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| Markakis batted .276 last year for Baltimore. Photo Credit: USA Today Sports |
The Orioles and Nick Markakis are talking again and their this renewed optimism on both sides for a new deal.
By: Michael Hanley
Baltimore GM Dan Duquette and Nick Markakis' agent Jamie Murphy have restarted talks on a new deal for the longtime Orioles outfielder. It was said that progress had been made between the two sides before a week of no talks started up.
Now that talks have begun again it is hard to envision any scenario in which Markakis wearing any other jersey but an Orioles one with his history with the franchise, great seasons he has put up and the bond he and the city have formed over these years.
Though Markakis has drawn some interest from other teams during this off season, it has not approached the level to which he is seriously considering leaving the Orioles and signing with a brand new team.
Also, he himself has not displayed nor said to anyone or the media that he has had a strong desire to want to up and leave the team, which has further strengthened the Oriole's confidence in being able to retain him for the foreseeable future.
It does not hurt that the Oriole's owner Peter Angelos is a big fan of his and will do just about anything to keep him in Baltimore and play his prime years with them.
You can see why Markakis wants to stay in Baltimore. The franchise has improve by leaps an bounds since he started his career with them in 2006. The overall talent his increased ten fold as they have been able to make shrewd moves in free agency and developing players who have come up and made a big impact on the major league club.
He has seen the days where Baltimore was an afterthought in the AL East division and in all of baseball overall. They use to be the doormat that the Yankees and Red Sox would use to pile up the wins every time both played the Orioles. Now Markakis is seeing the good times now be back in town and be on a team that has moved to being a real contender in the American League and be one for years to come.
This is a team that is constructed to be successful for a longtime to come and he can be a huge key to that by staying and continuing to pile up the great seasons he has complied.
So while their is work to be done still to get this reported four year deal done, it is a pretty safe bet that Markakis will be keeping his talents right in Baltimore for years to come.
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