Report: Orioles making progress on deal with Gallardo

The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly making progress on a deal for right-hander Yovani Gallardo, the top pitcher left in free agency, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

While terms of the potential deal are not yet known, sources tell Jon Heyman of MLB Network that there's talk of a three-year guaranteed contract.

Signing Gallardo, who rejected a qualifying offer from the Texas Rangers in November, would require the Orioles to forfeit their first-round pick (14th overall) in this year's draft, a move Dan Duquette had previously indicated the club was unwilling to do.

"We made a number of trades to keep our team in contention and have winning clubs the last four years and when you do that you have to give up good pitching from your farm system and we need the draft picks this year to help restock the farm system," the Orioles executive said. "I think we're gonna hold on to that pick."

Gallardo, who turns 30 later this month, has been a model of durability during his nine-year career, making at least 30 starts in seven consecutive seasons while posting a respectable 3.69 ERA and 8.2 K/9 rate over that stretch. Though his strikeout rate plummeted to a career-worst 15.3 percent last season, Gallardo's 3.42 ERA over 184 1/3 innings with the Rangers last year represented a new personal low.

Once believed to be a lock to return to his hometown Rangers on a short-term deal, Gallardo has been linked to the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros, among other clubs, this winter.

Baltimore's reluctance to surrender a draft pick for Gallardo has been tempered by its need for starting pitching, after the club lost lefty Wei-Yin Chen to a free-agent contract with the Miami Marlins this winter. The Orioles' offseason has been otherwise quite busy, with the club spending $207 million to re-sign Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, and reliever Darren O'Day.