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February 17, 2014Tribe, Browns and more Tribe with TD – WFNY Podcast – 2014-02-18
February 17, 2014With pitchers and catchers already in camp for Spring Training, it was only a matter of time before Ubaldo Jimenez finally got a lucrative contract. The Baltimore Orioles gave him just that when they agreed to terms with the former Indian on a 4-year, $48 million contract, per Ken Rosenthal and MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko.
Source: #Orioles in agreement with Jimenez. Deal is pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 17, 2014
Source: #Orioles have made substantial progress on Jimenez and are working to finalize deal. Believed 4 years and around $48 mil.
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) February 17, 2014
Several teams were reportedly interested in Jimenez, one of the last high-profile free agent starters on the market. There had been talk that the Toronto Blue Jays were in on him, and Baltimore had to give Ubaldo the fourth year to get the deal done. The Indians as a result will receive first-round draft pick compensation (the 30th pick) for the loss of Ubaldo Jimenez. The Orioles meanwhile will forfeit the 17th pick and corresponding pool money in this summer’s draft. There was some outside hope that the longer that Jimenez remained on the open market, the greater possibility he could return to Cleveland at a discount. However, news broke last week that the Indians had not spoken to Jimenez’s representation in “weeks” and ended realistic hopes of such an event.
Jimenez was one of the most polarizing figures on the Tribe since his July 2011 acquisition from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for prospects Drew Pomeranz and Alex White. He was a huge disappointment in 2011 and 2012, but his 2013 effort from May through the end of the season was one of the single most critical contributions to the Indians’ surprise playoff run. How huge were his contributions? Here’s an excerpt from my nomination of Ubaldo as WFNY Sportsman of the Year 2013.
He struck out more batters per nine innings than at any point in his career in 2013, and he greatly reduced his walk rate to within the same range as he was at when he was an All-Star and Cy Young contender in 2010. Cleveland went 21-11 in his 32 outings and 8-2 in his no-decisions, including one loss where Ubaldo left with the lead.
Jiménez allowed more than two earned runs in a start just ONCE after July 14th. In his six September starts, the Indians were 6-0, and Ubaldo earned four of those wins himself, allowing just 4 earned runs in 41 1/3 innings (0.87 ERA) while walking just 7 and striking out 51. In Game 162, needing a win to guarantee a wild card spot and not just a home play-in game or a wild card berth that could have potentially taken them on the road, Jiménez was brilliant. He kept the Twins’ bats silent for 6 2/3 innings, allowing a lone run on five hits while striking out 13 batters. Ubaldo Jiménez cemented October baseball being played in Cleveland, Ohio for the first time in six years.
With Jimenez officially out of the picture, the Indians head into the spring with Justin Masterson, Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber, and Zach McAllister as four near-locks for the rotation. The fifth starter spot will be a competition between youngsters Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, and Trevor Bauer as well as non-roster invitees Shaun Marcum and Aaron Harang. A couple starter options do remain in free agency such as Chris Capuano, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana.
Related: The Diff: Looking at extension examples for the Indians and Jason Kipnis
18 Comments
As I have tweeted earlier, Ubaldo isn’t going to help Baltimore avoid being a last place team. Too many factors against him.
I’m glad Baltimore got him instead of the teams I hate.
Hopefully we grab Ervin Santana on a one year deal.
that will not happen now that ubaldo signed. santana is a better pitcher and will likely get a better deal very soon now that U signed. i would love to have him on a 1 year shot
Big loss
Kinda torn on this. He could revert back to his bad ways or be the ace again. That 5th spot has to be filled ASAP.
I’m fine with this. This guy is not worth 4 years/48 million. He pitched really well for a 2 month stretch last year, but his body of work as a whole for the tribe had a lot more lows than highs.
I wonder what the pitching coach’s first reaction was.
I wonder what’s it’s like to walk into a casino with $48 million and put it all on red.
You think you would get a comp room for the night. Payback for Reynolds
No prob with the Indians not throwing $40m+ guaranteed at Ubaldo, especially if they plan on at least attempting to sign Masterson to something approaching market value. The Tribe knows Ubaldo better than anyone, they have the pitching coach that finally helped him and are in the best position to make the most educated guess as to whether he might ever repeat the second half of last season.
You never know, but I think it’s more likely that in a couple years it’s Baltimore that regrets this.
Big free agent contracts are the worst deals in baseball, especially for pitchers. Owners know this, but they can’t stop themselves. A few of these deals pan out, but the list of expensive free agent flops is long and regrettable.
BTW, this is further evidence that players as well as owners ought to chip in more for stadium upkeep and such and leave the taxpayers alone (starts pushing rock back up hill again).
The money is in the bank, which is good for Ubaldo, but if I were him I’d regret not taking the qualifying offer. The comp pick and question marks about his consistency clearly hurt his value. If he could have put up another year like 2013, he makes a lot more.
I think he’s just as likely overjoyed with $40m guaranteed, knowing he pulled the fat from the fire in the last 3 months of his last contract.
They’re not mutually exclusive.
Giving up the draft pick, I’d hope we get more than one year.
free buffet
AAV is about right. Length of contract is not, but that’s the market we live in. Maybe eventually fans and commentators will adjust to the realities, but right now basically every contract seems like an overpay. Good for the Orioles, and I wish Ubaldo all the best. I hope he pitches against us when we’re in Baltimore (which is basically my only opportunity to see the Tribe this summer).