Belle Reportedly to Join Orioles

Albert Belle and the Orioles essentially reached agreement Friday night on a contract that will bring the free agent outfielder to Baltimore, the Associated Press learned.

While there was no announcement by the Orioles, a source speaking on the condition he not be identified said Baltimore and Belle, 32, were “very, extremely close” to an agreement and he expected the deal to be announced in the next few days.

The source said that the money part of the contract had been agreed to but the rest of the deal had not been finalized. The source said the contract “was in the neighborhood” of the $65-million, five-year offer the Orioles had made earlier this week.

Baltimore had become Belle’s only alternative other than returning to the Chicago White Sox. A clause in Belle’s $55-million, five-year Chicago deal allowed him to seek free agency because his average salary was no longer in baseball’s top three. Belle had 49 home runs and 152 runs batted in this past season.