4:53pm: Baltimore announced the signing. Rule 5 pick Drew Jackson was designated for assignment to create roster space.
Jackson, 25, will be offered back to the Dodgers if he clears waivers. He had not appeared above the Double-A level prior to his brief stint with the O’s. Jackson slashed .251/.356/.447 with 15 home runs in 410 Double-A plate appearances last year.
3:42pm: The Orioles have agreed to a MLB deal with righty Dan Straily, as first reported on a transactional website that declines attribution. The deal comes with a $575K salary along with a $250K trade bonus, per Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).
This move will help the O’s fill some innings and give Straily a sure rotation spot as he seeks to rebuild some value. Straily was cut loose late in camp by the Marlins, who are obligated to him for 45 days of severance pay on his previously agreed-upon, $5MM arbitration salary — about $1.21MM.
Straily, 30, has rarely been a high-end producer but has steadily eaten innings while providing solid results. Through 495 1/3 frames over the past three seasons, he carries a 4.03 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Straily gives up too many home runs and has typically outperformed his peripherals. He has long generated a solid number of swinging strikes (10.8% for his career), but declined in that area last year while also seeing a worrying jump in hard contact. Long an extreme flyball pitcher, Straily will face a big challenge in Orioles Park.
Contenders that find themselves with a rotation opening and little in the way of cash to work with may see some appeal in Straily come late July. It’s not hard to imagine him turning into something of a trade deadline chip for the O’s, who’ll no doubt be willing to strike a deal if there’s any kind of intriguing return to be found. That possibility was obviously foreseen by both sides, given the inclusion of an unusually hefty (for this level of signing) assignment bonus.
Well I don’t think the marlins were cheap. This guy clearly just wasn’t worth the salary. 575K is nothing.
If you think 575K is nothing, will you hire me?
Obviously in this context it’s nothing.
LOL
Well, I would that sucks for him, but I guess he did choose to go there.
The marlins didn’t want him in their rotation. You won’t find an easier one to make than the one in Baltimore. It was the right choice if he wanted an opportunity. Hard to see a successful marriage given his extreme fly ball tendencies though.
He was successful in Cincy and that park is homer friendly too. People really overvalue parks. They do matter a little, but not nearly as much as people think.
1 year in Cincinnati with unrepeatable numbers. The metrics weren’t good at all. Being a fly ball pitcher in Camden yards isn’t ideal. It definitely makes a difference. I find it hard to believe he’ll find success.
And he too was homer friendly in Cincy, giving up a league leading 31 HRs.
He’s trying to rebuild his value with a team that he will have absolutely no pressure on and that’s the O’s. Then again he was with the marlins.
Marlins park is an eye sore. This is an improvement
But, Camden Yards is not the best place to rebuild your value, which is the point I did a bad job making.
Tough division in-general (AL East).
Got it.
well thats the worst place for him to go. last stop of his career.
Extreme fly ball pitcher in that park? Not great Bob
Plus AL East… I get that he is at least on a team with little threat to lose his spot, but he could have found a team in the AL Central looking for an innings eater. Especially for relative peanuts.
He’s going to be the first true starter reclamation project in Baltimore under the Elias regime. I understand why everyone thinks his number’s will skyrocket… But that was in the past with pathetic pitching coordinators up and down the entire organization. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of Camden Yards being a SP graveyard.
he has pretty bad numbers throughout his entire carrer. few so so years. Pitching coordinators are important but dont make or break a pitcher either. Clearly, the talent is just not there
He may actually be the opposite, talent is there but either mechanics, attitude, preparation, etc. aren’t. Most likely will be a bust, but it is not fair to the new regime to bash on these pickups.
the only issue with signings like this is whats the point? why not give a kid a chance to come up and make an impact? clearly, the O’s are rebuilding so moves like this don’t make much sense to me. i’d rather see a team full of kids so the ownership can see what to hang on to. just my two cents but i’m not an Os fan idk what you guys got in the way of prospect talent, must not be too much
Probably 2 pitchers at AA or above with 3rd starter ceilings, Akin and Harvey. Harvey is often injured. All the potential SP talent is still 2+years away. The sooner the Orioles can start DFA’ing people off the 40 man that have no business being in the majors, the better.. I.E. Wright, Araujo, Davis, etc.
I think that their feelings on the matter is they signed him cheaply and if he pitches halfway decently, they flip him at the trading deadline. If they do move one of their higher-priced starters like Cobb, Straily can help hold down a spot in the rotation without putting too many innings on the young starters’ arms.
None of those guys are ready. We don’t even have 5 guys in our rotation yesterday. I couldn’t tell you who our 5th starter was going to be before this signing. Straily is your prototypical innings eater. Which will help, the bullpen has been taxed already.
Araujo is already off the 40 man roster.
Transaction site that does not want attribution? Never seen that before.
And how does an mlb deal come with an “in the majors” salary component?
That is interesting…..
The internet is a strange place. On the second point, I just phrased that poorly and have edited it. Thanks for pointing it out.
Tough home ball park and a tough division to pitch in (especially for a fly ball pitcher), but Straily should definitely have a rotation spot in Baltimore.
kinda silly how much the people here are poo-pooing Straily. hes been a workhorse the past three years, and yes he will be shelled in BAL, but that doesnt make him a bad pitcher. mediocre perhaps, but not bad.
Picking up Straily? Great move.
DFAing Jackson instead of Mike “I would still suck in the Atlantic League” Wright? nonononononononnononononoo
Jackson’s not very good. I think we should use his slot for a true backup OF since Alberto seems to be our MIF backup. Wotherspoon can easily be optioned down to accommodate.
Agreed, for their situation DFAing Jackson makes little sense. Unless they can mimic the Araujo deal and get him back for excess int’l funds.
If you’re not going to keep or play Jackson all year this move was inevitable. He’s better off actually playing to get better. He’s not a natural OF and if he’s not getting reps it’s not helping. I suspect the dodgers would move him for intl money considering how stocked they are with prospects right now. And I think drew Jackson is Ryan Flaherty 2.0 if we’re lucky.
No yeah, Jackson’s probably nothing, but Mike Wright is trash and a pitcher will have to be optioned or DFAed anyway in order to make space for Straily.
I think Wotherspoon goes down first.
Wotherspoon is already down.
Everybody poo poos everything this team does. He is a cheap, solid arm that the team can flip if things fall right. There is nothing wrong with this move for this team at all. Perfect fit, honestly.
The Jackson thing I understand less, unless they think they can work a trade for him or unless he really wasn’t ready, and they need the roster spot. Hope the best for him.
Maybe the new Orioles analytics team can use him to sharpen their skills. Reduce fly outs and create a trade piece.
Just seems like they could have traded him and gotten something decent in return to the O’s. Heck, completely salary relief is very reasonable for him
Orioles prerequisite: Must have a red beard to pitch!! Cobb, Cashner, and Strailey.
Getting rid of Jackson will be a mistake
Excellent move for Baltimore. To get Straily for $575K is a no-brainer. At the worst, he eats innings for a team that is in full rebuild mode. If he is able to establish some value as a #5 starter or a long man out of the pen, he can be flipped to a playoff contender for yet another young prospect. Well done, Baltimore!