In a bit of not-so-surprising news, Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun reports that the O’s will exercise the club options on the contracts of both Wei-Yin Chen and Darren O’Day for 2015.
Chen’s option ($4.75M) is a downright bargain for a guy who just put together a 16-win season as a starting pitcher. I was relieved to hear Chen had an option, as I thought I remembered that he only signed a three-year deal upon coming to the Orioles in 2012.
Chen’s ERA, WHIP, and FIP have improved every year in Baltimore, and he finished 2014 with an ERA of 3.54 and FIP of 3.89. It’s great news that he’ll be a staple in the rotation again in 2015.
Connolly reports that O’Day’s option is $4.25M, which may be a bit on the expensive side for a reliever, but O’Day is worth every penny. Though he struggled a bit over the last month of the season (and, unfortunately, in the ALCS), O’Day was lights out against righties AND lefties for the vast majority of the year. With Andrew Miller’s status very much up-in-the-air, there was no way the team could afford to lose the submariner from Jacksonville.
O’DAYYY, O’DAY, O’DAY, O’DAY….O’DAYYYY, O’DAYYYYYYYY!
One guy who likely won’t be back is catcher Nick Hundley, so it looks like Chris Tillman will have to make due with either Matt Wieters or Caleb Joseph next year. Hundley’s option was $5M, which is way too much for a backup catcher. While Birdland very much appreciates the work Hundley did in Wieters’ stead, all we can do is wish him luck in the future.
I liked Hundley, whose bat seemed a bit more consistent than that of Joseph, especially during the latter’s September swoon, but Nick was a very disappointing 1-for-15 this postseason.
