Orioles Sign Dan Straily

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.