When the Orioles traded Jim Johnson to Oakland, I assumed that they would look for internal options to replace his as the team’s closer. Tommy Hunter and Darren O’Day are obvious candidates to fill the role.
In 2013, Hunter limited batters to a .217/.268/.261 slashline and posted a 3.86 K/BB in save situations (27 games, 123 plate appearances). O’Day saw similar success, .218/.269/.264 slash against with a 3.60 K/BB in save situations (26 games, 94 plate appearances)
Trading Johnson had nothing to do with his league-leading nine blown saves, it was a move made to dump his projected $10.8 million salary. In response, the O’s went out and signed Ryan Webb, who posted very similar numbers to JJ, to a much more team-friendly two-year, $4.5 million deal.
Problem solved, right? Not so fast.
Now that the Winter Meetings have come and gone, the only real move the Orioles made was adding Julio Borbon in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft [1]. Despite glaring holes in the starting rotation, left field and DH, the biggest news in Baltimore is that the Orioles seem to be targeting another closer, Grant Balfour.
Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com projects that Balfour will sign a two-year, $18 million contract, only slightly less than he expects Johnson to make in his third year of arbitration. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo says Balfour is looking for three-years and the Orioles are offering two. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets the Orioles are “confident of landing Balfour”.
All signs point to it happening, I’m just not sure why.
The All-Star closer recorded 38 saves with the A’s in 2013, posting a 2.59 ERA, 1.197 WHIP and 2.67 K/BB. Balfour is a fly ball pitcher, who posted a 39.1 fly ball percentage in 2013, 11.1% of those fly balls turn into home runs — and that’s with half his games in the roomy O.co Coliseum.
Why not spend some of that money the Orioles saved by trading Johnson on a starter like Bronson Arroyo, who Adams projects will make $24 million over two seasons? He’s not the front end of the rotation arm the Orioles truly need, but he’s pitched over 200 innings in nine consecutive seasons.
Or, if they really wanted to make a splash, the O’s could spend the money they saved on Johnson as part of a deal for Ubaldo Jimenez‘s who projects to make $39 million over three-years.
Maybe they’ll do both, sign a proven closer and add a valuable arm to the rotation. However, that would require expanding their payroll past last season’s $92 million mark and I just don’t see them going too far past that total.
If they do decide to stand pat in the starting rotation, it’s a huge mistake. Orioles starters posted a 4.57 ERA in 2013, ranking 27th in all of baseball. They won’t have to worry about a closer at all if they don’t improve their starting five this winter.
wy, you ask Zach…because Angelos and Duquette are turds. Lie to the fans faces year after year. Give me Ubaldo and I will eat my words, give me Santana and I will eat my words. Give me Balfour and Arroyo and we win another 85 games next year. I put the same question to you, are you happy fielding a team that is built to win 85 games or are you happy fielding a team that could win a championship. Over the last 15 years, we have not fielded a team that could remotely win a championship. Now we do not have to win it all but we at least have the potential too.
Absolutely correct,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I’m glad you see the O’s for what they are , so few on this site admit they are just playing with the fans,,,,,,,,,,,,,by the way , I agree with Zach 100% , why would they even be interested in Balfour unless they think they can get him cheap,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you know they always try to fool the fans into thinking they are building a competing ball club but this is not the way to do it …………..
When Andy McPhail was here he was always accused of being too methodical. Hearing Duquette talk about all the LH bats that are coming off the board is irritating as s#it. If you want one of these bats, if you want one of these starting pitchers, if you want Balfour, then you gotta pay the piper. Pay up or shut up, enough excuses.
Oh my god , did you spill your kool-aid ? I can’t believe what I’m reading here , this must be the incher pretending to be MGW,,,,,,,,,,,,,,if this is really MGW , welcome to the world of reality with the O’s……………..
The 9incher can’t fill MGW’s size 14EEE shoe and likewise, MGW can’t fill my 9 3/4 inch jock…
You know , I realize the O’s are not going to spend big or even close to it but why Balfour , this is a slap in the face to the great fans of Baltimore,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I agree with Zach , get Arroyo a great innings eater or go get Jimenez who could actually help you win games , just once I would like to wake up a read where the O’s signed a free agent who could contribute to the cause,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I want to get behind the O’s big time like I used to but this MGT. team continually gets in the way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,once again they are just playing with the fans hoping they continue to spend good money on a team that will in no way compete for the playoffs,,,,and the fans will continue to spend , spend , spend because they are hoping against hope another year like the one before last year can happen again , the ownership is hoping for the same thing,,,,,,,good luck……………………..
The important thing is that no one is overreacting here. Management is awful? Really? Since Duquette has been here, we broke our 14 year losing streak, made the playoffs, won the wild card game, took the Yanks to Game 5 of the ALDS, and then were in the fight for a playoff spot again last year. Duquette brought in Gonzalez, McLouth, and brought up Machado, all of which proved to be good moves. I won’t sit here and act like I’m thrilled with this offseason so far, but chill. I was pissed to see them let McLouth walk, but every offseason that Duquette has been here has been relatively quiet, yet they still put out a good team. I agree that starting pitching should be the main focus and I would love to see Jimenez or Santana come to Baltimore. By the way, I love Johnson, but he did blow 9 saves in 2013, while Balfour blew 3… I believe we were 6 out of the Wild Card spot. We also lost 8 games less than 2012 (again, look at Johnson’s blown saves). It isn’t like we had this epic collapse between 2012 and 2013. I’ll say again that starting pitching should absolutely be the main focus, but I can’t get upset about upgrading at the closer spot. Unfortunately, we can’t all be the Yankees and throw money at the top players. However, we’re winning again and this management team has earned my trust, as long as Angelos (also known as He Who Shall Not Be Named) lets them work. Bottom line, let’s all relax and realize that, as Buck said, there is a lot of offseason left and quite a few solid FAs still available.