ever so gradually.

A couple of dominoes have fallen (Michael Cuddyer, A.J. Burnett), and teams are beginning to decide who their targets are and what they need to do to improve their franchise heading toward the new year.

The Baltimore Orioles don't have a crystal-clear picture of what they need, as they have 11 arbitration-eligible players and a few free agents whom they'd like to bring back.

Due to that, there's some pretty obvious names that the O's will be targeting this winter, but it's likely that the team will need to see how some situations unfold before the fans will learn the front office's true plans.

Unfortunately for O's fans, the O's haven't really been tied to any big names other than the three most notable free agents they have, as well as their yearly ties to Billy Butler. And since Butler has signed with the Oakland Athletics, that's one fewer name to discuss. 

So let's highlight the pros and cons of the three biggest targets the Baltimore Orioles currently have: their three biggest free agents. This may be some breaking news for you, so try to keep up.

Nelson Cruz, DH/Outfielder

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Pros: In a season where the O's lost two of their most important bats (Manny Machado, Matt Wieters) and a third was no where near as effective as last season (Chris Davis), Nelson Cruz was the biggest bargain of the 2013 offseason.

He likely would have been if he posted his normal 20-25 homers and 70-80 RBI, but Cruz went above and beyond, leading MLB with 40 big flies and driving in 108 runs in the middle of the O's lineup.

Cruz has been one of the most reliable power bats in the majors since 2009. Over the last six years, he has never hit less than 22 homers and driven in 76-plus RBI every season.

For what it's worth, Cruz has expressed a desire to return to Baltimore for the 2015 season and beyond, even going as far as to say that the Orioles are his first choice this winter.

Cons: There are a couple of issues with the O's attempting to bring Cruz back for 2015.

First of all, he's only getting older. Cruz will turn 35 on July 1, 2015, and though he set a career high in homers this past season, he isn't likely to replicate those power numbers in any one season for the rest of his career (though that's not to say he can't still be a productive power hitter).

Cruz isn't exactly a defensive liability, but he's also not the greatest fielder. He's serviceable at the corner outfield spots, but one wouldn't want to see him playing one of those positions night-in and night-out. While it's okay for him to make an appearance there once in a while, he's better suited as a regular DH.

And finally, and maybe most importantly, Cruz wants a big deal with big money after a big season. According to this tweet from Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, Cruz is currently asking teams for a five-year commitment, a number the O's won't even come close to considering.

While he's likely just using that as leverage to get a compromise on the four-year deal he really wants, he's going to have to lower his demands for the O's to seriously consider a reunion.

Andrew Miller, Reliever

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Pros: What's not to like about Andrew Miller?

He's left-handed with a pulse. He's got nasty stuff. He gets both lefty and righty batters out. He can pitch at any spot in a ballgame out of the bullpen. He pitched to a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings for the Orioles after they acquired him at the trade deadline.

Miller struck out a ridiculous 103 batters in 62.1 innings this season between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore. He's a valuable weapon out of any bullpen, and the O's would love to have him back in Baltimore for the next few years.

Cons: Money.

Because he was so freakin' good this past season, Miller is going to command a big contract for a reliever. According to Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com, Miller is seeking a deal for four years and isn't yet listening to any offers that contain anything less than an "astounding" average value annually.

Miller is likely to have big-money teams throwing big-money contracts at him and could possibly be offered one or more closer positions. It'll be hard for the O's to compete with that.

Also, Miller doesn't exactly have a long track record of dominance, as he struggled in the bigs until 2012. Both 2012 and 2013 were good seasons for Miller, but 2014 was the first season he was really allowed to work to right-handed hitters out of the bullpen and the first in which he completely dominated his competition.

Nick Markakis, Outfielder

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Pros: Nick Markakis is a homegrown talent for Baltimore and ended the 2014 season as the longest currently tenured Oriole.

A former first-round draft pick, Markakis has spent nine seasons in black and orange. And though he hasn't lived up to the power-potential hype that surrounded him as a prospect and the first couple of seasons into his professional career, Markakis hasn't once had a bad season.

A career .290 hitter with a career .358 OBP, Markakis is all about going with the pitch and working the count. He's been the best guy at getting on base for the O's for most of his tenure and arguably has the best batting eye of anyone on the roster.

He's never hit less than 10 home runs and 24 doubles in any single season, and both of those totals came a season after he dealt with a couple of freak injuries.

Speaking of health, Markakis has had just one season in which he spent time on the DL, and that DL time was due to fluke circumstances. So he's nearly a lock to play 150-160 games a season.

Markakis' defensive value varies based on who you ask, but he did win his second career Gold Glove this year, so he must be doing something right.

A favorite of owner Peter Angelos, both the O's and Markakis have expressed a mutual desire to keep the outfielder in Baltimore for years to come.

Cons: Markakis is said to be seeking a four-year commitment worth about $10-12 million per year, according to a tweet from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Some fans may view this as overpaying for an outfielder who has averaged 13 homers a year for the past five years.

And while Markakis was once a doubles machine, hitting over 40 for four straight seasons, he has failed to reach 30 doubles in each of his last three campaigns (though he did total 28 in just 104 games in 2012, his injury-shortened season).

Also, Markakis managed to hit .284 or higher for the first seven years of his career but managed numbers of .271 and .276 in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Is he slowly but steadily trending downward, or is he exactly what he's shown to be over the last few years—a solid singles hitter with some doubles ability and a little home run pop who can work the count and get on base? Even at that, he's a valuable bat.

But what's a bat like that worth?