Baltimore Orioles: Looking at the Ubaldo Jimenez Deal
What many Baltimore Orioles fans believed to be the impossible is apparently on the verge of coming true. Ubaldo Jimenez is reported by multiple sources to being signed to a four-year deal of $48-50 million, pending the obligatory physical. Preconceived notions lie shattered on the floor like a broken shelf of display china… that Duquette and Angelos would sign a deal of this size, that the Orioles would grant a free agent contract beyond two or three years, that the Birds would give up a draft pick to make such a splash.
So, will the Orioles be definitively better off in light of this move, or may they have a massive case of buyer’s remorse? There are no guarantees, and that is what makes playing the games more interesting! But let’s jump back into the numbers again and evaluate once more what the O’s have purchased.
Certainly the Orioles desire to see the Jimenez of 2013, and not the 2012 version. Just last year he was 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA over 32 games and 182.2 innings pitched for the Indians. That is a guy the Birds need. However, in 2012 he was 9-17 with a 5.40 ERA. That is a guy the Orioles could have found in the house already for about a 95% savings.
Stepping back to the broader picture, Jimenez’ career ERA is 3.92, and over the past six seasons he has averaged 197.2 innings per year. His best year was 2010, where he was 19-8 with the Rockies with a 2.88 ERA – pretty impressive for playing in Colorado.
And looking more closely at 2013, Jimenez particularly excelled in the second half of the season. His ERA in that period was a mere 1.82, while hitters managed an average of just .219. This is the part of the story – the most recent record of performance – that I find most encouraging and hopeful for continued success. He’ll have the renewed energy of a new franchise, a great clubhouse and atmosphere, and an incredible defense behind him. The Orioles can hit and score some runs as well!
However, with the outcry around the Oriole-land of needing starters to go deeper into games, Jimenez averaged 5.71 innings per start in 2013. By comparison, Chris Tillman was 6.25, Wei-Yin Chen was 5.96, and Miguel Gonzalez 6.07. He does walk about four guys in nine innings, and he strikes out quite a few also – both traits certainly driving up the pitch counts. Maybe “fresh eyes” can squeeze another inning per start out of this guy!
Here are his career stats (from Baseball-Reference.com)…
Year |
Age
Tm
Lg
W
L
ERA
G
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
IBB
SO
WHIP
H/9
HR/9
BB/9
SO/9
SO/BB
2006
22
COLNL
0
0
3.52
2
7.2
5
4
3
1
3
0
3
1.043
5.9
1.2
3.5
3.5
1.00
2007
23
COLNL
4
4
4.28
15
82.0
70
46
39
10
37
4
68
1.305
7.7
1.1
4.1
7.5
1.84
2008
24
COLNL
12
12
3.99
34
198.2
182
97
88
11
103
4
172
1.435
8.2
0.5
4.7
7.8
1.67
2009
25
COLNL
15
12
3.47
33
218.0
183
87
84
13
85
6
198
1.229
7.6
0.5
3.5
8.2
2.33
2010
26
COLNL
19
8
2.88
33
221.2
164
73
71
10
92
7
214
1.155
6.7
0.4
3.7
8.7
2.33
2011
27
TOTMLB
10
13
4.68
32
188.1
186
111
98
17
78
5
180
1.402
8.9
0.8
3.7
8.6
2.31
2011
27
COLNL
6
9
4.46
21
123.0
118
68
61
10
51
5
118
1.374
8.6
0.7
3.7
8.6
2.31
2011
27
CLEAL
4
4
5.10
11
65.1
68
43
37
7
27
0
62
1.454
9.4
1.0
3.7
8.5
2.30
2012
28
CLEAL
9
17
5.40
31
176.2
190
116
106
25
95
3
143
1.613
9.7
1.3
4.8
7.3
1.51
2013
29
CLEAL
13
9
3.30
32
182.2
163
75
67
16
80
0
194
1.330
8.0
0.8
3.9
9.6
2.43
8 Yrs
82
75
3.92
212
1275.2
1143
609
556
103
573
29
1172
1.345
8.1
0.7
4.0
8.3
2.05