Two days post Super Bowl, baseball fans everywhere are excitedly counting down the final days until that magical phrase that signals the unofficial end of the long, dark, homerless winter:
Pitchers and catchers report.
Here in Birdland, while there is plenty of anticipation for the new baseball year to begin, there is still a high level of angst amongst many of the faithful due to the O’s lack of impact offseason signings. For many (myself included) though, all is not yet lost. It wouldn’t take more than one or two key guys signing on the dotted line to move the winter’s grade from failing to at least passing – or better, depending.
Whether you’re in the A.J. Burnett camp, the Bronson Arroyo camp, or the “either/both” camp, chances are we’ll have our answer by the end of this week.
Over the weekend, the word on the street was that the Orioles had indeed offered a deal to Burnett, the former Marlin, Yankee, and most recently, Pittsburgh Pirate.
This tweet is from Don Olsen, a former minor league pitcher. While Olsen isn’t one of the big name MLB reporters, in my experience dealing with him, he knows what he’s talking about and wouldn’t just throw something like this up willy-nilly to get attention or to try to be the “first” to break a story.
AJ has a solid offer from the Orioles, so there is a good chance he ends up in Baltimore.
— Don Olsen (@Olsen_Don) February 2, 2014
Personally, my fingers are crossed that we hear of Burnett inking a deal with the O’s today or tomorrow.
Another name that’s gained traction over the past few days is that of Korean pitcher Suk-Min Yoon. Here’s MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli:
Although Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette declined comment on the rumored interest in Suk-Min Yoon at Saturday’s FanFest, the club has extended an offer to the right-handed pitcher MLB.com has confirmed.
Yoon, 27, is said to be coveted by at least five Major League clubs and the Scott Boras client is an intriguing international option in a free agent market with starters A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez still available.
What would Yoon add? The Korean righty has a fastball in the low 90s and was a member of the Kia Tigers’ rotation until a shoulder injury last year moved him to the bullpen. It’s unclear what his role would be if he signing with the Orioles —who still haven’t named a closer since trading away Jim Johnson— although Yoon has fared well as a starter. He pitched 325 1/3 innings from 2011-12 and posted a 2.77 ERA for the Tigers over that span.
Dan Duquette is batting .500 at the moment with his big Asian-market signings. Wei-Yin Chen (Taiwan) has been a pleasant surprise during his two years with the Birds (and hopefully keeps improving), while Tsuyoshi Wada (Japan) had Tommy John Surgery in 2012 and never threw a single pitch in orange and black. Wada got $8 million from the Birds for nothing and is now a member of the Chicago Cubs organization.
Hopefully the O’s are able to bring in Yoon, and Duquette’s average in the Pacific rim jumps to .667, instead of falling to .333.
Just like all the rest of you Birds fans, I’ll be watching the news with bated breath.
2 Responses
Hey Derek!
Did Olsen mention a source at all — any source, even an anonymous one? As a “lay reader,” is hard to hang my hat on the unsubstantiated words of one guy, even one who you say is trustworthy.
keep up the good work!
He did not, so obviously it’s your prerogative to trust him or not. If he ends up being wrong….