The Orioles have announced an agreement with free-agent righty Andrew Cashner. It’s a two-year, $16MM contract, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Cashner is represented by CAA Sports.
Cashner will receive consecutive salaries of $5MM and $8MM, Kubatko reports (Twitter links). The remaining $3MM is a signing bonus that will be deferred to 2020 through 2022, according to Kubatko and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter link).
There’s also a $10MM vesting option on the contract, in addition to $5MM available in yearly incentives, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (links to Twitter). The option becomes guaranteed if Cashner throws 340 innings over the first two seasons of the deal. It’d become a $10MM player option for Cashner in the event that he reached 360 total innings from 2018-19. Cashner has topped 170 innings in a season only twice, making those fairly lofty goals for a pitcher with his lack of durability. He’d need replicate his career-best 2015 workload (184 2/3 innings) in consecutive years to obtain the player option.
Cashner, 31, will give the Orioles some desperately needed depth for their rotation, as the only locks for starting jobs until this pickup were righties Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. He’s made at least 27 starts in each of the past three seasons and is coming off a 3.40 ERA through 166 2/3 innings with the Rangers, albeit with less-impressive marks of 4.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.
Cashner averaged 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in 2015-16 with the Padres and Marlins, but he somewhat bizarrely saw that number plummet upon signing on with the Rangers. The right-hander did significantly decrease the usage of his four-seam fastball in favor of cutter/sinker, so it’s possible that his pitch selection in 2017 played a large role in his decline in strikeouts. Cashner’s fastball velocity, after all, continued to average better than 93 mph. Still, his 6.1 percent swinging-strike rate and 4.6 K/9 mark were among the bottom two marks among all qualified starters.
Whatever the reasons behind it, the sudden lack of missed bats has to be considered somewhat of a red flag, especially moving into an AL East division that is stacked with some fairly potent lineups. Cashner should give the Orioles a more steadier option to occupy the third slot in the rotation than virtually any of the team’s internal candidates, though he currently profiles more as a back-of-the-rotation arm than mid-rotation starter. The O’s have reportedly been striving to add three starters this winter, including one lefty, so it’s quite possible that Cashner is the first of multiple additions for Baltimore in the weeks to come as Spring Training progresses.
It’s been a rather bleak scene for all free agents outside of the relief market thus far in the offseason, but while Cashner surely waited longer than he’d have hoped to land a deal, his $16MM guarantee falls pretty well within the parameters of reasonable expectations. Heading into the offseason, MLBTR listed Cashner 27th among free agents in terms of earning capacity and pegged him for a two-year, $20MM pact.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
They did something!
In that park ?
Camden isn’t much worse than Arlington and his ground ball percentage is reasonably healthy. A healthy mid 4 era is literally all the O’s need for a huge upgrade over literally any spot last year occupied by baldo, Miley, etc…
Yeah what does “in that park” even mean? He had one of the best gb%s last year out of the currently available piitchers.
My dementia ridden Grandmother is a better option than Ubaldo.
But can she pitcb?
I wouldnt call what ubaldo did pitchig ao can she pit h?
Ubaldo does it about as well as you spell it
Maybe I’m wrong but two years 16mil feels like an overpay to me. Seems like a weird way to spend 8 out of that previously reported $43m in budget space. Then again, Orioles.
Could have had Mike Pelfrey for that!
I forgot to use the proper metric. Andrew Cashner at one Pelf per year is a bit of an overpay.
I wonder if his agent used the “my client is as good as Mike Pelfrey” strategy?
That must have been what sealed the deal. At that point Duquette’s hands were tied, he simply had to sign Cashner.
Why would we want Pelfrey when he has more losses, is 3 years older and has a higher ERA by nearly +1.00. Cashner is the better deal by a longshot.
1 PELF per year!
That sounds about right to me. Just what Chacin got. Good value signing.
I agree. Good signing for the Orioles.
Chacin had good peripherals though, and will likely be able to replicate some of his success. Cashner has some of the worst peripherals in the game. I’d be shocked if Cashner comes anywhere close to the ERA he had last year.
Oh I’m not sure he will pitch to a 3.40 but a 3.80-3.95 is certainly realistic. Not to mention he will eat innings and get ground balls.
Honestly I don’t even see that happening. Texas is barely above avg for homeruns to lefties. Camden yards is a launching pad for lefties. he will really have to up his k rate and keep the ball on the ground to avoid getting destroyed. I think he’s gonna do about as well as Jeremy Hellickson did there.this year,
Highly unlikely. He had an xFIP over 5. He’s pretty bad.
Noooooooooo
In a related story the New York Yankees hit 10 HRs against Cashner in every game of the year
Judge hit home runs off the entire Oriole pitching staff last year, he can’t do any worse!!
Plus Cashner on Sept 9th 2017 pitched 7 innings and only gave up 3 hits and kept Judge in check
.695 OPS with 1 HR given up in 50 ABs vs Yankees. As someone who watched most of his starts last year I think he will serve the O’s well at the 8M per year.
Missing the breaking news part. Jeez at this rate just choke it up to breaking news. Now into my analysis. Horrible signing and won’t fit in.
That’ll be a disaster at Camden.
Why? Arlington isn’t exactly a prime spot for pitchers and he did well last year
He was lucky last year. His peripherals were horrible, especially his BB to K rate. He had 64 walks vs 86 k’s in 165 IP. That’s horrible. His velocity is steady at around 93. He generated a decent GB rate tho of 48%.
Not a bad deal for the O’s. They’re not looking to compete. Hopefully he can eat some innings for them. 2/$16 wont hurt the teams future. Upside is, if he does well then they can flip him and teams would have an additional year at a low cost.
His K’s dipped a ton because he was trying to keep the ball out of the air. His sinker isn’t exactly a swing and miss pitch, but it does end up with a lot of balls hit on the ground. When he started throwing it more often since the second half of 2016 his hard hit rate and HR rate have gone down significantly, but the K’s have also gone down and walks have gone up accordingly.
How many hitters parks are in the al east vs the al west ?
He will get lit up
Wow there is life in the warehouse
HORRIBLE!!!! I hoped they would aim higher than this. Seriously, when was the last time he posted numbers that were useful. I don’t even think he can be counted on for innings. Vargas would have a better chance of being useful.
dont worry. Vargas is still available. Orioles are still looking to add. You may get them both!
I think they will add Vargas to
Vargas is going to end up with the Mets…they need to pony up and get Cobb.
Why would you want your favourite team to invest long term money into Cobb or Lynn when they likely won’t be competitive beyond this year.
Anyone know if he was at the free agent spring training?
Who cares
Lol!!!
4.6K and 3.5BB/9. Not the sort of move that is going to help them compete. As an O’s fan I’d much rather see them start the rebuild now.
But as O’s fans we know that Angelos will never allow a rebuild. He won’t even allow Duke to sign any IFA players. Cashner is a back of the rotation starter and we needed 3 of them. 2 more of guys like him to go.
I know, wishful thinking on my part, This just has the same stench as the Gallardo signing and I can’t take it anymore. I’m old enough to remember the days when the O’s were a model organization and I hate what the franchise has become.
What does “were a model organization” mean? That they were signing $100m pitchers? I don’t remember that happening. Or that they were signing $50m pitchers? That I do remember….that Ubaldo signing really worked out well, huh?
The Orioles of the late 60s through the 70s – yes, i know that;s a long time ago – were widely recognized for having one of the best farm systems in baseball. They actually managed to develop talent, including pitchers, at that time. Those players came up and it was translated into success at the MLB level. That’s what I mean by a model organization. Obviously those days are long gone , especially the ability to develop pitchers.
They developed pitching instead of being forced to overpay in free agency.
They still have a puncher’s chance of developing a starting pitcher … Hunter Harvey could be a really legit ace if he could ever stay healthy
The sad truth is even if we start a rebuild we need an Andrew cashner to absorb innings. We can’t get through a season with a 3-5 of ynoa, Castro, and mike wright.
Good signing, low cost and a “medium-high” ceiling
Medium-High ceiling??? This is a DFA waiting to happen. 5+ era on the way!
Medium-High ceiling is on the ridiculous side but so is your DFA prediction.
A high ceiling for him is turning a 13 win season, sub 4.50 ERA and eat innings up for the Orioles. Wasn’t saying he’d be an Ace
13 wins is completely irrelevant
5 wins, era approaching 6, sent to the pen or DL by August.
Please note that when talking about ‘basements and ceilings’ you use those terms against league averages and such, not against an individuals own historical statistics. That is why you caught flack for saying medium-high ceiling. Medium-high ceiling is a legit #2 starter.
Now, I am not going to argue whether or not he can attain that status, but just advising on usage.
it’s more like low cost, low reward signing.
cashner should be good enough to be a 5th starter. just don’t except anything more.
they need 3 starters this is just one (not sure they will sign 2 more)
So it could total up to 3/31M?
It said YEARLY incentives so it could max out at 3/$41M.
It is hard to read, with the way that the article is laid out. I guess it is a casualty of getting the news before the information that backs the news. I’m glad we got the news right away though.
Sounds like a good deal for both sides to me. Orioles don’t want to spend on a top arm in FA, nor do they want to shred their system any further for a controllable arm. So, they get Cashner. If he doesn’t light it up, they get a guy who can eat ‘some’ innings, and if he puts in a solid year they might flip him before incentives kick in anyhow. Well, at least a good owner would try to do that.
This is what the bonehead FA’s need to start doing. The Roid era is over and teams aren’t paying big bucks for more than a couple of years beyond 30, when ‘most’ non-roiders start to seriously decline. Time for the players to adjust to the new norm and stop asking for ridiculous numbers of years beyond the regression age. Just go back to contracts in the 80’s to see where they should be at now. Back then, even five year deals were next to unheard of and almost no one over 30 got a contract more than a few years.
Honestly, it’s better for the fans, teams, and baseball that declining old players aren’t chewing up so much payroll. I am not saying they shouldn’t be paid but it needs to come back to reality. The horrible contracts of the last two decades need to go away. If they want to fix something, then remove a year or two of arb, increase MiLB minimums, and fix the ‘service time’ nonsense. Let’s get players up here at age 21-22, let fans enjoy them in their peak years, and then pay them by 25 or so instead of paying 37 year old’s that can’t run, field, and can barely even hit. I am sorry, but watching some of these old guys is just painful and it saddens me that young guys have to wait for those guys with huge contracts to retire despite being better. Obviously, there are rare exceptions (like Chipper and some pitchers, but most are far past being starter worthy by the age of 35 these days).
2 words:
Orioles Physical
Not a bad signing, not a good signing. This is a typical Oriole signing. Angelos will not allow any top FA pitchers to be signed by the O’s, so every year this is what he allows Duke to do. Overpay for mediocre veteran starters.
Thank goodness for the nats Well ran organization 50 miles away. No wonder Angeles didn’t want them around
And can’t even make it out of the Division series.
Exactly . It’s got them jack squat in the post season.
Yea especially the way they handle their catching situation. Wieters was a real bargain.
well at least he showed last year he can be somewhat healthy
So sick of these nerds and their numbers ruining baseball. Batting average in balls in play, xfip all these nonsensical numbers are hurting the game big time. You people who sit her e and judge people on these absurd made up numbers who couldn’t hit a 25mph fast ball but think your so enlightened. I’ll tell you one thing I can see without using a calculator the Yankees will pound this cashner into Oblivion. I hope he makes 5 or 6 starts against us and the feeding frenzy will be on. I sincerely hope this guy stays in Baltimore rotation all year actually they should bring back till man as well lol.
I think the advanced stats have their place in the game and aren’t ruining it, they are a nice tool. But I absolutely agree that they’ve become a crutch for lazy commenters that want to sound brilliant and make other people feel stupid. Defensive metrics especially need to be taken with a grain of salt.
As a Sox fan I too like the idea of Boston bashing this guy. I was PUMPED when they had grabbed Miley and Gallardo. Maybe he’ll surprise but I think he’s going to get pummeled this year.
Yeah cause you guys really rocked him last year
I take it they are too hard for you comprehend and that’s why you dislike them?
Also, what is with the us? Are you on the team or a part owner?
It’s called I watch the games. If u see a pitcher giving up mistle after mistle you can see he’s off I dont need a computer to tell me he’s off. Also I buy tickets and merchandise and everything so yeah I am part owner wise guy. Bunch of comedians on this site. Sorry I don’t buy into the ridiculous number of stats that are available many of them are pure hogwash. You people are so good with numbers why don’t u go to Las Vegas and clean up betting on baseball? It can’t be done these numbers and projections are a waste of time.
@pepelepew What is a mistle? Did you know there are stats that measure how hard the balls are hit? Stats are only hogwash to those that can’t spell or understand the stats. Maybe you should pay attention to the stats instead of your obviously mistaken eyes.
Yea, who needs stats when you can have run on sentences instead.
Mistle: “To fall in very fine drops, as rain; to drizzle.”
So I guess that means a weak hit which would be good for a pitcher?
Kslaw….. when a fan says “us” it’s because he/she has that right. You’re a FAN. You invest time, money and emotion into supporting something. I’ve had Ravens season tix for 22 years…. G*d d*mn right I say “us”. Same with the Orioles. You my friend, sound like an a$$hole.
Using math to analyze is never “ruining” said thing. It’s assumptions made from that analysis that can lead to degrading that product. Being curious about learning new things about something should never be considered a crime.
That’s fine but to me math and computers have no place in baseball. You can have your opinion it’s fine but that’s mine. Computers and online are ruining this country.
Did you say the same thing when the car replaced the horse and buggy?
Lol. I love when luddites speak out loud and remove any doubt.
You know you’re online right now, right?
😀
😀
😀
GET OFF MY GRASS YOU STINKING KIDS! TAKE YOUR COMPUTERS WITH YOU!
@pepelepew Then get offline. Put down your computer or phone and move back into the dark ages.
The empty can rattles the loudest
You do realise basic stats like ERA and AVG are math, right? It’s a game of numbers. Heck, scoring more runs than the opposition is math.
I’m thinking when you said mistle, you meant missile – not mistletoe. What you do in your own home is your business. Well, this magical math stuff will back up what you see – exit velocity, for example. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t understand.
And no, you’re not a part owner of a team because you buy merchandise – you’re a customer, nothing more.
Plus, computers and online are ruining this country? You ARE online.
I have to believe you’re a troll – I don’t want to believe you’re this ignorant.
I had an onion on my belt. Which was the style at the time.,……..
You clearly don’t understand the idea of measuring process instead of outcome. Stats that allow us to think like GMs are not ruining the game lol
pepesilvia sounds like the reason why Goose Gossage isn’t allowed to attend Spring Training anymore
Made up numbers ? You do know they keep stats for a reason right? So they don’t have to be made up! LoL
Have you looked at his stats against the Yankees and against the Yankees current roster? Go look it up.
Goose Gossage, is that you???
There is no Pepe Silvia. The guy is a ghost..
340 innings? 360 innings?! 31-years old and he’s never come close to either of those innings totals in back-to-back years.
hire a new agent, cashner. you’re getting ripped off.
it is combined innings over two years, not in each season!
The guy got $16 million guaranteed. That is pretty good for a guy that has been mediocre for years.
lol classic Orioles signing.
i would just go full rebuild if i were in charge of the Orioles. No way in hell could they win the division/secure WC spot. Maybe if they signed every FA left they MIGHT place 2nd in the AL East
I think with Moustakas, Cobb, and Lynn they’d be interesting. Their defense would be pretty atrocious but they’d hit tons of dingers as usual and have a passable rotation.
A “passable” rotation and a bad defense is a recipe for disaster. The pitching staff and defense feed off one another. I was a bit over-exaggerating with whole “every free agent” thing since there still is a good number of productive FA left, but even if they got Mous, Cobb, and Lynn the Yankees are still too good and unless the Red Sox completely collapse there is no room for the Orioles. Maybe in a couple years there will be. I would just ship everyone out that is expensive or doesnt have a lot of control left and get as many prospects as possible. They have too many holes and Machado isnt going to stay.
Not only would a team made up of all the remaining free agents from two weeks ago cost like 250 mil but they would be god awful. It’s too bad someone didnt try that so I could laugh when it failed and continue laughing in years two or 3. This narrative you gotta spend money to win or to improve is comical. If that was the case then the Yankees and dodgers should have multiple championships each in the last 5 yrs.
THE orioles don’t have bad defense. Our infield defense is good. Our outfield defense leaves a little to be desired. Could be upgraded if Hays does indeed start in the outfield this year though. Moustakas fits the orioles mold of not getting on base so personally I’d prefer someone else but he is better than Tim Beckham. If you gave us Lynn and Cobb in the rotation we’re certainly right there in the WC race. None of the teams competing for the WC have a rotation that’s significantly if at all better than that.
Dave Cameron, now analyst for the Padres, named Cashner a “landmine “ free agent on fangraphs.
fangraphs.com/blogs/the-2018-free-agent-landmines/
An $8M/yr landmine? Give me a break
LOL
I think the Phillies could have used Cashner at this price more than Tommy Hunter at 2/$18.
I still find it unbelievable that Tommy Hunter got 18 million dollars guaranteed.
Either way the Orioles are a lost cause. In my opinion, this won’t turn out to be worth it, but who else is there to sign that can somewhat pitch? I do hope Tillman is brought back. I think injuries hurt his performance big time last season
Right handed Wade Miley…..
Hardly. Miley got a MiL deal.
He’s comparing the player, not the contract.
He’s not great by any means but as a fan I’ll take this contract any day. He’s making what middle tier late inning guys were getting earlier this offseason.
Exactly, anyone not happy about this deal isn’t a fan. Casher isn’t a great pitcher but considering the depth of Orioles rotation, this works. Like I said, Casher is no ace but he’s certainly better than Asher, Wright, Miley or Jimenez.
Not the worst signing. His sinker easily grades out as his best pitch so I don’t think it’s a bad thing that he was using it more than the 4-seamer last year. He didn’t miss many bats admittedly, but missing barrels is arguably just as good.
Oh and this further proves what I was saying back in August that the Rangers should have traded him. Instead they get to lose him for nothing.
Marginal prospect v letting him suck up some innings the rest of the year. The biggest return they would’ve gotten was saving a million bucks on his contract.
Not the sexiest signing, but when you need to acquire 3 starters, not a bad place to start.
Yep, I agree.
Good signing. Like they said its better then any other in house options not to mention they weren’t going to go after the bigger named people. Just happy they finally did something.
I am genuinely surprised we gave him so many contract escalators. If he hits them we obviously will gladly pay him 3/41 but that’s quite a bit of cost uncertainty. Especially for a team like the Orioles.
I will believe it when I see a confirmation from the team that he actually passed their physical.
Lucky them, they were able to replace Jimenez perfectly with a near perfect clone!
…well except for the Cashier being much less of a work horse and having much less success (and especially repeatable success) over his career aspects. Oh, and Cash can’t K guys either. But otherwise pretty good match…
Ubaldo Jimenez was a shaky control pitcher with declining velocity. That’s a bad mix. Cashner isn’t. He might not be any good either but comparing the two is ridiculous. Jimenez as horrible as he was could still strike people out in Baltimore too but I’ll take an actual out anyway I can get them.
Somewhere out there, there is a unemployable orioles fan(not uncommon in bulletmore), who has time to down vote every negative post about the O’s. I just find that adorable.
It’s pathetic, still pretty adorable.
Care to look up or share stats on shootings and unemployment in Baltimore versus other MLB cities? No? Then STFU.
I downvote lots of ridiculous comments, and it’s cause I own a business and am sitting on my couch while the money comes in. Don’t judge just cause you’re miserable.
Compare crime and shooting between St Loius and Baltimore. St Louis is the murder capital of the US.
The odds of you actually owning a business, are lower than the democrats chances at stop presidents trumps agenda in November.
20% haircut within parameters of expectations?
A good signing….for every other team in the AL East. This should add two wins to their projections.
The Cashner contract is the one you get back in a trade where you are dumping a worse contract.
Well, it’s something. The O’s could have done worse.
Cannot be remotely worse than Ubaldo or Miley
Truth
Every decision the O’s make is always the wrong decision. The O’s are in baseball hell and need to just blow it up.
The Os had 5 straight winning seasons from 2012-2016. Over that period they had more wins than any team. How is that baseball hell?
Cause that was two years ago and things aren’t looking nearly as good now.
Only had one losing season out of last six. That is not baseball hell (see Marlins, Mets, Padres, Twins).
Twins made the playoffs last year. Perhaps you should replaced them with the A’s in baseball hell..
And let’s see how many losing seasons they have in the next ten
I feel like the other four AL east teams chipped in a couple million each to make this happen
Jays were linked to cashner just last week…
Just curious, are any of the pitchers that signed today Boras clients?
Nope.
With starting pitching at a premium, its a rather strong signing, but based on the O’s position (needing a rebuild, long shot to be great in ’18 etc.) I would have either front loaded it, or done 1-year. Especially with an inconsistent arm like Cashner.
If the deferred money is being compared to a signing bonus, wouldn’t he get the signing bonus now? Either way, this is a great move by the Orioles. He’s an upgrade over Gallardo, Miley, Hellickson, and those guys all were paid nearly double. This signing will look even better when coupled with a signing of Cobb or Lynn.
As a Yankees fan the signings by the Orioles and Blue Jays put a smile on my face. Am I calling Garcia and Cashner trash? Not at all. I think they are 2 solid back end of the rotation guys. But do I feel alright with the likes of them going up against Judge, Stanton, and Sanchez multiple times a year? I’d have to say… yeah
Cashner is fine if he’s a back end guy, which he will be, once the Orioles sign Cobb and Lynn. Then they might actually be a dark horse contender. But only if they sign those two big dogs.
Lol
Never been a huge fan of Cash even when he was a Padre.
Hard to believe nobody was willing to give him more than 13m over two years, when below avg relievers have been getting a lot more than that. I have no clue about that new contract the MLBPA signed with the owners, but it clearly hasn’t done the players any good.
Classic Orioles move. Sign a starting pitcher who can’t go more than 5 innings but that’s okay because they’ll pull him in 4-5 innings.
Interesting conclusion given Cashner averaged 6 innings per start last year.
Who would you have liked for 8mil a year? Please tell me who you would’ve signed for 16 mil over 2 years that is any better than cashner. We need multiple pitchers. it’s a good start.
#Bradthebadfish
Was hoping he would come full circle and return to the cubs. At least point the cubs won that trade. Cashner was on his way to being the first cubs ace since wood,prior ,and big z.
Injuries plagued that from happening.
It’s ok I never met a fish that was good with facts. O’s did better than Cubs today. O’s will get quality starter for $5M and Cubs will get a comparable for $21M.
Two of the biggest, one sided fleeces are now connected to the O’s. The Cubs fleeced the O’s for Arrieta and Strop. They also fleeced the Padres for Rizzo by trading…. Cashner who is now a member of the O’s.