Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez, Yasmani Tomas Rumors
Sep 23, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (31) throws to first base against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Could it really be true that there is a way for the Baltimore Orioles to move Ubaldo Jimenez out the door and off the books? That is almost too good to imagine. His one salary eats up more than 10% of the total projected payroll.
But rumors are that the Orioles actually have people talking to them about this very subject …
The Orioles have discussed Ubaldo Jimenez trades with several teams at GM meetings per http://t.co/PsHmOuTx1h's @TracyRingolsby
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) November 12, 2014
But who would do such a thing? Who would “trade” for the risk of a player who has had one good season in the past four years? Would the Orioles have to eat a portion of the salary or even throw in a prospect or additional player? Maybe they could throw in Brian Matusz and save another smaller pile of money.
There is no shortage of ideas as to how those savings could be spent. I have written previously that I would spend them on Andrew Miller over Nelson Cruz, and I was interested in a brief remark yesterday by Roch Kubatko that seemed to infer the same… “They’d like to keep Miller in the same role he held after being acquired from the Red Sox, but the wallet probably won’t open that wide. Too bad. He’d be my No. 1 priority.”
The potential trade team most mentioned in a variety of tweets, comments, and articles is the Cleveland Indians as a landing spot for a reunion with their former starter. Here is what one Cleveland fan thought about that …
People are seriously in favor of bringing Ubaldo Jimenez back to the Indians. Go home, #TribeTwitter, you're drunk.
— Tony Mazur (@TonyMazur) November 12, 2014
The Orioles have also been rumored to be in on the Yasmani Tomas derby.
Nelson Cruz is in Phoenix. He and his agents met with #Orioles today. Presumably meeting with other clubs too. O’s also interested in Tomas.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 12, 2014
This is a 24-year-old Cuban slugger who is 6’1” and 230 pounds. Tomas has said that if he was born in the USA he would have been a football player – probably a linebacker.
Tomas defected from Cuba in June, obtained a free agency clearance last month, and has been working out in the Dominican in hopes of a big contract. Other Cuban power bats have done well in MLB – Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Yeonis Cespedes.
Apparently there was a scout who commented that Tomas reminded him of Albert Belle … Sorry to bring that up! OK … with a price tags ranging from $70-100 million … time to end this right now!