The Orioles announced that they signed right-hander Pat Neshek and catcher Ronny Paulino to minor league contracts. The team also signed Korean left-hander Seong-Min Kim to a minor league deal.
Neshek, 31, pitched 24 2/3 innings for the Padres in 2011. The sidearmer posted a 4.01 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 8.0 BB/9 and was granted free agency after the season. The Mets non-tendered Paulino in December after he posted a .268/.312/.351 line in 248 plate appearances last year. The seven-year veteran stopped 20% of stolen base attempts against him in 2011. He'll provide depth behind Matt Wieters and Taylor Teagarden.
Kim, who turns 18 in April, stands 5'11" and throws a fastball, curveball, change-up and slider, according to the team. “We are glad to sign a player that our scouts feel is one of the top amateur left-handed pitchers in South Korea,” Orioles executive VP of daseball operations Dan Duquette said in a statement. “Kim has an excellent curveball and very good control.”
The Orioles also signed former Braves right-hander Oscar Villarreal, former D'Backs catcher John Hester and former Athletics utility player Steven Tolleson to minor league deals.
“The O’s could have signed Fielder and Darvish this offseason”
I think this one statement is the whole problem. This is absolutely delusional. I could point out that you aren’t the only long-suffering fan this team has, but if you are really all torqued up about not signing Fielder and/or Darvish, when there was not even a semi-realistic chance that either one of them would sign here without the O’s paying twice what the Tigers/Rangers did, then you just want to be mad at the O’s. I’m ok with that. I don’t feel the need to do that myself, but you’re entitled. I’m just not going to try to argue with you.
Agreed. What exactly does signing Darvish and Fielder do for us? Push us out of the top 10 for the draft? Whoopee!
The Rays don’t have the hundred million and they’re a playoff team…
Paulino is a decent sign as a depth move. Stick him at Rochester (still their AAA team think?) and call ’em up if someone gets hurt, a better emergency guy than most teams have.
Really nice to see The Duke going back to the Asian market also.. This should pay some dividends if not with these lower tier players, but when hotter guys look to jump.
Norfolk. Rochester hasn’t been an Orioles affiliate in 15 years or so.
What is daseball?
I’m a few months away from being a lawyer. As a lawyer, and someone who is financially responsible for yourself and others, you should be able to understand why the O’s could not have paid 100 million + for Darvish and 200 million + for Fielder.
Is the Legal World Ready for you Rabbitov? :p
Also, as an Oriole Fan I wanted neither Darvish, nor Fielder!
As foa comment on these signings.
Depth should never be under-rated, it’s drives me crazy that the Orioles are heading straight to 5th place again. Does Angelos have any appreciation that this will be the 15th straight year of losing?
all that just to tell us you’re a lawyer
You’re out of your mind if you think Brian Roberts is ever making a comeback.
I have no idea how Ronny Paulino’s play has been since he left the Pirates, but his then-nickname of Joggin’ Ronny was well earned. maybe getting non-tendered and competing for the third-string catching job in Baltimore will light a fire under his posterior and ignite some hustle, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Well, I guess the only way the Orioles win the AL east is when I play them in MLB the show franchise mode.. again.. like every year…
So tell me then how signing Fielder and Darvish fixes the developmental aspect of the game? That is after all the real glaring issue. 15 years of high picks with nothing to show for it. At least they cleared house this offseason; that’s the only bright side you’ve got bud.
By the way, I admire Duquette’s recent plunge into the Eastern market. At least he’s trying something innovative
I’m just trying to connect the dots here … You’ve been advocating the long term benefits of forays into the international market since your early teens?
Sharp kid, I’d say. Might even grow up to be a condescending, arrogant lawyer — on the internet anyway.
“There’s no such thing as a good sign by the O’s…not until they do give
the fans a couple of signs to rave about. Until that kind of talent is
added, no moves really matter for this doomed franchise.”
These two comments seem to contradict each other. On one hand, they’re meaningless without a rave worthy signing, and now they’re intelligent moves.
… but you did say these signings were essential meaningless until the O’s sign someone the fans can “rave” about.
I apologize for not being able to read your post to the best of my ability, I had trouble seeing it behind your gigantic ego.
Yeah, those points had nothing to do with each other … yawn.
I believe “who cares?” was my line.
Who asked?
LOL
My comment wasn’t a personal attack at you, it was a criticism of what you said. I am pursuing my line of work to help people, you are in your line of work to flex your ego. Comparing reading your MLBtraderumor post to reading a case brief? You should be ashamed of yourself as a human being. I don’t know you, but I do know more about you than I wanted to know. Thanks for the advice.
Believe me, you don’t set the bar for who I would want to be.
I want you to read real closely the comments you made to complete strangers, and a fellow O’s fan on a message board and ask yourself if you are proud of them. I personally, am pretty shocked someone like you even exists.
Proving my point FTW.
Don’t try to reason with him, he’ll call you names and tell you that you have no future.
Youhaveseriousemotionalproblems.
Seriously dude, not even gonna sink to your level. I worked hard to get to where I am and I’ve worked three jobs every semester of school just to get by. You are just a bad person overall. Keep your nasty thoughts to yourself, or save them and say them to my face.
Btw, graduated I’d say around 2011. Name is Dan. A Lawyer. Doesn’t really matter if you went to UMD or U of B I know a lot of people at both schools in that year. Can’t be that many Dan’s. I am going to find out who you are and post these publicly.