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Randy Wolf

Marlins Sign Randy Wolf

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8:49pm: Wolf did agree to a 45-day advance consent form with the Marlins, reports Rosenthal (links to Twitter). He explained that he was comfortable agreeing to those terms this time around because he was signing in the middle of the season. Wolf was set to opt out and join another (unnamed) club when the Marlins offered him the chance to join their rotation, Rosenthal adds.

2:32pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Wolf will earn a $1MM base salary plus performance incentives (Twitter link).

2:11pm: Randy Wolf exercised an opt-out clause with the D’Backs earlier this afternoon and has a new team just hours later. The Marlins have officially announced the signing of the Wasserman Media Group client to a one-year, Major League deal. Wolf will reportedly slot into Miami’s rotation, though it sounds like he’ll be backing up rookie Anthony DeSclafani in tonight’s game.

MLB: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees

Earlier this afternoon, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported that the Marlins were working to make a pitching addition that was not currently part of the organization, and Wolf would clearly fits that bill.

The 37-year-old Wolf underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2012 season, but he looks to be fully recovered after a strong Spring Training with the Mariners and a respectable showing in six starts for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno. Wolf posted a 4.50 ERA with a 35-to-18 K/BB ratio while in Reno. He had originally made the Mariners’ roster out of Spring Training as the fifth starter but instead requested his release when the team asked that he sign a 45-day advance-consent clause that would’ve allowed them to terminate the deal for any non-injury reason in that window.

Wolf is a 14-year big league veteran that has a 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate in 2268 innings between the Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Astros and Orioles. Miami has a definite need for pitching depth after the devastating news that their young ace, Jose Fernandez, will likely miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

With Fernandez out for the season, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez are locks in the rotation. Jacob Turner has been starting as well, but he’s battled shoulder problems that have likely hampered his effectiveness. Tom Koehler’s hot start likely leaves him with a rotation spot locked down as well. In addition to DeSclafani, Miami has a slew of pitching prospects that are nearly Major League ready, though none are as intriguing as 2012 first-round pick Andrew Heaney, who has been simply dominant to this point in his minor league career.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported that Wolf was headed to Miami (Twitter link), and ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported that it was a one-year, Major League deal (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Randy Wolf Exercises Opt-Out Clause

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The Diamondbacks announced that left-hander Randy Wolf has exercised his opt-out clause and been granted his release, making the veteran a free agent.

Wolf inked a minor league deal with the D’Backs after requesting his release from the Mariners at the end of Spring Training. Though he’d all but made the club, Seattle wanted Wolf to sign a 45-day advance consent release clause that would have allowed the team to terminate his deal at any time for any non-injury reason, to which Wolf objected.

The 37-year-old veteran looks to be recovered from Tommy John surgery that he underwent late in the 2012 season, as he enjoyed a solid Spring Training and has pitched reasonably well in six starts with Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks organization. With Reno, Wolf posted a 4.50 ERA and whiffed 35 hitters in 34 innings while walking 18. He is a veteran of 14 Major League seasons and owns a career 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate in 2268 innings with the Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Astros and Orioles.

Teams Wield Advance Consent Hammer

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As Opening Day drew near, veteran Randy Wolf appeared to be the frontrunner for the No. 5 spot in the Mariners' rotation.  That's why it came as a bit of a surprise when he requested his release from the club on March 25th.  It turned out that Wolf, who missed all of 2013 as he recovered from his second Tommy John surgery, refused to sign a 45-day advance-consent form.  The form, for the uninitiated, would have allowed the M's to terminate the deal during that window for any reason except injury.  

While sources tell MLBTR that these requests are common throughout MLB, Wolf told Bob Dutton of The News Tribune that he was quite upset about it.  The 37-year-old felt as though he was put in a position where he had to renegotiate his deal just months after hammering out a team-friendly pact ($1MM for making big league roster with $3MM+ in incentives) days before the start of the season.  “The fact that I essentially made the team, in theory, I’m proud of that accomplishment.” the veteran told Dutton. “But I’m really disappointed in how it ended. The day should have started with a handshake and congratulations instead of a 24-hour feeling of licking a D-cell battery. So, it’s a really hard time.” 

Of course, the Mariners and General Manager Jack Zduriencik acted completely within the rights granted to them by the Collective Bargaining Agreement: the advance consent form has been in place since the end of the 1994/1995 strike.  And, as expected, Wolf wasn't out of work for very long, as he signed a similar minor league deal with the Diamondbacks late last week.  However, Wolf's ire about the relatively unknown clause raised some interesting questions about how frequently it's used, the ways it could be misused, and how it is viewed by executives, agents, players, and the players union.

"As a general matter, players hate it," one union source said. "These are players, needless to say, who did not have a lot of leverage in their negotiations in the offseason…There's no question that it is a distasteful process for players and their agents."

The use of the form varies greatly from club to club.  One high-ranking executive told MLBTR that his club has asked a player to sign an advance consent form just once over the last decade.  On the flipside, a National League executive said that anytime his team has a player with five or more years of major league service (the form cannot be extended to those with less service time per the CBA) who does not figure to be an everyday player, they will use the clause in order to give themselves as much flexibility as possible.  In line with that thinking, the club often will push for players to agree to optional assignment rather than outright assignment.  If the player consents to outright assignment, the club does not have to subject the player to waivers before demoting him.  Again, per the CBA, both types are permitted.

Because the request is traditionally made of players who don't have a ton of leverage, they often agree to sign.  The NL exec has found that there are times when agents will protest, but with the leverage being in the club's corner, they'll ultimately relent.  

"If the agent gives you push back, then you say, 'Okay, we'll go with someone else because we need the flexibility.'  I've never had an agent not back down," he explained.  "I tell them once you get [to the big league roster], you could stay there for a heck of a long time.  We never do it with the intent to send them down and keep them there."

Of course, as in Wolf's case, some players do object, and agents will often consult with the union ("We act as a sounding board," the source explained) to talk through their different options.  The form can allow for both types of assignments and the length can also be negotiated since the 45-day mark is not a hard number, but rather a maximum limit. 

The union source explained that at the beginning of the season, about a dozen players are usually asked to sign a consent form.  Over the course of the season, that number tends to grow to "30-to-36" requests.  The distinction between the number of players who are asked to sign off and the number of requests is an important one.  Several players in any given year will be asked to sign multiple consent forms, which can essentially keep them in a state of limbo.  

The aforementioned executive told MLBTR that agents often fret over the possibility of their clients being asked to sign multiple forms, though he was unsure of whether that was common practice or just a fear of player reps.  "It's absolutely a reality," the MLBPA source said. "There are players who have signed three advance consents in a season, which obviously covers the better part of a full season."  It should be noted that while there have been cases of a player being churned through consecutive advanced consent forms, the union indicated that there aren't specific clubs who are routine offenders.

Wolf felt blindsided by the Mariners' request at the end of March, but the reality is that he wasn't guaranteed at the time of signing that he wouldn't be asked to sign an advance consent form as a condition of making the major league roster, agent Joel Wolfe confirmed to MLBTR.  In this case, Wolfe and Wolf had non-roster offers from ten clubs this offseason after he impressed in his winter showcase.  Wolf and Wolfe ultimately settled on the M's because they felt that they gave him the best chance to make a big league rotation.  However, they were rebuffed when they asked for assurance that they wouldn't be asked to sign off on advance consent. 

"They told me, 'We don't do that' and, really, no team that I've dealt with does that.  They don't even want to discuss that," Wolfe said. "The team made a decision as a policy, not singling out Randy, that a player in this position must sign an advance consent or he's not going to make the team."

One would be hard-pressed to find a team in MLB that explicitly warns players about a possible advance consent request.  The union official indicated that while teams won't do it, agents usually give their low-leverage clients a heads up to brace for the possibility.  The NL exec said he does not warn players of the possibility at the time of signing, but if an agent asks, he always answers truthfully.

In a lot of cases, being asked for advance consent is a blow to a player's ego and a very real source of frustration.  However, there are certainly cases where it can work in a player's favor.  Wolfe explained that he once had a client who seemed destined to either start the season in Double-A or get released.  However, the player exceeded all expectations in Spring Training and wound up on course to make the big league roster.  The club had Wolfe's client sign an advance consent form and soon after when he suffered an serious injury, he was protected from release since a player cannot be cut due to injury.  While Wolf's situation put the notion of advance consent in a negative light, it can also be beneficial for players in a different position.

That doesn't mean that advance consent will be embraced by the majority of major leaguers.  As Wolfe explained, an accomplished veteran like Wolf is accustomed to using Spring Training as an opportunity to shake off some offseason rust and get back in the swing of things.  When that player is on a non-guaranteed deal, they now have to approach every at bat and every inning as though it were the regular season.  After putting in that kind of effort, veteran players don't want to hear, "Hey, you made the team, but…"  Whether they like it or not, players will be subjected to advance consent requests for at least a couple more years.  Even then, it's far from guaranteed that the issue will be revisited or revised in the 2016 CBA discussions.

Diamondbacks Sign Randy Wolf

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1:20pm: The Diamondbacks have officially announced the signing on Twitter. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (also on Twitter) that Wolf's base salary upon being promoted to the Majors would be $1MM.

11:44am: The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with veteran left-hander Randy Wolf on a minor league deal, tweets MLBTR's Zach Links. The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro first reported that the two sides were close to a deal, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that Wolf will start for the club's Triple-A affiliate as soon as Monday. Wolf is represented by the Wasserman Media Group.

The veteran Wolf hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since 2012 due to Tommy John surgery. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners this offseason and had been informed that he made the club as the team's fifth starter. However Wolf requested his release when the Mariners asked him to sign a 45-day advance-consent release clause that would allow the team to release him and pay him just a pro-rated portion of his guaranteed salary for any reason other than an injury.

General manager Kevin Towers recently told reporters that he expected to add a veteran starter on a minor league deal in the coming days, and Wolf certainly fits that bill. The 14-year veteran owns a career 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate with the Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Orioles and Astros. The final season of the three-year, $28.5MM contract he signed with the Brewers didn't turn out well, as he wound up posting a 5.65 ERA in 157 2/3 innings between Milwaukee and Baltimore that year before being diagnosed with a torn UCL. However, in the year prior, Wolf posted a strong 3.69 ERA in 212 1/3 innings for the Brew Crew — his fourth straight season of 190 or more innings.

Wolf will provide rotation depth for a team that has seen its starting pitchers post a combined 6.57 ERA to this point in the young season — the second-worst mark in all of Major League Baseball.

Diamondbacks Nearing Deal With Randy Wolf

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The Diamondbacks are closing in on a minor league deal with veteran lefty Randy Wolf, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Wolf is a client of the Wasserman Media Group.

The veteran Wolf hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since 2012 due to Tommy John surgery. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners this offseason and had been informed that he made the club as the team's fifth starter. However Wolf requested his release when the Mariners asked him to sign a 45-day advance-consent release clause that would allow the team to release him and pay him just a pro-rated portion of his guaranteed salary for any reason other than an injury.

General manager Kevin Towers recently told reporters that he expected to add a veteran starter on a minor league deal in the coming days, and Wolf certainly fits that bill. The 14-year veteran owns a career 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate with the Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Orioles and Astros. The final season of the three-year, $28.5MM contract he signed with the Brewers didn't turn out well, as he wound up posting a 5.65 ERA in 157 2/3 innings between Milwaukee and Baltimore that year before being diagnosed with a torn UCL. However, in the year prior, Wolf posted a strong 3.69 ERA in 212 1/3 innings for the Brew Crew — his fourth straight season of 190 or more innings.

Wolf will provide rotation depth for a team that has seen its starting pitchers post a combined 6.57 ERA to this point in the young season — the second-worst mark in all of Major League Baseball.

This post was originally published on April 11.

Quick Hits: Royals, Wolf, Astros, Phillies

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The Royals made an odd move Tuesday, claiming Rule 5 pick Patrick Schuster from the Padres and designating outfielder Carlos Peguero for assignment. As Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star notes, the Royals did not give Schuster a locker, and manager Ned Yost said he had not talked to GM Dayton Moore about Schuster. McCullough thinks the move was about Peguero — the Royals would like to keep Peguero, and they may feel ten days from now, by which time the season will have begun, is a good time to sneak him through waivers. To designate Peguero for assignment, the Royals needed to claim someone else, and Schuster just happened to be available. It doesn't sound like he'll be with the Royals long. Here are more notes from around baseball.

  • Lefty Randy Wolf release by the Mariners was triggered by Wolf's annoyance at the Mariners' insistence on a 45-day advance-consent release, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Such a clause would have allowed the Mariners to drop Wolf during the first several weeks of the season and only pay a prorated portion of his big-league salary. "I principally objected to that because we negotiated in good faith in February on a very team-friendly contract," says Wolf. Wolf would have broken camp with the team if he had been willing to sign the release. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says he wanted the clause in case Wolf, who did not pitch at all in 2013 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, did not perform well. Dutton reports that many sources within baseball say that clauses like the one Mariners wanted Wolf to sign are not unusual.
  • FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, however, asks (via Twitter) whether the Yankees, for example, would have let a member of their projected starting rotation depart over a clause like this. Probably not, Morosi suggests, saying that the Mariners' decision to release Wolf "sends the wrong message."
  • The Astros object to the Associated Press' calculation of their payroll, reports Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. The AP lists their payroll as $45MM, lowest in the Majors, just behind that of the Marlins. "Outside accounting methods are estimates and don’t accurately reflect total payroll costs," says GM Jeff Luhnow. Drellich notes that the AP's calculation does not seem to include a $5.5MM payout to the Pirates for Wandy Rodriguez, for example.
  • Freddy Galvis' MRSA infection has the Phillies interested in finding an extra reserve infielder who can play shortstop, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. That could mean adding an infielder who isn't currently with the team. Galvis hopes to return to baseball activities in around a week, but he will start the season on the disabled list, and starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins, meanwhile, might need a day or two off in April when his wife has a baby. In the meantime, the Phillies will look for alternatives. "We’re still looking inside and outside the organization as far as filling that role," says GM Ruben Amaro Jr. "But we have candidates. We have guys internally and there are some guys we’re looking at outside the organization as well." Reid Brignac, an NRI in Phillies spring training, might be a possibility.
    Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/03/25/3116512/wolf-released-by-mariners-after.html?sp=/99/512/#storylink=cpy

Minor Moves: Oeltjen, Laffey, Cassevah, Wolf, Hill

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We'll keep tabs on the day's minor moves here:

  • Outfielder Trent Oeltjen tweets (via Rotoworld) that he has signed with the Diamondbacks. Oeltjen, 31, has not appeared in the big leagues since 2011 with the Dodgers, but he has hit well at the Triple-A level, putting up a line of .255/.345/.483 for the Angels' Triple-A Salt Lake affiliate last season.
  • The Orioles have released lefty Aaron Laffey, MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski tweets. Laffey pitched just 12 2/3 innings in the big leagues in 2013, spending most of it struggling at Triple-A, but he pitched 100 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays in 2012.
  • The Rockies have released pitcher Bobby Cassevah, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets. Cassevah, who accumulated a 3.20 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 from 2010-2012 in the Angels bullpen, is currently rehabbing an injury.
  • Veteran lefty Randy Wolf has requested, and received, his release from the Mariners, MLB.com's Greg Johns tweets. Wolf was attempting a comeback after missing the entire 2013 season. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, when he pitched for the Brewers and Orioles. The Mariners told Wolf he had made the team, but he did not want to sign a 45-day advance consent release, Johns notes.
  • The Blue Jays have signed pitcher Shawn Hill from the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, MLive.com's Chris Iott tweets. Hill, 32, last appeared in the big leagues in 2012 with the Jays. He posted a 5.51 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings with the Tigers' Triple-A Toledo affiliate in 2013.
  • The Padres have acquired catcher Adam Moore from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. The 29-year-old has seen bit action at the MLB level in each of the last five years. In his longest stint, a 2010 run with the Mariners, Moore managed only a .513 OPS in 218 plate appearances.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Perez, Pineda, Mariners, Ramirez, A’s

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As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained yesterday in looking at NL West out-of-options players, the Diamondbacks already have a seeming logjam in the bullpen. Nevertheless, the team agreed to a two-year deal today with southpaw Oliver Perez. That may be a reflection of the team's view of fellow lefty Joe Thatcher, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Indeed, manager Kirk Gibson had said earlier today that the club would not carry a left-handed reliever if none warranted a roster spot, Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com reports. "You've got to have people that can command the zone," Gibson said, possibly an oblique reference to the control issues last year of Thatcher and Tony Sipp. Thatcher was the only MLB piece that came to Arizona in the Ian Kennedy trade, and recently agreed to a $2.375MM deal to avoid arbitration. The 32-year-old has a solid track record, but struggled in his 22 appearances upon joining the D'backs. Now, with Perez in line for a pen slot and Randall Delgado likely headed the same way, Thatcher or another established arm may be without a role.

  • Yankees starter Michael Pineda took an important step tonight on the road back from shoulder surgery, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Throwing a slider that catcher Brian McCann called "pretty much unhittable," Pineda tossed two scoreless innings and struck out four Tigers — including Austin Jackson, Rajai Davis, and reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera. Needless to say, an effective Pineda would be a major boon to a New York club with questions at the back of the rotation (to say nothing of the future implications). The 25-year-old Pineda enters the year with 2.099 years of service, much of it accrued on the DL over the last two years.
  • Meanwhile, the Mariners — the club that dealt Pineda to New York — are looking closely at several non-roster invitees for Opening Day slots, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. Starter Randy Wolf has had poor results, but says he is progressing. And southpaw reliever Joe Beimel is making a surprising run at a pen role, despite not having appeared in the bigs since 2011. Manager Lloyd McClendon preached patience with Wolf but lavished praise on Beimel, saying that the 36-year-old has "looked great" and "has the ability to get guys out from both sides of the plate."
  • Irrepressible former superstar Manny Ramirez says he still wants to play, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com. The 41-year-old has not been able to earn a call-up over the last two seasons, but says he is waiting for an MLB opportunity and has so far declined requests for a repeat of his successful stint in Taiwan. MLBTR's Zach Links recently reported that Ramirez had changed agents, seemingly an indication that Ramirez was serious about continuing his career.
  • As the Athletics continue to work through their difficult stadium situation, co-owner Lew Wolff says the team is considering all methods for dealing with a stalemate in lease negotiations, reports Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. "I am hopeful of expanding our lease at the Oakland Coliseum for an extended term," Wolff recently wrote. "If we cannot accomplish a lease extension, I hope to have an interim place to play in the Bay Area or in the area that reaches our television and radio fans — either an existing venue or in the erection of a temporary venue that we have asked our soccer stadium architect (360 Architecture) to explore." Needless to say, the notion of a temporary ballpark is intriguing, if somewhat frightening. Wolff took care to note that "looking outside the Bay Area and our media market is an undesirable option to ownership at this time."

Mariners Sign Randy Wolf, Zach Miner

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THURSDAY: The Mariners have announced the signings of Wolf and Miner.

Wolf will earn $1MM if he makes the roster, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (links all to Twitter). The contract also includes a variety of incentives tied to appearances (as a reliever or starter), days on the roster, and innings pitched. If Wolf maxes out his deal, says Rosenthal, he could reach $4.25MM in earnings.

TUESDAY, 1:05pm: Miner will earn $750K if he makes the Major League team and has a June 15 opt-out date, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish.

10:54am: The Mariners have agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training with veteran lefty Randy Wolf, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Divish also tweets that the Mariners will sign right-hander Zach Miner to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Wolf is a client of the Wasserman Media Group, and Miner is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Seattle views Wolf as a potential bullpen option, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The 37-year-old missed the entire 2013 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in the 2012 campaign. In that 2012 season, Wolf struggled to a 5.65 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 42.9 percent ground-ball rate (the highest of his career). Despite those struggles, he was solid for the Brewers the prior year, posting a 3.69 ERA in 212 1/3 innings out of their rotation.

Wolf owns a 4.20 ERA in 2268 career innings at the big league level and is a veteran of 14 Major League seasons with the Phillies, Astros, Dodgers, Brewers, Padres and Orioles.

Miner, 32 in March, pitched 28 1/3 innings for the Phillies in 2013 — his first Major League action since 2009. Miner turned in a 4.40 ERA with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20) in that time. However, there were a good deal of positives in Miner's game as well; his velocity was up more than a full mile per hour (91.8 mph average in 2013 compared to 90.7 in 2009), and he posted a strong 48.9 percent ground-ball rate.

Miner has a 4.25 career ERA in 385 1/3 innings between the Tigers and Phillies. Presumably, Seattle likes him as a potential swingman — a role he's had throughout the entirety of his Major League career to this point. Miner has appeared in 173 big league games, including 38 starts.

Orioles Notes: Free Agents, Johnson, Wolf, Feldman

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The Orioles have been connected to some of the offseason's major free agent names but Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun isn't sure that the O's will be players for Shin-Soo Choo, Ubaldo Jimenez or Nelson Cruz.  Choo will be too costly and Jimenez will demand too many years, while Connolly has "not found anyone in the organization that endorses Cruz as a viable option" and lists several reasons why Cruz isn't a fit in Baltimore.  Here's some more from Camden Yards…

  • Jim Johnson asked the Orioles for a four-year contract worth $45MM-$50MM in extension talks earlier this winter, sources tell MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko.  An extension would've been one way for the O's to keep Johnson at a lower price rather than pay him a projected $10.8MM in arbitration, though obviously Johnson didn't have a bargain in mind with his demands.  The Orioles traded Johnson to the Athletics for Jemile Weeks on Tuesday.
  • The Orioles didn't attend Randy Wolf's workout and don't appear to have any interest in the veteran southpaw, Kubatko reports.  Wolf pitched in five games for Baltimore at the end of the 2012 season and then underwent Tommy John surgery that October, sidelining him for all of 2013.
  • Scott Feldman told Dan Connolly that he was "about 90 percent sure" the Orioles didn't make him a former offer.  “It’s really hard to get disappointed with the situation I am in, but I was at least expecting a little bit of interest from them. But it’s not like I’m mad or anything,” Feldman said in the wake of his three-year, $30MM deal with the Astros.  That third guaranteed year was likely the breaking point for the Orioles, as they had been rumored to only be interested in giving Feldman two years and an option, at most.  MLBTR's Steve Adams has more from Feldman's conference call.
  • The Orioles have considered making Bud Norris their closer to replace Johnson, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports.  This move would only be a "fallback option," Encina notes.  While the O's may yet add a starter and need to make room in their rotation, shifting an innings-eater like Norris to the bullpen would be a curious move, in my opinion.  Also from Encina's piece, Brian Matusz will be stretched out and given an opportunity to win a rotation job during Spring Training.
  • Adam Jones' six-year, $85.5MM extension signed in May 2012 looks like a better bargain in the wake of Jacoby Ellsbury's deal with the Yankees, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com opines.
  • In Baltimore news from earlier today, the Orioles signed outfielder Francisco Peguero and right-hander Ryan Webb.
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