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The Baltimore Orioles are deep in discussions to re-sign veteran left-hander Joe Saunders, but they are not the only team in pursuit of the southpaw, reports Buster Olney of ESPN:
The Orioles have continued talks with Joe Saunders, a pitcher they would like to re-sign. He's also high interest from three other clubs.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 20, 2012
Who those three other clubs are remains unknown at the moment, but it was reported two weeks ago that the Minnesota Twins had offered a contract to Saunders and several others, so they may be one of the trio.
Saunders, 31, joined the Orioles in late August and put up solid numbers for the club down the stretch, posting a 3.63 ERA in seven starts. Saunders also helped lead the club into the ALDS, delivering 5⅓ innings of one-run ball against the Texas Rangers in the AL Wild Card game.
An eight-year MLB veteran, Saunders owns a career 4.15 ERA and 5.1 K/9 rate in over 1,100 big-league innings. Saunders fits into the "crafty left-hander" mold of pitchers, as a guy who will never strike out a high number of batters put still manages to put up adequate numbers every year.
