7:15pm: Jon Heyman tweets that Fowler’s contract is worth $33MM over three years.
6:27pm: In a full column, Kubatko adds that there is also not an opt-out clause in the deal, which is still pending the ever-important physical.
6:13pm: The Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck tweets that Fowler’s contract doesn’t contain any options. He also notes that the deal with Gallardo may yet survive the issues with his physical.
5:37pm: The Orioles and outfielder Dexter Fowler have agreed to terms on a three-year deal, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (via Twitter). The contract will be worth about $35MM in total, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). Fowler is a client of Excel Sports Management.
Fowler becomes the second potentially significant free agent addition for the Orioles over the past week, as the team also agreed to a three-year pact with right-hander Yovani Gallardo over the weekend. However, there’s said to be a holdup in that deal relating to Gallardo’s medicals. It at least bears mentioning that Fowler’s agreement would seem to fall closely in line with the three-year, $35MM deal to which Gallardo agreed. However, a deal in this range for Fowler was rumored to be a possibility before the Orioles even reportedly agreed to terms with Gallardo, and there is not yet any indication that Fowler’s deal is some kind of reallocation of the funds that were to be allotted to Gallardo. Should both deals remain in place, the pair of late agreements will hearken back to the Orioles’ February additions of Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez in 2014.
Fowler, 30 in March, should be penciled in as the everyday right fielder in Baltimore, as Adam Jones is locked into center field and offseason signee Hyun Soo Kim is said to be the team’s left fielder. (Baltimore reportedly doesn’t feel Kim has the arm strength for right field.) Fowler will bring to the top of the Orioles’ lineup a strong history of getting on base as well as moderate power and speed. The switch hitter is coming off a season in which he batted .250/.346/.411 with a career-best 17 home runs to go along with 20 stolen bases for the Cubs. He tacked on another pair of homers and another steal over the life of 39 postseason plate appearances with the Cubs, during which time he posted an .816 OPS. All told, Fowler is a career .267/.363/.418 hitter in 3830 Major League plate appearances. While he was at one time believed to be a product of Coors Field — his home park throughout the first four full seasons of his big league career — Fowler has quieted some of that talk by maintaining solid levels of production in Houston and Chicago after being traded in each of the past two offseasons.
From a defensive standpoint, metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved have never been bullish on Fowler’s work in center field, though he could certainly profile more favorably with the shift to an outfield corner. Even if he doesn’t prove to be a standout defender in right field, he should provide superior glovework to internal candidates such as Mark Trumbo, Nolan Reimold and Ryan Flaherty.
If a deal is completed, the Orioles would forfeit their top unprotected draft pick by adding Fowler to the fold. Should the deal for Gallardo also be completed, Baltimore would be sacrificing the 14th and 28th overall picks in the upcoming Rule 4 Draft (their current second pick, No. 29 overall, would improve to No. 28 upon forfeiture of the No. 14 pick). The Cubs, in turn, would pick up a draft pick at the end of the first round. The loss of those two picks for the Orioles certainly further damages Baltimore’s minor league system, which was recently rated among the worst in the league by outlets such as Baseball America and ESPN. Then again, the Orioles are in a clear win-now mode after re-signing Chris Davis and Darren O’Day this offseason (to say nothing of the Kim signing and Matt Wieters’ acceptance of the qualifying offer); the organization’s current focus, as evidenced by the agreements with Gallardo and Fowler, is on the present-day roster and making a run at the AL East.
Furthermore, as I recently outlined in the MLBTR Mailbag and discussed with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast, the Orioles could always shift course and aim for an aggressive rebuild midway through the 2017 season or in the 2017-18 offseason if the next two years don’t go as planned. With Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Jones, Fowler and Gallardo all lined up to hit free agency following the 2018 campaign, they’d have a huge number of short-term assets to be flipped for long-term gain. And, if the Orioles enjoy a strong run buoyed by this pair of late signings, the hit to the farm system will become little more than a footnote.
Should both deals ultimately come to fruition at the reported $35MM price tag, the Orioles will finish up the offseason as baseball’s most prolific spenders. The price tags on Fowler, Gallardo, Davis ($161MM), O’Day ($31MM), Wieters ($15.8MM) and Kim ($7MM) would bring the team’s free-agent expenditures to a staggering $284.8MM, to say nothing of the $9.15MM worth of salary added in acquiring Trumbo from the Mariners and avoiding arbitration with him on a one-year deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Glad to see him find work, Orioles fans, you’ve got a good player.
About time Wazz up with the O’s ownership and why isn’t Gallergo not in camp just sorry
How long until there’s an issue with his physical?
My best guess: 5 minutes ago.
I don’t follow the AL nearly as close as I do the NL. Is Baltimore a contender with this deal? I know their pitching isn’t great, and Toronto and Boston are strong but they do each have issues.
Are the Orioles a wild card team or could they go after the division title?
Everyone in the AL east is a legitimate contender for the AL east crown, anyone who says otherwise is probably a fan of an AL east team and picking their own team.
Agreed. It will be an interesting year in the ALE
and the AL Central. Any team in the AL West could win it , too.
Agreed the AL is going to be good all around to the wire again especially if the A’s have their bullpen matters fixed.
A’s have nothing BUT their bullpen. Outside of Gray, Reddick, and the pen, the’re awful.
In regards to your statement, I wouldn’t say they are a contender just because of this deal. Fowler is a viable starter and solid add, but it’s not really a gigantic signing. Baltimore will compete primarily based on how Jones, Machado, and Davis perform offensively. The pitching needs some work, but they are at least making some moves that may or may not help strike gold. I think I personally like the Red Sox’ chances the most and it’s hard to argue with the Blue Jays’ offense, but both the Yankees-with that bullpen- and Orioles could just as easily fly under the radar. I’m probably also the only one that thinks Starlin Castro will blossom on the Yankees, so take my opinion as you will.
Honestly, it seems like every al team has a shot this year
The O’s have either the best bullpen in the ALE or maybe tied with the Yanks. But Showalter handles his pitchers better than NY does, they drove Bettances into the ground.
Also the O’s are better defensively than the rest of the ALE. It will be an interesting year. I think the team who stays healthy will win it.
I’m not sure why you think Betances is driven into the ground. Because of a subpar September?
I’m also not sure where you get the idea that Showalter handles his pitchers better. Check this article out on Grantland (very long article though)
grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-playoffs-bullp…
They were probably referring to the one appearance they saw from a random Yankee? Idk. I’ve ran into a lot of AL east fans since moving out east that know very little. They base all their knowledge off ESPN or the one or two games they watch each year.
How was Bettances driven into the ground by the Orioles?
The Orioles hit .154 off of him with 1 run scored.. He struck them out 18 times (his second highest against any team).
I am happy that they got Fowler completed.
I am hopeful the Orioles still sign Gallardo.
The thing is with Gallardo the Orioles came to him and they wanted him as far as I know, So, I gotta believe they will work out something and get this done.
The Gallardo situation is a bit different than Balfour because Balfour was going to sign right after the GM meeting, Gallardo missed a a day or two in camp. That’s a lot of time difference and it would seem unfair to me to cut him loose like this especially when the O’s were the suitors in this case.
We’ll see though.
Yay for draft pick!
Won’t get a comp pick for signing Heyward, but Cubbies do get their 2nd round pick back..
Since the Cubs signed two players with QO attached, they’ll lose their compensation pick (even though those signings took place before this one).
The Cubs first overall pick will be in the second round.
O’s making this a 3-team race in the ALE
between the Jays, Sox and Yankees….
And how exactly are the Red Sox contenders?
Red Sox are favored to win
Red Sox have lots of question marks. Hanley and Sandoval drove in 91 runs between them and hit at best ..250. catching is untested and only one outfielder has even a season under their belt.. No real power outside of Big Poppy. Porcello and Buchholz will have to be at their best.
worst to first to worst to first…………..
Mookie Betts is amazing…Bogaerts was great, could theoretically blossom even more. Swihart should continue to develop. JBJ is an amazing fielder, Pedroia is still serviceable, Hanley hits when he’s healthy-fielding aside, Castillo/Young aren’t a bad platoon, Holt is a solid super utility, they added Price and Kimbrel, Owens could very well light fire, Buccholz is capable…there are a lot of pieces in place for a big year. They have some good players on the farm. I personally think the lone issue is chemistry.
They had a good August and September. Improved their pen, and picked up the best SP on the market. They’re definitely contenders (On Paper)
Yeah, but John Farrell is back.
because they’ve got a pretty good offense and their rotation is probably second best in that entire division now that they’ve got Price
though admittedly ranking the ALE rotations outside of Tampa is a lot like that scene from South Park where Cartman and Butters discussed the pros and cons of various shades of human waste… but still
The rays have a better shot the o’s do
Your high
When the o’s don’t score any runs on the Rays the o’s are going to lose, and the o’s don’t have a real ace like the Rays
I’ll give it three days before the O’s find something wrong with his physical.
Solid regular, you know what youre getting with him and youre getting a good player who does a lot of things well. If he has over 9 fWAR over the next 3 years they got a bargain, if he has 6 fWAR then its about average value for money.
One thing that will never change is Baltimore gets no respect.best record in MLB over the past four years and still are picked for last.it’s kinda comical
Buck probably prefers it like that easier to get them to buy in.
Who needs pitching when you have the smash squad?
What round pick would they have to give up to get Desmond? Why not pick him up as an upgrade at 2nd over Schoop?
He isnt an upgrade over School who will be the breakout player this year. Not to mention that Schoop is making under a Million. .300 BA 25-30 HRs in a full season.this year.
A.) Desmond is a shortstop
B.) Desmond would not be an upgrade over Schoop, even if he were a second baseman
Desmond is a good player but he is DEFINITELY NOT an upgrade over Schoop at 2nd
Schoop has a lifetime .270 OBP, even Desmond’s stinker season last year was an improvement over that and there have been multiple articles linking him to a position change. If the O’s are in “win-now” mode, it’s worth some deliberation. His ceiling for 2016 is definitely higher than Schoop’s and his floor is higher too, it’s just a matter of what the O’s are willing to forfeit and if it’s a 2-yr deal with only the sacrifice of a, what?, 3rd round pick, why not go for it?
The O’s are all about defense and Schoop is way better defensively than Desmond. Schoop is also 24 and is only getting better. Desmond had a .233 average with 19 home runs. Schoop hit .279 with 15 home runs in 70 less games last year. You have no way of proving that Desmond will be better than Schoop next year so don’t even try.
small sample size is small
Put Desmond at third and move Machado to short. Hardy is toast.
This team has solidified two out of three of its biggest weaknesses, right field and mid rotation pitcher. Ultimately the third would be a true top of the rotation starter. Their lineup 1-9 is as good as any in baseball. Fowler adds a dimention of depth missing when Markakis left. The rotation isn’t great but it looks good enough. The bullpen is one of the best. The defense is one of the best. This team is being underrated especially with the additions of Gallardo and Fowler.
Dex is a fine player but kind of a weird match in right field. He can’t throw at all.
Anything better than the options on the roster already
And Pedro Alvarez’s market continues to shrink. Not too many openings for him now. Maybe now Boras will stop overplaying his hand and get him a platoon DH job somewhere
He should go to Japan. He could break records over there.
Naw dude, he should play in the KBO.
Great move. His range will work in right, his arm should be fine. He’s got enough arm strength to hold people at first and throws from RF to 3rd don’t happen often enough for that to bring his value down. Can’t believe he only cost 35 over 3. Proven switch hitting leadoff guy with speed and pop. I’m envious. I like what the orioles done, that being said, the East is looking crazy tough. Rays dont have the firepower to keep up with the other 4.
Getting a player as good as Fowler at 3/33 is a steal. Great move by the Orioles and they’re definitely going to compete this year
Funny. That’s the same contract O’s offered to markakis. I would take fowler over nick.
(Sorry nick, I still where your jersey)
Glad Flower landed. Bet that QO looks good now. He probably would been better taking the year then going FA next year. Glad the Os signed him before the other one. Gets us a better draft. East is going to be tight.
The Orioles team payroll for 2016 is in uncharted territory. For just just 18 players their payroll with the Fowler signing is $130MM+ and that’s still without that “pitcher” be it Gallardo who’s deal has hit a snag or someone else.. If the Gallardo deal does go through at some point that will bump their payroll to about $140MM for 19 players.
That could when it’s said and done payroll would be at about $160MM for MLB Luxury Tax purposes for their 40 man roster, benefits and insurance (benefits & insurance is a charge by MLB to all teams).
Seems like they shoud have just added an extra year and 3 million per season and could have just kept Nelson Cruz last year. SMH
LOL, he just re-signed with the Cubs now.
Os fans woke up this morning and said it was all a dream.
Oh no Os front office is a fraud. We suck again. LMAO