Baltimore Orioles Sign Yovani Gallardo

The Baltimore Orioles have signed pitcher Yovani Gallardo to a three-year, $35 million deal.

Pending a physical, the move that pretty much everyone saw coming from a mile away has happened. The Orioles have signed 29-year-old starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo to a deal for three years, $35 million, per Jon Heyman. There is an option for a fourth year, and some of the $35M is deferred.

The Orioles have been pursuing Gallardo essentially since the beginning of the offseason, and it was only a matter of time before they signed him. I wrote about how I thought Gallardo was a free agent for the Orioles to avoid, however I’m not exactly surprised they signed him. 

Gallardo had one of the best years of his career last year with the Texas Rangers, going 13-11 and posting a 3.42 ERA (a career-best). However his WHIP at 1.42 (a career worst), along with a 4.00 FIP, 4.31 xFIP, and a career-low 5.91 K-rate has created a little cause for concern regarding the right-hander’s future numbers.

Regardless, Gallardo will likely slot near the top of the rotation (if not at number one) and will hopefully post a similar year this year as he did last year. If he can work on his control, lower the number of walks he’s been issuing (he was at 3.32 BB/9 last year) and up his strikeouts, he could be a good addition for the team.

Assuming health, I’d project Gallardo to go 11-10 with a 4.20 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 6.20 K/9, and 3.00 BB/9.