Jair Jurrjens agrees to deal with Orioles

[brooksfrankjim]

I subscribe to the school of thought that says you can never have enough pitching. 18 months ago the guy was an all star. Think about it this way. Hammel, Gonzo, Tillman, and Chen all had their best ever MLB season last year. Maybe they all build upon last year but maybe some don't. JJ had the same story 18 months ago having his best ever season and then regressed with injuries.

Worst case he increases competition in camp and is in the Norfolk rotation waiting for his chance.

[Brendan25]

Why can't the Orioles afford a "big money guy"? Sometimes they earn their money. Why exactly do I have to "get over it?" Because I want this team to be more than a home base for projects?

Adam Eaton was a project. Garrett Atkins. Nick Johnson.Rich Hill.Danys Baez. Derrek Lee. They were all on the down side and we buy into the hope that they have nowhere to go but up,

or return to former glory.

Theres a ton of other guys like them that we sign.This guy was released by the Braves. If he had anything they wouldve signed him for something.I just feel frustrated that the REAL needs for

this team: 2nd base and another LH bat with good OBP is not addressed. We have enough solid arms.This guy isn't close to what we need. Low risk, high reward. Who cares? I just want high

reward.Im tired of bargain basement baseball.

Who do you want the Orioles to get at 2B?

[wildbillhiccup]

Wow. I'm a bit suprised that everyone's this excited over another reclamation project. I would have much rather have had Saunders, but I never would have given him a 3 year deal. One thing is for sure; the Braves know pitching. If they were willing to part with Jurjens that is a huge red flag IMO. For me, the only thing that seperates this move fro the others is that Jurjens at least has youth on his side. The chances fo this paning out are pretty slim, but at just over $1M it's probably worth the risk.

I also find it funny that people comment on his lack of Ks. These are some of the same people who have been endorsing a Porcello trade. I think I could strike out more batters than Rick Porcello.

[Brendan25]

Really, really happy with this move. Matusz, Arrieta, or Britton have not done anything to earn a locked spot in the rotation. I've said all along that they need to either be in the bullpen or AAA and earn their way back up. There is a small chance that Jurrjens doesn't make the club, but I think he does.

[DrungoHazewood]

This is a fine deal for the price. See if Peterson and others can fix what's wrong, maybe keep him healthy. When the talk was of the Jones deal I was seriously against it because of his collapsing peripherals, and that's still very much a concern. His strikeout rate has to be fixed, nobody can succeed striking out three per nine, and it's not easy at five. Especially when he's not really even a ground ball pitcher.

I'll be mildly surprised if anything comes of this, but I like surprises.

[Fan4Life]

Why can't the Orioles afford a "big money guy"? Sometimes they earn their money. Why exactly do I have to "get over it?" Because I want this team to be more than a home base for projects?

Adam Eaton was a project. Garrett Atkins. Nick Johnson.Rich Hill.Danys Baez. Derrek Lee. They were all on the down side and we buy into the hope that they have nowhere to go but up,

or return to former glory.

Theres a ton of other guys like them that we sign.This guy was released by the Braves. If he had anything they wouldve signed him for something.I just feel frustrated that the REAL needs for

this team: 2nd base and another LH bat with good OBP is not addressed. We have enough solid arms.This guy isn't close to what we need. Low risk, high reward. Who cares? I just want high

reward.Im tired of bargain basement baseball.

I would add "Until we have new ownership" to the end of the "you need to get over it comment".

[DrungoHazewood]

Wow. I'm a bit suprised that everyone's this excited over another reclamation project. I would have much rather have had Saunders, but I never would have given him a 3 year deal. One thing is for sure; the Braves know pitching. If they were willing to part with Jurjens that is a huge red flag IMO. For me, the only thing that seperates this move fro the others is that Jurjens at least has youth on his side. The chances fo this paning out are pretty slim, but at just over $1M it's probably worth the risk.

At $1.5M it's no big deal if he fails, and if he gets anywhere near his ceiling it's a steal. Saunders is obviously much more of a sure thing, but at a higher (maybe a lot higher) price.

I also find it funny that people comment on his lack of Ks. These are some of the same people who have been endorsing a Porcello trade. I think I could strike out more batters than Rick Porcello.

Porcello has the advantage of a much higher GB%. You can succeed (although it's not guaranteed, and you rely more on defense) in the majors with a low K rate if you do other things well and get grounders. Jurrjens doesn't get many grounders and he walks over three men per nine. In his better years he outpitched his FIP and xFIP and SIERA by a lot, and you can't count on that. Obviously he's going to have to fix some stuff if he's going to pitch well.

[Frobby]

I think there is a big difference in strategic purpose to signing Jair Jurrjens and signing Joe Sauders. If you sign Jurrjens and not Saunders, you basically are saying you are counting on someone -- not necessarily Jurjjens -- to have a better year than last year in order to hold down a rotation spot, and may the best man win. Could be Jurjjens, could be Britton, could be Arrieta, could be Matusz, could be Hunter, or eventually could be Wada. You are not signing Jurjjens on the assumption that he will win a spot, you are merely giving him the opportunity. If you sign Saunders, you are assuming that he is getting a rotation spot, and you are banking on him to be essentially the smae pitcher he always has been. And you are saying to all the young guys, if you want a rotation spot, you are going to hope that one of Hammel, Chen, Gonzalez, Tillman or Saunders gets hurt or has a very disappointing season, because if they pitch exactly the same as they did last year, there is no spot for you.

I'm OK with the Jurjjens signing, but I don't really view him as a guy who was very good in 2008-11 and just had a bad year in 2012. The fact that the Braves were willing to trade Jurjjens, Prado and Delgado for Jones -- before Jones had his big year last season -- tells me that the Braves knew he was damaged goods. Let's not forget that in 2011, Jurjjens had a 1.51 ERA in April/May, but then slipped to 4.07 for the next three months, and then didn't pitch in September. The Braves knew things weren't right with Jurrjens, and that was proven out in 2012. So I'm not too sanguine that this is a matter of letting Rick Peterson tweak Jurjjens' mechanics. Is it worth $1.5 mm to see if Jurjjens can be resurrected? Yeah, maybe. But I'd say the odds that this experiment will succeed are in the 25% range, if that. That's the reason that a guy like Jurjjens is available at such a low price.

[DrungoHazewood]

Why can't the Orioles afford a "big money guy"? Sometimes they earn their money. Why exactly do I have to "get over it?" Because I want this team to be more than a home base for projects?

Adam Eaton was a project. Garrett Atkins. Nick Johnson.Rich Hill.Danys Baez. Derrek Lee. They were all on the down side and we buy into the hope that they have nowhere to go but up,

or return to former glory.

Theres a ton of other guys like them that we sign.This guy was released by the Braves. If he had anything they wouldve signed him for something.I just feel frustrated that the REAL needs for

this team: 2nd base and another LH bat with good OBP is not addressed. We have enough solid arms.This guy isn't close to what we need. Low risk, high reward. Who cares? I just want high

reward.Im tired of bargain basement baseball.

Maybe you're doing this for effect, hoping your visibility and media presence will influence the decision-making. But you know full well that the Orioles won't spend money because of ownership. If Angelos was ever going to spend it would be this offseason. Since he didn't, and we didn't get any indications he tried, we have to conclude it's never happening. At least not until they really start raking it in with many years of sustained success.

[Singleton]

I'm pretty "meh" on this move. It doesn't cost much and he has options so not much harm but he has had injury woes and there's lots not to like in his stats. The notion that Peterson is some sort of diety that can work magic is odd given the lack of advancement of Arrieta, Britton and Matusz among others. I'm not suggesting Peterson is no good. I'm just saying that a pitching coach can only do so much.

[DrungoHazewood]

I think there is a big difference in strategic purpose to signing Jair Jurrjens and signing Joe Sauders. If you sign Jurrjens and not Saunders, you basically are saying you are counting on someone -- not necessarily Jurjjens -- to have a better year than last year in order to hold down a rotation spot, and may the best man win. Could be Jurjjens, could be Britton, could be Arrieta, could be Matusz, could be Hunter, or eventually could be Wada. You are not signing Jurjjens on the assumption that he will win a spot, you are merely giving him the opportunity. If you sign Saunders, you are assuming that he is getting a rotation spot, and you are banking on him to be essentially the smae pitcher he always has been. And you are saying to all the young guys, if you want a rotation spot, you are going to hope that one of Hammel, Chen, Gonzalez, Tillman or Saunders gets hurt or has a very disappointing season, because if they pitch exactly the same as they did last year, there is no spot for you.

I'm OK with the Jurjjens signing, but I don't really view him as a guy who was very good in 2008-11 and just had a bad year in 2012. The fact that the Braves were willing to trade Jurjjens, Prado and Delgado for Jones -- before Jones had his big year last season -- tells me that the Braves knew he was damaged goods. Let's not forget that in 2011, Jurjjens had a 1.51 ERA in April/May, but then slipped to 4.07 for the next three months, and then didn't pitch in September. The Braves knew things weren't right with Jurrjens, and that was proven out in 2012. So I'm not too sanguine that this is a matter of letting Rick Peterson tweak Jurjjens' mechanics. Is it worth $1.5 mm to see if Jurjjens can be resurrected? Yeah, maybe. But I'd say the odds that this experiment will succeed are in the 25% range, if that. That's the reason that a guy like Jurjjens is available at such a low price.

Yes, Saunders is a near-lock to give someone 150+ innings of respectable performance at something like 2/15. Jurjjens was available at 1/1.5 because the industry believes he's a very high risk of not producing anything valuable at all. Jurrjens gives you the possibility of some depth and options, Saunders gives you a back-end starter.

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm pretty "meh" on this move. It doesn't cost much and he has options so not much harm but he has had injury woes and there's lots not to like in his stats. The notion that Peterson is some sort of diety that can work magic is odd given the lack of advancement of Arrieta, Britton and Matusz among others. I'm not suggesting Peterson is no good. I'm just saying that a pitching coach can only do so much.

I suppose the other side of that argument is that guys like Dave Duncan and Mazzone (and hopefully Peterson) do well when they're picking the guys they want to fix. Not as well when they're handed a full slate of pitchers with various traits that might not fit the coach's model. It's possible that Peterson saw something in Jurrjens that he thinks he can tweak.

[Norfolk orioles]

I'd rather have a healthy, reliable Saunders for more money than a VERY questionable jurrgens on the cheap in the hope that he will magically get his act together.

Is it possible he will? Sure, it's possible.

But we know what Saunders is about. He pitched well in the playoffs and really helped solidify our rotation at the end of last year.

If this move prevents us from resigning Saunders, I think it stinks, just so Angelos can save a few dollars. If, however, we still sign Saunders, I think it's a great move. The risk/reward factor isn't my main issue, it's whether or not Angelos decided to be a cheapskate by taking a risk on jurrgens instead of ponying up and paying a guy who helped get us to the playoffs and performed well there.

Guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

[crowmst3k!]

Jurrjen's stats for 2012 in a small sample were abysmal. That K-Rate...wow. That HR rate...wow.

That said, if he sucks...there's a myriad of guys available on the 40 man roster to start every 5th day. If it's not Jurrjens, it's Matusz, or Arrieta, or Steve Johnson, or Wada, or Tommy Hunter.

I think the O's could get by with that and make another Saunders-like move around the deadline if Jurrjens falters, and the O's are still in the race.

[hendu]

I'd rather have a healthy, reliable Saunders for more money than a VERY questionable jurrgens on the cheap in the hope that he will magically get his act together.

Is it possible he will? Sure, it's possible.

But we know what Saunders is about. He pitched well in the playoffs and really helped solidify our rotation at the end of last year.

If this move prevents us from resigning Saunders, I think it stinks, just so Angelos can save a few dollars. If, however, we still sign Saunders, I think it's a great move. The risk/reward factor isn't my main issue, it's whether or not Angelos decided to be a cheapskate by taking a risk on jurrgens instead of ponying up and paying a guy who helped get us to the playoffs and performed well there.

Guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

Jergen's, my junior high girl friend.