Gearing Up For ‘96 Baltimore Goes Into Overdrive With 4 Major Acquisitions This Week

It’s become a daily occurrence at Camden Yards: A news conference to announce the acquisition of a free agent or to introduce the newest member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Roberto Alomar was Friday’s feature attraction, as the Orioles formally introduced their new second baseman to the local media. The team also used the occasion to announce that former Montreal Expos general manager Kevin Malone had accepted a position as assistant general manager under Pat Gillick.

Malone, 38, left the Expos in the fall and interviewed for the Baltimore job that Gillick got.

It was the third news conference in five days at the Orioles offices. Baltimore introduced new pitchers Randy Myers and Roger McDowell on Tuesday and did the same with newcomer B.J. Surhoff on Thursday. Surhoff’s appearance turned out to be a sideshow, because as soon as he was done the Orioles announced that Alomar had agreed to an $18 million, three-year contract.

While Gillick appears done at least for the weekend, he won’t be too far from a telephone during Christmas.

“We’ll be talking over the holidays, that’s for sure,” he said Friday.

The Orioles have added five new players to the roster, but there’s still work to be done before Gillick can sit back and admire what he’s accomplished.

“We’re going to forge ahead. We’ve got to get another starting pitcher, a backup outfielder and we need another catcher,” he said. “Those are three areas we need to address in the next week or so.”

The addition of Alomar, Myers, McDowell, Surhoff and left-hander Kent Mercker could make it easier for Gillick to lure a front-line starter to the Orioles. Alomar, for instance, picked Baltimore in part because he knew the organization was unconditionally committed to winning.

“We used to beat the Orioles real good,” said Alomar, referring to his days with the Blue Jays. “But now it’s a different ballclub here. It’s more strong in the bullpen, has more speed and more power. This team has a great shot to go all the way.”

Gillick hopes some other free agents might feel the same way.

“I think we’ve got some momentum now, and I think that’s going to make it a little easier for us,” he said. “We’ve really improved the club, and hopefully that will make us more attractive to some of the other players still out there.”

His first priority is finding another starting pitcher. Gillick said he would prefer a left-hander but he has not ruled out the possibility of re-signing right-hander Ben McDonald, who was released by the team Wednesday because of his huge salary demands.

Gillick is also interested in signing Kenny Rogers or Chuck Finley.

“I’m under the impression that if California doesn’t get the ownership situation cleared up, he’ll leave,” Gillick said of Finley, who went 15-12 with a 4.21 ERA for the Angels.

Kevin Brown, the third starter in the rotation last year, is not an option. Brown, 10-9 with the Orioles in 1995, signed with the Florida Marlins on Friday.

Malone, meanwhile, was eager to become a part of a franchise that’s more interested in winning than saving a few bucks. It wasn’t that way in Montreal, where ownership ordered Malone to dump several prize prospects in an effort the shear the payroll.

“I know (Orioles owner) Peter Angelos is committed to winning, and that’s the kind of atmosphere I’m looking for,” Malone said in a statement. “I hope that my background and experience will be an asset to the Orioles organization, and adds to the commitment.”