BALTIMORE -- J.J. Hardy signed a three-year contract with the Orioles on Thursday night, the eve of Baltimore's first appearance in the AL Championship Series since 1997.
The contract comes with an option for 2018. Terms were not released. His current deal expires at the end of this season.
Hardy has been a fixture at shortstop for the Orioles since 2011, playing solid defense and providing decent hitting in a lineup filled with sluggers.
Although he hit only nine homers this season, Hardy totaled 77 long balls over the previous three years and won Gold Gloves in 2012 and 2013.
The 32-year-old Hardy batted .268 with 52 RBIs in 141 games during the regular season, then went 3 for 10 in Baltimore's three-game sweep of Detroit in the AL Division Series.
In the field, he ranked second among AL shortstops with 99 double plays turned, was third in fielding percentage (.978) and assists (394), and fifth in putouts (187).
Hardy is a two-time All-Star, in 2007 with Milwaukee and last year as a member of the Orioles (see full story).
MLB
Cardinals: Wainwright to start NLCS Game 1
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals are sticking with the same rotation that clicked in the first round of the postseason and ace Adam Wainwright is set to pitch Game 1 of the National League championship series against the San Francisco Giants.
Manager Mike Matheny announced his starters on Thursday, two days ahead of the series opener.
Lance Lynn will work Game 2, followed by John Lackey and Shelby Miller. Michael Wacha, who didn't pitch in the division series, will remain in the bullpen available for long relief (see full story).
Orioles: Chris Davis left off ALCS roster
BALTIMORE -- Suspended slugger Chris Davis won't be playing in the AL Championship Series for the Baltimore Orioles.
Manager Buck Showalter said Thursday that Davis will be omitted from the 25-man roster, which must be submitted on Friday morning before the Orioles host the Kansas City Royals in Game 1.
Davis was suspended for 25 games by Major League Baseball on Sept. 12 for testing positive for Adderall, a banned amphetamine.
His suspension included the final 17 games of the regular season and Baltimore's three-game sweep of Detroit in the AL Division Series, meaning the first baseman has five games left to serve.
"We're not going to play with 24 for five games," Showalter said.
The only way Davis could play if the ALCS reaches six games is if he replaces an injured teammate on the roster.
Showalter said he would re-assess the situation if the Orioles advance to the World Series.
"If we're fortunate enough to continue to play, then we'll revisit it," he said.
Orioles: Markakis savors long-awaited trip to playoffs
BALTIMORE -- Nick Markakis endured the lean years with the Baltimore Orioles, suffering through one losing season after another during the worst stretch in franchise history.
If that wasn't bad enough, when the Orioles finally turned things around in 2012, Markakis sat out the playoffs with a broken thumb.
Now, nine years into his major league career, the 30-year-old right fielder is getting his first taste of postseason baseball. No one on Baltimore's current roster has spent more time with the team than Markakis, whose loyalty to the Orioles has never wavered since they made him their first-round pick in the 2003 draft.
Even after Baltimore went 70-92, 69-93 and 68-93 in his first three major league seasons, Markakis remained confident he would ultimately reach the playoffs with the Orioles.
So he signed a six-year extension in 2009 during Baltimore's miserable run of 14 straight losing seasons (see full story).
MLB: Davis and West named LCS crew chiefs
NEW YORK -- Gerry Davis is going to be the crew chief for the NL Championship Series and Joe West is heading the umpires for the ALCS, each reprising the role they held last postseason.
Major League Baseball announced the crews Thursday.
Davis will be joined by Mark Carlson, Phil Cuzzi, Paul Emmel, Greg Gibson, Bill Miller and Bill Welke. Under the new format, the replay officials will be Emmel for Games 1 and 2 and then Cuzzi from Game 3 through end of the NLCS. Emmel will take Cuzzi's spot on the field. The series opens Saturday night in St. Louis.
Brian Gorman, Marvin Hudson, Dan Iassogna, Ron Kulpa, Tim Timmons and Mark Wegner comprise West's crew. Iassogna will be the replay official for the first two games, and he will swap spots with Timmons starting with Game 3. The ALCS is scheduled to start on Friday night in Baltimore.
Umpire Todd Tichenor will assist the designated replay officials in New York.