It's Super Bowl Sunday, so the baseball world is pretty quiet. We're zeroing in on pitchers and catchers report dates (less than two weeks), so things won't stay quiet too much longer. Onto the nightly roundup.
Orioles-Gallardo interest
The longer free agent Yovani Gallardo lingers in free agency, the more one would expect his price would come down. Has it come down to the point where the Orioles might sign him? Roch Kubatko on MASN discusses the possibility. Gallardo, 29, was 13-11 with a 3.42 ERA (124 ERA+) last season for Texas. He's thrown at least 180 innings in each of the past seven seasons and could fill the vacated rotation spot of Wei-Yin Chen.
Sweaty Freddy officially retiring
Though he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2013, Freddy Garcia pitched the final game of his career Sunday in the Caribbean Series (MLB.com).
In 15 big-league seasons, Garcia was 156-108 with a 4.15 ERA. He's a two-time All-Star and led the AL in ERA in 2001, when he was 18-6 with a 3.05 ERA in 238 2/3 innings. He also made 11 postseason starts, going 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA. He won a ring with the White Sox in 2005.
Clippard market
We heard Saturday that the Diamondbacks were interested in free agent reliever Tyler Clippard, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe adds the Astros and Rays to the mix.
Clippard was an All-Star in 2014 and posted a 2.92 ERA in 71 innings last season for the A's and Mets. He had a 7.11 ERA in his last 12 appearances and was knocked around in the playoffs, too.
Rays update
While the Rays continue to be connected to teams in trade rumors -- namely dealing a starting pitcher for a bat -- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times offers up some other suggestions to improve the roster. He mentions signing someone like Tommy Hunter or Burke Badenhop to shore up the bullpen, trading Desmond Jennings or Brandon Guyer and signing Ian Desmond in order to push Brad Miller to a utility role.
