I really have liked the moves the Baltimore Orioles have made in the offseason so far. This last move they made? Well, not so much.
The Orioles signed RHP Kevin Gregg to a two-year, $10 million contract. The deal also includes a vesting option for 2013 which can bring the total value of the contract to $16 – $20 million according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
Gregg stays in the AL East
Look, Gregg had a decent season with the Toronto Blue Jays last season. He had a 3.51 ERA, averaged 8.85 K’s/9, he held batters to a .238 average and had a 42.3 Groundball Percentage in 59 innings. There’s nothing really wrong with those numbers.
But here is my issue with this signing. The Orioles already invested $12 million in Mike Gonzalez ($6 million in 2011) and $3 million in Koji Uehara. Why invest potentially another $16 – $20 million in a mediocre relief pitcher? Especially when you don’t expect to compete for a division title of Wild Card for at least another two years.
I could think of 20 other ways the Orioles could spend that $10 million other than on Gregg. I think it’s a universal rule that a bad-to-mediocre team shouldn’t spend a ton of money on their bullpen. The Orioles figure to have a payroll of around $65 million in 2011. Twenty-two percent of that payroll will be spent on Gonzalez, Gregg and Uehara.
That’s way, way, way too much.
I get what the Orioles are attempting to do with this signing. There is nothing more demoralizing to a young team than fighting to grab a lead for eight innings and then having your closer implode in the ninth to lose the game.
The Orioles figure if they can build a solid bullpen, it will help their starting pitchers develop. While that may be true, I just think they have the wrong guys in the pen to pull that off. Having two mediocre relievers in Gonzalez and Gregg doesn’t equal one solid reliever.
The Blue Jays will receive a draft pick for losing Gregg. The Orioles will not lose a draft pick for signing Gregg.
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