The Baltimore Orioles and Free Agents: Beware What You Crave
Sep 16, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher A.J. Burnett (34) sits in the dugout after coming out of the game in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
2013-2014 Offseason
Shin-Soo Choo – Texas – 7 years for $130 million
Choo appeared in 123 games for the injury-plagued Rangers of 2014, batting only .242 with just 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. He missed all of September with a bone spur in his elbow, while an ankle sprain hampered him throughout the season and thwarted his classic speed. Texas fans are hoping after a couple of surgeries that he will make good ultimately on the investment.
Matt Garza – Brewers – 4 years for $52 million
Garza has a career ERA of 3.81 and record of 75-75, so with an 8-8 record and 3.64 ERA, in 2014 he pitched pretty close to his average. He threw 163 innings of 1.182 WHIP. Is that worth $13 million? In the same number of games, Miguel Gonzalez threw only four fewer innings and posted an ERA of 3.23 at a cost of $529,000. I think that’s a good deal.
A.J. Burnett – Phillies – 1 year for $15 million
It may well be that Burnett rejected the Orioles more than the O’s were unwilling to have him, though there is no real possibility that they would have paid him the $15 million he got from the Phillies. He did give them innings – 213.2 of them to be exact … along with a National League-leading 18 losses. His 2014 ERA was 4.59 and his WHIP 1.409 on what was a very poor team. These numbers were, pound for pound, only slightly better than Ubaldo Jimenez. Burnett would have likely been a clubhouse disaster in Baltimore as well.
Bronson Arroyo – Arizona – 2 years for $19 million
Arroyo was the third of the trio of starting pitching possibilities craved by many Orioles fans last year, along with Burnett and Jimenez. But Arroyo did not want to come to the AL East, choosing the easier assignment out west. After going 7-4 in 14 starts with a 4.08 ERA, he is now rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and hoping for a midseason return in 2015.
Grant Balfour – Tampa Bay – 2 years for $11 million
Orioles fans don’t need a rehearsal of The Balfour Rage debacle, medical exam, etc., etc. But even many O’s fans were embarrassed and feeling that the team was excessive in breaking off the contract. But who would close for the 2014 Birds? Jim Johnson was gone. The sky was falling.
Balfour pitched for the Rays in 2014 in 65 games with a 4.91 ERA and WHIP of 1.444. Anybody wish now that the O’s had him instead of, say, Tommy Hunter and his similar number of innings with a 2.97 ERA and WHIP of 1.104?
Nate McLouth – Washington – 2 years for $10.75 million
McLouth is truly one of the good guys in baseball and among the most likeable of people and players, hence he became a fan favorite, and double-hence his loss to free agency was grieved by a segment of Orioles fans. Unfortunately, injuries took a toll on Nate in 2014. His numbers: 162 plate appearances in 79 games with a batting average of .173. (See the cotton candy story on page one.)
Next: What if the Orioles had gotten Josh Hamilton?