photo c/o Roch Kubatko
WELCOME TO UBALDOMORE
The Orioles have been the butt of many jokes this offseason after remaining dormant and letting key contributors such as Nate McClouth and Jim Johnson leave in free agency and through trades. The fans of Baltimore soured when the team backed out of a deal with reliever Grant Balfour, citing issues with his physical. The Orioles seemed to be content to win around 80 games and miss the playoffs in the loaded AL East.
Then on Monday starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and the Orioles agreed to a four-year deal worth between $48-50 million, the largest for a free agent pitcher in Orioles’ history. Jimenez spent 2013 with the Cleveland Indians, and went 13-9 with a solid 3.30 ERA and threw over 180 innings. He will likely slot in the rotation as the number 2 starter behind Chris Tillman.
Jimenez led the league in losses in 2012, and was pitching to a middling ERA over 5 over 2011 and 2012. However, Jimenez finished in the top 3 of Cy Young voting in 2010 when he posted a 19-8 record with a sterling 2.88 ERA, and after adding a cutter to his arsenal midway through 2013, regained his form. In the second half of last season Jimenez pitched to an ERA of 1.80, the best in the American League.
Jimenez does not come without risk however as he has had control issues in the past, and even when he is on walks too many batters. But he struck out over a batter per inning in 2013 and if he can pitch around or under his career ERA of 3.92, he will be a significant upgrade for the Orioles rotation.
The reason Jimenez had remained unsigned up to this point was because he was tied to draft pick compensation. By signing him the O’s have forfeited their first-round pick in this June’s draft, and have made it clear their goal is to win now. If Jimenez is closer to the pitcher he was in the second half of 2013, the Orioles may have a steal.
Jimenez passed his physical and will be officially introduced today.
GONZALEZ RECOVERING FROM BACK SPASMS
Starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez, who won 11 games and registered a respectable 3.78 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP, left his workout last Saturday with reported back spasms. Since Saturday the Orioles have been cautious to bring Gonzalez back, and have been bringing him back up to speed slowly.
Gonzalez said Tuesday that he was not worried about slowing down his workout to ensure he was fully healthy to avoid a serious injury. “There’s no need to hurry up and get on the mound again,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not worried about that.”
Manager Buck Showalter had said Saturday originally that Gonzalez’s early exit from workouts on Saturday was a precaution, and that he was not scheduled to throw that day regardless saying Gonzalez was “fine.” He added, “If anything, we’ll probably have to slow him down at some point this spring anyway.”
Gonzalez played catch on consecutive days on Monday and Tuesday, threw 25 pitches on Wednesay, and is scheduled to throw a full bullpen session on Friday, which makes it seem likely that he avoided any serious injury. Gonzalez will likely be penciled in as the team’s third or fourth starter this season behind Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez, and possibly Wei-Yin Chen.
YOON OFFICIALLY INTRODUCED
Former South Korean pitcher Suk-Min Yoon turned down more money earlier this offseason to come to America in an attempt to make his dream of playing professional baseball come true. That dream became a reality Tuesday when he was formally introduced in a news conference with manager Buck Showalter and vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette.
Yoon’s contract is a three-year deal worth $5.75 million, but incentives in the contract can cause it to grow if he starts more games, with a maximum value of over $13 million. Yoon said through his interpreter during the press conference that besides liking the terms of the contract his favorite aspect of joining the Orioles is the opportunity to compete for a spot as a starting pitcher.
Yoon’s 2013 stats were a mixed bag as he pitched to a 4.00 ERA in Korea and saved seven games as he spent time in the bullpen after a shoulder injury, but he has shown the ability to be a starter in the past. In 2011 Yoon went 17-5 with a sterling 2.45 ERA. Duquette also noted that over the past 3 seasons, Yoon’s K/BB ratio is 3.72/1.
The team is currently working to get Yoon to be able to work out with his teammates as soon as possible, and the team is hopeful Yoon can avoid sending Yoon all the way back to South Korea. Duquette noted it would be resolved in the next few weeks, but with the physical passed and the deal signed, Yoon will be an Oriole in 2014.
O’S STILL IN ON CRUZ, MORALES
The Orioles’ marquee signing of starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez may not be the team’s last notable signing this offseason, as on Tuesday ESPN’s Jim Bowden reported that “Orioles not done…still alive on Nelson Cruz or Kendrys Morales.” It is currently unknown how serious the interest is on either player.
With the signing of Jimenez earlier this week the Orioles have forfeited their first round pick in this June’s draft, so while both Cruz and Morales have draft pick compensation, it would be easier for vice president of baseball operation Dan Duquette to part with. “If you do one, I think it makes the second one easier, frankly,” Duquette said on the subject in an interview with Foxsports.com.
If either Cruz or Morales was added, the team would lose only their second round pick, where the team is selecting outside of the top 50. The odds of that pick panning out are usually slim, so if Duquette can get a reasonable deal with either free agent, it would be a good fit.
Both Cruz and Morales would offer the team a relatively full-time designated hitter, although Cruz could make starts in left or right field at times, and Morales could play at first base occasionally to spell Chris Davis. Both players have held out for long-term deals this offseason, but with March just around the corner, neither can afford to hold out much longer. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners have both shown interest in at least one of the players as well.
