Bye Bye Birds

Nick Markakis became the second member of the Orioles this week to leave as a free agent. The earlier departure of Nelson Cruz wasn't as much of a shock -- the O's got him cheap, on a one-year deal after a PED suspension. An MLB-best 40 homers later, he's on his way to Seattle on a four-year deal worth close to $60-million.
Long a favorite of Orioles owner Peter Angelos, Markakis seemed on track to playing his whole career in Baltimore. But his slowly declining offensive numbers since his superb seasons of 2007 and '09 -- apparently priced him out of the Orioles range. Instead, he's on his way to Atlanta, where he grew up and still maintains a home. With a third hard hitting outfielder Torii Hunter signing with Minnesota, the Twins are left with two big holes in their offense and no sure fire way to fill them for '15.

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