BBTF's Transaction Oracle Discussion :: Orioles

Transaction Oracle
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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Orioles - Signed Walker

Baltimore Orioles - Signed P Jamie Walker to a 3-year contract worth $11.5 million.

A week of the free agent season done and so far, the Orioles have picked up Jaret Wright and Jamie Walker for an annual salary of $7 million. It looks like one of those offseasons in which the Orioles decide that getting 4 players for $3 million is much smarter than getting 1 player for $12 million, perfected in their first try when they decided that Bordick, Segui, and Hentgen was a better use of the money that Mike Mussina wanted. Of course, but one of those offseasons, I’m referring to almost every offseason, the year they accidentally signed Miguel Tejada excepted. Yes, Peter Angelos, that’s why the Orioles still haven’t had a .500 season for almost a decade - they don’t have Buddy Groom.

2007 ZiPS Projection - Jamie Walker
——————————————————————————————-

            W   L   G  GS   IP    H   ER  HR  BB  SO   ERA
——————————————————————————————-

Projection  2   2  61   0   51   53   23   7  11  39  4.06 

2008        2   2  62   0   51   53   24   7  12  38  4.24

2009        2   2  55   0   45   47   22   6  11  32  4.40
——————————————————————————————-

Opt. (15%)  3   1  69   0   58   58   21   7  10  42  3.26 	     

Pes. (15%)  1   2  52   0   42   49   22   7  10  27  4.71
———————————————————————————————

Dan Szymborski Posted: November 16, 2006 at 08:35 PM | 12 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
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1. AROM Posted: November 16, 2006 at 10:57 PM (#2239802)

The Mussina decision was terrible, but is there anyone for 12 million who the O's should target?

Players possibly worth 12 million:

Hitters:
Bonds
Drew
Soriano

Pitchers:
Zito
Schmidt
Clemens

I don't know if the Orioles have a shot at any of them anyway. I'm more afraid of the big deal they might make: Giving Carlos Lee enough money to make Albert Belle jealous.

2. Kyle S Posted: November 16, 2006 at 11:01 PM (#2239807)

My friend emailed me about this signing and asked for my opinion. this was my response:

my thoughts are these: ####, i wish i was a freakin' left-handed reliever, because this guy sucks and is gonna make 4 million a year.
the good: he doesn't walk anybody. he doesn't have a ton of mileage on his arm.
the bad: he gives up tons of home runs. He's gonna be 35 next year. he doesn't strike anyone out.
the prediction: 50 innings, 50 hits, 15 walks, 7 HR, 40 Ks, 3.50 ERA, another 4th place finish in the division for the O's.

K

3. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: November 16, 2006 at 11:07 PM (#2239811)

Players possibly worth 12 million:

Hitters:
Bonds
Drew
Soriano

Pitchers:
Zito
Schmidt
Clemens

All of these players maybe worth only $12 million but each will receive a contract for much more.

I will say, this deal makes the Neal Cotts trade look a lot better.

4. Smyly Smile (Walewander) Posted: November 16, 2006 at 11:14 PM (#2239819)

Jamie Walker doesn't suck at all. He's been very good, and very consistent, the last 4-5 years. That said, this is way too much $$ for his role. Best of luck Jamie, and congrats on cashing in.

5. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: November 16, 2006 at 11:24 PM (#2239832)

Woohoo! World Series, here we come!

6. birdlives is one crazy ninja Posted: November 17, 2006 at 03:47 AM (#2240011)

Unfortunately, overpaying is the only way any FA will come to BAL. $11 is obviously way too much for no, not a set up man, but a guy who comes in to faces one or two lefties and leaves. I'm happy to have Walker but the bullpen still needs a lot of work.

7. birdlives is one crazy ninja Posted: November 17, 2006 at 05:20 AM (#2240076)

I don't know if the Orioles have a shot at any of them anyway. I'm more afraid of the big deal they might make: Giving Carlos Lee enough money to make Albert Belle jealous.

Don't worry, the O's are experienced and skilled players at being used to drive up the bidding. The O's are were willing to spend big money on a player (see the failed attempts at Konerko and Pavano as two recent examples where the O's offered big money only to fail), but nobody wants to come to BAL. There is no way the O's will land a big name free agent this offseason. They'll have to overbid by such a significant amount that it'll take them past what they consider fiscal sanity.

8. TVerik Posted: November 17, 2006 at 05:23 AM (#2240079)

Do you think the Orioles think they are this close to contending? These look like moves to complete a good team, not to build from scratch.

Seriously, if the Yankees had signed Walker, I would have been happy with it, though maybe a bit dismayed at the price. But the O's?

I saw the title of this thread in Hot Topics and thought they had signed Larry Walker. My guess before clicking it was 8 years, $160 million.

9. birdlives is one crazy ninja Posted: November 17, 2006 at 06:14 AM (#2240133)

Do you think the Orioles think they are this close to contending? These look like moves to complete a good team, not to build from scratch.

The FO (actually a lot O's fans too judging from some fan sites) think the O's are a lot closer than a lot of people think because they think the team's "young pitchers" will turn a major corner and lead the team to glory. Plus, the O's had one of the worst bullpens last year. In the eyes of the FO, I suspect signing Walker is about addressing this need with the understanding that such moves won't make them a contender. Overall, it's a typical Orioles move. Picking up respectable players that will prevent them from being the 2003 Tigers because the blue chip players won't touch their money.

10. David Nieporent (now, with children) Posted: November 17, 2006 at 11:46 AM (#2240229)

I saw the title of this thread in Hot Topics and thought they had signed Larry Walker. My guess before clicking it was 8 years, $160 million.

I assumed Todd Walker. Larry admittedly retired a year ago, but he's an outfielder, and the team needs outfielders, so it seems unlikely the Orioles would go after him. They're much more likely to sign a player who plays a position where they already have a player. (I'm looking at you, Mr. Millar.)

11. bookninja Posted: November 17, 2006 at 02:28 PM (#2240257)

Nice feature for the Tigers: they lose a situational lefty and get a sandwich pick in the 2007 draft as compensation. High quality lefties are great, but most are organizational soldiers. Silly signing for the O's, smart no-sign for the Tigers at three years.

12. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: November 17, 2006 at 02:33 PM (#2240260)

It looks like one of those offseasons in which the Orioles decide that getting 4 players for $3 million is much smarter than getting 1 player for $12 million, perfected in their first try when they decided that Bordick, Segui, and Hentgen was a better use of the money that Mike Mussina wanted.

Do the Cubs and Orioles use the same playbook?

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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Orioles - Signed Walker

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