Grant Balfour

Playing armchair general manager is often met with skepticism. In an ideal world, the New York Mets would have outbid the Seattle Mariners for Robinson Cano’s services, subsequently adding one of the premier offensive threats at a notoriously light-hitting position.

After trading away closer Jim Johnson in early December, the Baltimore Orioles locked in on free agent Grant Balfour as their ideal replacement.

He may not have been their first choice, but signing Fernando Rodney would be a good use of money for the Baltimore Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles have a new closer, and one thing we know is that he'll be cheaper in 2014 than their old closer would have been.

But better? I wouldn't be quick to count on it, no.

The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly reached an agreement with relief pitcher Grant Balfour on a two-year deal.

Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reported the news:

Day two of the winter meeting got off to a bang as the rumored three-team deal between the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels came together rather quickly and was a reality by early afternoon.

With one more day before the focus turns to the Rule 5 draft on Thursday, expect at least a few more big free agent signings and/or trades to happen over the next 24-30 hours or so.

The action was modest through the first two days of the Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., with a couple of secondary-type signings taking place, as well as the interesting three-way trade between the Angels, Diamondbacks and White Sox.

Grant Balfour has been a force at the back of the Oakland Athletics' bullpen for the last three years, but could be on his way out now that his contract has expired.

The Oakland Athletics, which are currently tied for first with the Texas Rangers in the American League West and also have the fourth most wins in the majors, only have one All-Star representative: Bartolo Colon.

With the 2013 MLB All-Star Game rosters finally revealed, some pitchers might be staring at the selections in disbelief. 

The MLB tweeted both rosters' pitchers: