The O's had a chance to acquire Todd Helton recently, but passed on the opportunity when the Rockies wanted the Orioles to pay a large portion (read: too damn much) of the $90 million that Colorado still owes him.
Question talker time! Do I like Todd Helton? Yes. Do I think he's a good hitter? Absolutely. Is he aging and declining? Of course. Would he be oodles of millions of dollars more worthwhile than Kevin Millar? No.
So I agree completely with this move.
In other news, we did sign Paul Shuey to a minor league contract. Shuey retired early in the 2005 season, after having not played since 2003 with a hip condition. He was a pretty good reliever over his 10 big league seasons, spent mostly with Cleveland and a year and change with the Dodgers. He made his major league debut against the Orioles on May 8, 1994, pitching an inning with a strikeout and a hit allowed.
If he makes the club, which is unlikely, he'll get a $650K, one-year deal with performance bonuses that could total $1 million. Whatever, man. Best of luck. He can't hurt anything.