Jeremy Guthrie

It's not every day when the team you cover trades its No. 1 starter, so it was a pretty busy day here on the Insider. But since the water-cooler talk about the Orioles dealing Jeremy Guthrie might carry over for 24 hours, we wanted to throw a couple more Guthrie-related tidbits to digest with your morning coffee and Cheerios. Guthrie had an interesting answer when asked by Rockies reporters Monday evening about hitting now that he's in the National League. He admitted he's a poor hitter and added a little self-deprecating humor - maybe a little too much: “You know what, I'm not good.

When the Orioles assemble for their first pitcher and catcher workouts less than two weeks from now, there will be a number of difficult challenges facing manager Buck Showalter and the coaching staff. Like figuring out who everybody is. The deal that sent Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for two more right-handers increased the number of pitchers on the 40-man roster to 21, and the number arriving at the Ed Smith Stadium for the first workout on Feb 19. could top 30 when you add in all the non-roster invitees.

In an offseason that has been defined by a flurry of under-the-radar personnel additions, new Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette made his boldest move to date Monday, sending dependable veteran starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for right-handed pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. It was a curious decision considering the Orioles had baseball's highest ERA and fewest number of quality starts in 2011 and have now dealt away last year's leader in innings pitched, starts, strikeouts and starter's ERA. But Duquette said he believes Hammel can absorb Guthrie's projected innings and Lindstrom gives the Orioles another power arm in the bullpen — plus the new duo can be under team control through 2013 while Guthrie is an impending free agent.

Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom were on today's conference call to discuss Monday's trade that sent them from the Colorado Rockies to the Orioles in exchange for Jeremy Guthrie. Here is Hammel on learning of the deal: “Obviously, it was a surprise this morning. My plans had basically been finished for spring training in Arizona and set up ultimately for Denver, so I was a full go for the season. But that doesn't change anything. Baseball doesn't change for me.” Hammel on a chance to be a full-time starter (he was temporarily removed from the Rockies' rotation and sent to the bullpen due to ineffectiveness in 2011)

The Orioles' trade of right-handed pitcher Jeremy Guthrie leaves a significant void in the top of the club's starting rotation just a dozen days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Sarasota, but the move continues to fulfill new executive vice president Dan Duquette's offseason priorities geared at improving the Orioles pitching staff as a whole. The arrival of right-handed starter Jason Hammel, 29, and reliever Matt Lindstrom, 31, from Colorado won't dazzle fans who might rather have high-end prospects than two additional pieces to the current pitching staff puzzle.

Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette spoke to the media on a conference call this afternoon to talk about the club's trade of right-hander Jeremy Guthrie to the Rockies for righties Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. Duquette was also asked about the Orioles' interest in Manny Ramirez and scuttlebutt that the Orioles turned down the addition of Eric Young Jr. in the deal because there was no wiggle room on the 40-man roster. Here are some of the highlights of the conference call: On trading Guthrie: “We spoke to a number of teams about Jeremy Guthrie, and we recognize Jeremy's been a dependable pitcher for us, giving up 200 innings pitched for the last three years in a row, but we think this is a good deal to help our team and to help our club win because we are essentially replacing Jeremy's innings in the rotation with Jason Hammel's.

Baltimore Sun reporters, columnists and editors analyze the Orioles' trade of Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. Eduardo A. Encina, Orioles beat writer The Orioles dealing RHP Jeremy Guthrie, the only sure thing in their starting rotation, adds more questions than answers heading into spring. The timing, which came on the day Guthrie was scheduled to go to arbitration, was telling. In return, the Orioles will get two pieces to help rebuild the pitching.

Barring a last minute change, the Orioles are expected to go to arbitration hearings with starter Jeremy Guthrie and swingman Brad Bergesen -- which would be the first time the club has met with the three-person, independent panel since before the 2006 season. Guthrie's hearing is Monday morning, Bergesen's is Wednesday morning and both will be at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Orioles also could face a hearing Feb. 17 with center fielder Adam Jones, but the sense is that it could be settled before the hearing date.

He was expected to be a key member of the cavalry, the group of young pitchers who were supposed to lead the Orioles back to prominence, or, at the least, to relevance in the American League East. Some baseball pundits that believed right-hander Chris Tillman would be in the white hat riding the lead horse and directing the rest of the Orioles' heroes toward the ultimate treasure. Tillman was, after all, the youngest of the group and perhaps the most talented. And he just seemed like an ace, 6 feet 5 and a lean 210 pounds with a wide arsenal of pitches and a sunny, no-problem, Southern California personality.