2010 Free Agents:
Aubrey Huff
Melvin Mora (club option that I can't see being picked up)
Danys Baez
Jamie Walker
Ryan Freel
Mark Hendrickson
Gregg Zaun (mutual option, but Wieters...)
Adam Eaton
Chad Moeller

Arbitration Eligibile:
Luke Scott
Chris Ray (I believe)
Jeremy Guthrie
Dennis Sarfarte (I believe)

2010 Line-Up w/o Free Agents:
C- Matt Wieters (I only put him here since we all know he WILL be here)
1B-
2B- Brian Roberts
SS- Cesar Izturis
3B-
LF- Felix Pie
CF- Adam Jones
RF- Nick Markakis
DH- Luke Scott

BN- Ty Wigginton
OF-
IF-
C-

2010 Rotation:
Jeremy Guthrie
Koji Uehara
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2010 Bullpen:
CL- Chris Ray
SU- George Sherrill
SU- Jim Johnson
MR- Dennis Sarfarte
MR- Matt Albers
MR-
MR-

After compiling this data, what does it tell us? First, it means we have some holes to fill, and we can do it in-house or through free agency. I would like to take a series of posts to talk about the in-house candidates that would fill these holes if no one is traded for or if no one is signed via free agency. I will list them and talk about why they are my choice for in-house candidates in the next couple of blog posts.

This blog post is dedicated to the people listed at the top. I was going to break up why these people will get re-signed, traded or released, but I decided to group them all together. I will start with the ones who could return, and I believe will be returning to 2010.

Re-Signed:
Jeremy Guthrie - He will put up another season of quality numbers as our ace. Do not judge him by his WBC stats or his spring training numbers. He has not lost anything, and he is just getting the kinks worked out. He'll be fine for the Yanks opening day.

Dennis Sarfarte - They will come to some sort of agreement for a 1 year contract. Dennis has to have a solid season as a reliever and prove himself as a late game option or a solid middle option. His multi-year deal will come 1-2 years from now after he proves himself reliable.

Chris Ray - Do I really need to say why? After he puts up great numbers this year, they should nail down a long term deal to nail down our closer for the next 3-5 years buying out his arbitration years.

Arbitration Eligible Who Will Be Traded:
Luke Scott - Low average, decent power, and inability to hit lefties means he has to be platooned no matter where he plays. Too many players are in our system that would do better in his position than he would (Nolan Reimold, Lou Montanez, Scott Moore). The Orioles have the in-house options right now to replace him with people who can play the field a lot better. I anticipate him being traded at the deadline this year if he is putting up good numbers or shopped after the season.

Free Agents to Be and Why They Will Not Be Back With the Team:
Aubrey Huff - He won't be back because he will be traded at the deadline. Huff represents a hot commodity that will be traded, a la Mark Teixeira, at the July trade deadline. As long as Huff is putting up last year's numbers, he will bring back a nice little package. It won't be Tex worthy, but it will help bring some more prospects in. Orioles will not bring him back because they won't want him for multiple years.

Melvin Mora - This team has been trying to get rid of him for a year or two, but his no trade clause has been binding. There will be a need at the deadline, and he will have to decide if he wants to get a ring or if he wants to retire. The Orioles will not bring him back at the end of the year if he is still here. He does not fit in with the plans.

Everyone Else - All of these guys are place holders. Ryan Freel may get a look next year as a super utility, but there are several players who will need the spot over him (Justin Turner, Reimold, Montanez, Moore, Brandon Snyder). If we get anything for these guys at the deadline, then we have succeeded by leaps and bounds. My guess is some of these guys are cut before we make it to July.