The Orioles announced a three-year deal with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen today, but that’s far from the only news to trickle out of Baltimore today. Here’s the latest on the club…
- Now that they’ve signed Chen, the Orioles are going forward with Jim Johnson in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweets. Johnson, 28, posted a 2.67 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 91 innings of relief for Baltimore in 2011 and there's been talk of moving him to the rotation.
- The Orioles haven’t discussed a possible contract extension with Adam Jones, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Jones projects to earn $5.8MM or so in 2012 as a second time arbitration eligible player
- GM Dan Duquette has had contact with free agent Luke Scott, Ghiroli tweets. However, no deal appears to be brewing between the Orioles and Scott, who got non-tendered in December.
- Kubatko suggests Chen, Jeremy Guthrie and Tommy Hunter will be in next year's rotation and that hopefuls such as Zach Britton and Brian Matusz will have to earn their rotation spots by pitching well in Spring Training.
Does anyone know the minimum amount of days you need to gain a full year of service time? Because as I recall, Britton was called up a week or two into the season and spent the whole year in the Majors, but he has 159 days of service time and not a year.
He was sent down in the middle of the season to make it so he wouldn’t qualify for a full year of service and because he wasn’t pitching well. This happened on July 9 and he was recalled on July 30.
sending him down in july delayed his free agency but i believe he is still on track for an extra yr of arb eligibility. its a joke if he starts the season in aaa. he was our 2nd best starter all yr.
guthrie, chen, arrieta, britton, hunter
unless guthrie is traded, then eveland or matusz will be in
what about wada? it shouldnt be hunter. hunter should be bullpen or aaa
Hunter would do great in the bullpen I believe. The times he pitched out of the pen for Texas, his off speed stuff made him tough to hit. It’s when he gets to the lineup the 2nd and 3rd time through that he usually struggles.
agree
I think you nailed it, I think Britton is the #3 though and Arrieta #4 (to start the season).
It would be ridiculous if Britton has to “earn” his spot…is that a joke??? Only had the most wins on the entire pitching staff last year in half the amount of starts as one Jeremy Guthrie…Pencil in Guthrie, Hunter, Chen and Britton…let Arrieta and Matusz fight for the last spot
I think that Britton has the inside track for the 4th or 5th spot but I think the O’s are making a point to not save rotation spots for the young guys.
i agree brittons spot should be secure. but its pointless to mention guts win total compared to other pitchers. his run support is always terrible.
Not hating on Guthrie…I love him to death…point was just that, Britton is a sinker ball lefty that tops out at 96mph, who showed he can win and compete in the AL east, just no way he should have to compete for a rotation spot
“Only had the most wins on the entire pitching staff last year”
With 11 . . .
glad you can count
You don’t win favor here by being a jerk to the regular Os fans.
what about Tsuyoshi Wada?
wada has a shoulder issue that will prob push him to the pen to limit his innings and use
That’s what I was thinking-Wada!
Wouldn’t it be Guthrie-Wada-Chen and then the last two spots to Britton and Arrieta unless Hunter, Simon, Tillman, Matusz or Eveland can beat them out.
i agree with this. britton and arrieta should be the favorites going in (though i wouldnt complain if simon gets a chance). id expect matusz to take wadas spot at some point but he better have to earn it.
Guthrie Chen wada britton arrieta no contest.
That is how I am seeing it. Hunter in the pen and Matusz and Tillman in aaa. If either one of them show any of the promise they had Wada will be shipped to the pen as well. I’m wondering what they will do with Eveland (sp?) though, pen as well?
All i’m seeing is a 4th place team.
I’m seeing a 5th place team
When you shoot for .500 5th place is respectable right?
Why would Britton need to earn it? He was one of only 2 pitchers who looked competent for the Orioles last year.
Anyway my pick:
Guthrie
Britton
Chen
Wada
Hunter
wheres Arrieta? he was the best pitcher we had till his surgery. hunter bullpen arrieta rotation.
Luke Scott will sign with the Rays.
Getting non-tendered by the Orioles and then signed by the Rays is the MLB equivalent of getting kicked off the bus only to be picked up by a stretch limo…
The Rays usually sign players with talent though.
Guts, Britton, Arrietta, Wada, Chen. I see Tillman coming out of the bullpen, it seems as if he does fine in AAA, but can’t seem to make it in the majors. So maybe try him out of the bullpen. I’d have Matusz start AAA depending on his spring, with him hopefully pushing his way onto the team at some point. Not really sure why they signed Eveland at all. And Hunter is a 6th starter/ bullpen guy.
Trying Tillman in the bullpen makes the most sense for everyone. He’s been an absolute disaster in the rotation.
Also, I like Hunter more than Arrieta right now. Arrieta’s never going to get by with that walk rate…
Keep in mind how young Tillman is. He’s been thrown into the fire quite early IMO. I think he needs some special attention from coaches, because potential is there in his arm. He pitched a no-no in AAA Norfolk, and almost did the same against the Rangers in Cliff Lee’s Ranger debut two years back. He’s been overlooked by the coaches because of the fact that there are bigger name prospects like Matusz, Arrieta, and Britton (though they don’t really qualify as spects anymore), so that has hurt his development. I think that the O’s development coaches need three focuses this year: Dylan Bundy, Manny Machado, and Chris Tillman. If all three of them become solid players, the O’s will be in good shape to build their team.
tillman is not overlooked because of bigger name prospects. i remember that game against the rangers. he was throwing 92-94. the ball was moving all over the place. he was filthy. the problem is that most of the time he’s sitting 87-90 with a fastball that goes in a straight line and a curve that he cant throw for strikes. you need to watch him pitch more.
im probably gonna get killed for this but why not have arrieta,matusz,tillman hang out at AAA this year….this is a lost cause anyway so why not let all three stay there and work on their game???
I agree about Hunter. He was very effective as a relief pitcher for the Rangers but as a starter for the Orioles opponents batted over .300 against him. What could they be thinking?
Wada
Chen
Guthrie
Britton
Arrieta
Hunter
Matusz
Bergesen
Eveland
Tillman
My ideal rotation : Guthrie, Matusz, Chen, Britton, and either Hunter or Arrieta which ever plays better in ST.
Bergy, Eveland, Tillman – AAA
Wada – Bullpen
This.
I have not given up on Matusz yet.
I really hope he does well, it’d be a shame if he becomes a bust. I think that Buck Showalter needs to just spend a week of Spring Training solely focusing on Brian Matusz. If he can emerge as a solid pitcher, than I think other things can fall into place.
Has Matusz given up on Matusz is the question.
Hunter will be in the pen, Wada will be in the rotation. There is no way they spend that money on Wada and then have him end up in the pen to start the year.
Wada = next Koji. You guys ask why Britton has to earn a spot in the rotation? Well, he kinda sucked in some of his starts last year, despite looking great in others. It won’t be good for his development to throw him in to just suck some more, so Showalter probably wants to work out the kinks that made him stink in some starts before committing to him. Also, making him earn a spot will teach him that he has to work for things, and that they aren’t just going to be handed to him. Use some logic please…
um, giving a guy who out pitched almost everyone on our staff a rotation spot that hes already earned is not handing it to him. use some logic please…
Since Madson signed with the Reds. Any chance of Cordero joining the O’s?
How did he and Showalter get along?
bergy cant go to the minor’s he is out of option’s. They also said that berken has a chance for the rotation.
Who is this “they” and why are the keeping the good stuff all to themselves. Bergesen is going to get released and VandenHurk they have too many below average pitchers already.