Orioles Finally Ready to Forfeit Draft Pick for a Starter

According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal the Baltimore Orioles are finally giving in to the fact that in order for them to round out their rotation they are going to have to give up their first round, 17th overall, draft pick.

The Orioles haven't had the greatest off season. They traded away their closer, Jim Johnson, for a mediocre second baseman, Jemile Weeks. They had pretty much done deals with both RHP Grant Balfour and OF Tyler Colvin only to have both deals fall through due to issues surrounding the player's physicals. They were interested in closer Fernando Rodney but lost out to the Mariners. The Orioles have an even more desperate need for a fifth starter. They had would like to have signed Bronson Arroyo who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, reportedly saying that he was deterred from playing in Baltimore because of the issues they'd had with Balfour and Colvin. Baltimore was also very interested in AJ Burnett. It was widely known that Burnett wanted to pitch somewhere near his Maryland home and the Orioles were automatically seen as the front runners, only to have Burnett sign with the Phillies instead.

The Orioles did sign Korean pitcher Suk-min Yoon on Wednesday to a three year, $5.75 million contract. This signing does give their rotation a definite boost, but only if Yoon performs like fellow Korean pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu has performed for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Signing a player from overseas is always a risk because there is no guarantee how they will adjust to playing Major League Baseball as opposed to baseball in their home countries.

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Still there are two free agent, proven starting pitchers out there for the taking but they each have a downfall. Both Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez have a draft pick attached to them. Meaning that if signed by Baltimore, the Orioles will have to give up their highest draft pick to either Santana's former team, the Kansas City Royals or to Jimenez's former team, the Cleveland Indians. Both pitchers' former teams offered one year deals worth $14.1 million and both deals were rejected by the players, thus the Indians and Royals receive a draft pick to compensate for their loss.

The Orioles (and most other teams) have been shying away from Jimenez and Santana for this reason. It is very likely the reason these two are still on the market with pitchers and catchers having already reported to training camp. Baltimore's only other option is to stay in-house and promote their 2012 first round draft pick, Kevin Gausman, to the starting rotation. Promoting Gausman is, like signing Yoon, a gamble because he is young and inexperienced.

As was reported by Ken Rosenthal the Orioles have a small window if they want to win (2014-2015) so the best bet for the team is to suck it up and give up a draft pick in order to get a proven starter. We will probably know within a matter of days if that starter is Jimenez or Santana.

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Pitcher Yoon and Orioles agree on Contract ...

..."Pending Physical." Could this spell disaster for the Orioles?

On the surface, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli, it appears that Korean pitcher Suk-Min Yoon and the Orioles have agreed, tentatively, to a three year, $5.75 million contract. Yet the Orioles haven't said much regarding the deal because ... wait for it ... it depends upon Yoon passing a physical.

The ball club is understandably keeping relatively quiet regarding the deal, most likely waiting for the completion of the physical.  With the drama that the Orioles have already been through this off season, "pending a physical" could easily mean deal or no deal.

The Orioles have had very public spectacles over physicals this off season. The first with closer Grant Balfour whose two year, $15 million contract seemed all but a done deal that is until the physical. Although the All-Star closer insisted that he was healthy and that his shoulder was just fine, Balfour's physical revealed issues surrounding his knees and wrists. The deal was promptly dropped by Baltimore and Balfour had to find another team with which to sign. The Aussie was not a very happy camper after this deal fell through telling the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser that Orioles general manager, Dan Duquette, did not treat him with "respect" and that the Orioles had just "lost their best chance at winning." Balfour went on to sign a two year, $12 million contract with one of his former teams, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Another public extravaganza surrounding an Orioles reportedly done deal, pending a physical, involved outfielder Tyler Colvin. The deal was reported to be a guarenteed Major League Baseball contract but it was reduced to only a minor league contract, to which Colvin would not agree, after a physical revealed issues with Colvin's back. He did not accept the minor league deal and is still a free-agent. Rumors reveal that there is a chance he could accept the Orioles minor league deal as a fall back if he is unable to sign a MLB deal with another club. Regardless of what happens to Colvin, it was just another public situation, revolving around a physical, that the put the Orioles in the spotlight.

While most every MLB team requires a physical when signing new players, this has seemingly been a problem in Baltimore. It has created negative press for the Orioles and so it is not surprising that they have not made any big, official announcements regarding adding Yoon to their starting rotation.

It makes sense for the Orioles, who have been looking for another starting pitcher, to go after Yoon especially after free agent pitcher AJ Burnett signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Yoon, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez are the main free agent pitchers left on the market. Plus, Santana and Jimenez will not only expect large contracts, the team that signs them will also have to give up a draft pick to either the Kansas City Royals, for Santana, or the Cleveland Indians, for Jimenez, in order to complete the deal. Both Santana and Jimenez rejected their former teams' offers of $14.1 million at the end of last season, thus tying themselves to one of the teams' draft picks. With Yoon the Orioles will not have that issue.

Yoon, 27, has been a consistent pitcher in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) and is hoping to make the jump to MLB with the same success as his countryman, Hyun-jin Ryu has done with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last season with the Dodgers Ryu was 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA. Yoon had breakout year in 2011 in the KBO Yoon going 17-5 with a superb 2.45 ERA in 172.1 innings pitched to go along with 178 strikeouts. 2012 wasn't as spectacular in 2012 but still managed to put up strong numbers and in 2013 Yoon had a shoulder issue that kept him to playing in only 30 games for his KBO team, the Kia Tigers. Once recovered the Tigers asked Yoon to close games instead of starting them and the Korean hurler ended up with seven saves by the end of the season. The now supposedly healthy Yoon could be an excellent addition to the Orioles, being the much needed starter or even the closer for the club. Baltimore has been actively looking for both this winter.

Although Yoon has deemed himself healthy and proved it at the end of his 2013 season in Korea, it is possible that he may fail his physical. Anything is possible but according to CBS' Jon Heyman's sources it is unlikely. Fortunately for the Baltimore Orioles it looks like the the third time might just be the charm.

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Suk-min Yoon to Orioles? Where Does That Leave Remaining FA Starters?

After watching pitcher Suk-min Yoon last week out in California it appears the Baltimore Orioles were impressed about what they saw. The Orioles have reportedly made an offer to right-hander, proving how serious they really are about the young Korean. As the Orioles are one of the main teams still shopping for a starter but seem to have found one, what does this signing mean for free agents Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez, AJ Burnett and Bronson Arroyo?

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Of course there are still teams looking for starting pitching. The Yankees have expressed a desire to possibly add another starter. Considering how much they have spent this off season, a little more money spent for them is definitely not an issue.

The Toronto Blue Jays are absolutely still looking. Yoon had also been reportedly linked to the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers so if he accepts Baltimore’s offer than does leave options for Santana, Jimenez and Arroyo.

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