Richard Hidalgo and B.J Surhoff

[JohnGelnarFan]

What happened to Hidalgo and B.J.? I looked in the O's transaction section of their site on MLB.com and don't see mention of either. B.J. must have retired but they normally list that. Hidalgo was supposed to be a big addition to the outfield corps.

[joepepsi]

BJ wasn't offered a contract so they can't sign him until May 1. He was a free agent but I don't think he really pursued any other team. At this point he is as retired as Raffy or Sammy Soso, though without their baggage.

Hidalgo lasted a couple weeks in Spring Training then left. He was a non roster invitee. Once he got to camp he quickly realized he wasn't guaranteed a starting spot and decided to pursue other options. He may have left for Japan. There was talk of that, but I never saw that confirmed.

Good thing he left, otherwise you can bet he'd have made the team ahead of Markakis.

[KCGHOST]

Surhoff at age 41 seems to have met the end of his career but hasn't formally retired. Hidalgo signed a minor league deal with the Orioles that included a spring training invite on 02/28/2006 but was released at his request on 03/07/2006.


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/transactions?team=bal

[JohnGelnarFan]

Thanks for the info. I tried to find a Japanese baseball site that had current rosters but couldn't. I only found leaders.I wonder if he did go? I see ex-Oriole,Sean Douglass,is playing there.