TUESDAY: Webb has passed his physical, so the deal is complete, Roch Kobatko MASNsports.com tweets.
FRIDAY: The Orioles and right-hander Ryan Webb have agreed to a two-year, $4.5MM contract, according to Jonah Keri of Grantland and Baseball Tonight (Twitter link). Webb, who was somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by the Marlins earlier in the week, is represented by the Wasserman Media Group.
As Keri notes, the Orioles like that Webb has a similarly high ground-ball rate to the recently traded Jim Johnson (Twitter links). Indeed, Webb's 56.3 percent ground-ball rate in 2013 was just a shade below Johnson's mark of 58 percent. In total, Webb posted a 2.91 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings for the Marlins last season.
Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette has been active on the bullpen front this offseason. In addition to trading Johnson, he's added under-the-radar options in left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz and right-hander Edgmer Escalona to surprising, albeit low-risk Major League contracts.
Webb projected to earn just $1.5MM through arbitration this offseason (per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), so his agents did well to secure a two-year pact at a higher annual value.
