The Orioles yesterday reportedly agreed to a four-year, $48M contract with P Ubaldo Jimenez, marking the "longest and largest contract the club has given a free-agent pitcher in franchise history," according to Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore SUN. With the addition of Jimenez and South Korean P Suk-min Yoon, whose three-year, $5.575M deal was finalized yesterday, the Orioles are approaching the $100M threshold that Exec VP/Baseball Operations Dan Duquette "promised was possible." The team's '14 payroll "sits at approximately" $97M with yesterday's additions. The Orioles also gave up their first-round pick (17th overall) in the '14 MLB Draft to sign Jimenez, and whether the move "quells an agitated fan base that has craved a head-first dive into the free-agent spending pool ... remains to be seen." But the signing "not only sends a message to fans that the club is trying to win now, it does the same to the Orioles' pending free agents" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 2/17). In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck writes, "It's about time the front office rolled the dice on a solid starter to shore up a largely unproven rotation." Schmuck: "Does this save an offseason that had become a source of great frustration to Orioles fans? Certainly, it has to change the popular perception that Orioles owner Peter Angelos is not willing to spend big money to improve the team." The Orioles are "never going to compete on an equal economic level with the Yankees and Red Sox, but they have to make some moves like this to show they are not willing to stand by while those two franchises spend their way into the playoffs every year" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 2/17).
A BIG BOWL OF SKYLINE CHILI: Reds P Homer Bailey yesterday said he and the team are "close" to a multi-year extension, after reports on Sunday indicated that the two sides were nearing a six-year, $100M agreement. In Cincinnati, C. Trent Rosecrans wrote with "big-money extensions already given" to 1B Joey Votto, 2B Brandon Phillips and RF Jay Bruce, the Reds "could have another on their hands with Bailey." The Reds' TV deal with FS Ohio runs through the '16 season, "putting the team in line for a new local TV contract, which has been a financial boon for many teams in baseball" (CINCINNATI.com, 2/17).
