Wednesday’s O’verview: AL East adds, O’s sit tight

TANAKA JOINS EVIL EMPIRE

Early this morning, Japanese pitching ace Masahiro Tanaka and his agent accepted an offer from the New York Yankees for $155 million over seven years, with an opt-out clause for Tanaka after the first four years. The news was first broke on Twitter from Foxsports.com’s insider Ken Rosenthal.

Tanaka will own the fourth-highest deal for a pitcher as far as length and potential earnings in MLB history behind only Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, and CC Sabathia. Tanaka has never thrown a pitch in the major leagues, but will immediately be expected to perform at an elite level. If his track record in Japan is any indicator, he will do just that, as he posted a 24-0 record with a 1.27 ERA for the Rakuten Golden Eagles last year.

The deadline to sign Tanaka was 5 PM Eastern on Friday, and the deal comes after recent reports stated that the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers were the favorites to land the 25-year-old. The Dodgers reportedly offered more money to Tanaka, but would not add the opt-out clause the Yankees eventually offered.

While it hurts to see such a prized free agent sign with a division rival, the worst part of the move for Orioles fans is that now other pitching dominoes may begin to fall as players such as Bronson Arroyo, Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana will receive more attention from teams that had previously been all in on Tanaka such as the Dodgers or Chicago Cubs. Hopefully the Orioles do not use that excuse to not add any of the remaining free agent pitchers.

WIETERS HEADING TO ARBITRATION

Catcher Matt Wieters failed to agree with the Orioles ahead of last Friday’s arbitration deadline, as he denied the team’s offer of $6.5 million and filed for $8.75 million. Wieters made $5.5 million in 2013 which was his first year being arbitration eligible. The arbitration hearing will allow both Wieters and the Orioles to state their cases before a panel of three judges, and have the panel determine the contract.

Wieters had a slight decline in offensive stats in 2013 as he hit .235 and reached base at only a .287 clip. He did however hit over 20 homeruns for the third consecutive year. His 79 RBI were also third on the team behind only RBI league leader Chris Davis and Adam Jones. His defense remained on par with his recent seasons as he stopped 35% of base stealers after gunning out 39% in 2012. He was a finalist for a gold glove after winning one in 2012, but did not win.

Teams often attempt to avoid arbitration, as it is uncomfortable for both the team and the player to debate how much the player is worth. If the Orioles want to attempt to lock up Wieters long-term after he becomes a free agent after the 2015 season, it does not benefit them to go to a hearing only to explain to Wieters why he is not as good as he thinks he is.

The rest of the arbitration-eligible Orioles agreed to deals with the team before the deadline, headed by first baseman Chris Davis who received a one-year deal worth $10.35 million after finishing third in the MVP race in 2013. Pitchers Tommy Hunter, Bud Norris, Brian Matusz, and Troy Patton also reached agreements last week.

SCHOOP NAMED 6^th BEST SECOND BASE PROSPECT

With Brian Roberts leaving in free agency to sign with the Yankees, the prospects of Ryan Flaherty, Jemile Weeks, and Alexi Casilla platooning at second base in 2014 will not strike fear into many teams, but help may be on the way soon. Twenty-two-year-old prospect Jonathon Schoop was recently named the sixth-best second base prospect in all of baseball, and while he is likely to open the year in Triple-A, he may not stay there long.

Schoop has already appeared at three levels of minor league ball with the Orioles, and played in 70 games last year with Triple-A Norfolk. He hit .256 with nine homers and 34 RBI, showcasing his ability to provide above-average power from second base. He also drew praise for his strong arm, which makes him an ideal second or third baseman, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline.

In only five games in the major leagues last season, Schoop hit .286 with a homer and a walk in 15 at bats. However, the main purpose for Schoop playing last season with the big league team when he did was so that he could observe players like J.J.Hardy and Manny Machado up close.

Schoop is the Orioles’ highest ranked position player in the minor leagues according to most analysts, and is behind only pitchers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman overall. If Schoop can have a strong spring, he may be able to break camp with the Orioles, and even if he doesn’t he may be asked to join the big league team sooner rather than later if players like Casilla and Flaherty falter. Anybody with this kind of power from second base has a chance at a bright future.

SI.COM GIVES ORIOLES OFFSEASON SO FAR A “D” GRADE, BACK LOUGH

Cliff Cocroran of SI.com does a preliminary analysis of all 30 teams’ offseasons at this point and wrote earlier today that the Orioles offseason up to this point has been worthy of a “D” grade. Cocroran added that the only reason the Orioles have avoided an “F” is because moves like acquiring David Lough and Ryan Webb have been shrewd but still not enough to compete in the loaded AL East.

Cocroran argues further that Lough may actually be an upgrade from the recently departed Nate McLouth as Lough is already a better fielder than McLouth, and actually is superior offensively as well as he hit .286 last year as a rookie. Lough is also not arbitration eligible for two more years, and will be cheaper.

The worst part of the offseason so far according to Cocroran has been their inability to sign a designated hitter that “inspires any kind of confidence.” Cocroran believes the current plan is to platoon Delmon Young – who hits left-handed pitching well – with Henry Urrutia or Quintin Berry, and that this setup will not be enough to improve from last season’s underperformers such as Mike Morse.

Cocroran holds out hope however that the Orioles may still sign a free agent pitcher and mentions that the Orioles were one of three teams who requested medical reports on free agent Ervin Santana. If Santana or another comparable free agent pitcher is signed, the final offseason grade may jump considerably. Unfortunately, up to this point it has been tough for Orioles fans to sit through.