Heyman: Cruz and O's agree on deal (1 - $8M)

[Mayor McCheese]

We gave up a first round pick for a pitcher that was horrible for 2.5 of the last 3 years and a second round pick for a 34 year injury-prone cheater that doesn't get on base much. Oh yeah. We really cleaned up.

Oh boo hoo, we gave up our first round pick.

Check out our international signings... I bet they have just enough potential as a 17th pick.

[fearthenoodle]

He lost 7 million already. He can never get that back. He will be 35 when he goes again. The Orioles are almost certain to saddle with QO him again if he has a good year. He has to have a good year, or he is done. He's motivated.

Technically he will be 34 next off-season.

[LookinUp]

I don't expect many more moves, though a trade of someone like Britton still makes sense.

The best case scenario for this deal is Cruz hits .270, 28 HR and 90+ RBI. We get surplus value and he's good enough to offer a Q.O. so we get a supplemental next year.

The more realistic scenario is something like .260, 22, 70. We get about what we paid for, but don't feel confident giving him a Q.O. because he'd accept it. We lose this year's #2 and get nothing back next.

The worst case scenario is he tanks. I don't see this happening, but his age and history make this a realistic possibility.

I'm ok with the move, but don't love it. I have more confidence in Morales. The O's are basically betting on Cruz to play for his next contract. If that bet pays off, it'll look like a brilliant move next year.

[crawjo]

I'm really happy with this signing, although I wish we had made it a two year deal. I guess, though, we can make Cruz a qualifying offer next year and if he turns it down we'll get a pick.

But honestly I never quite got why people were so down on Cruz. He's a legit power hitter and I think I slightly prefer him to Morales. Although he is not a good outfielder, the fact that he can play the outfield at all is a plus in my view, in the event of an injury or just wanting to give one of our regular outfielders a day off.

With Jimenez and Cruz, this is now a roster we can go to war with. Game on.

[Ommaculate]

We gave up a first round pick for a pitcher that was horrible for 2.5 of the last 3 years and a second round pick for a 34 year injury-prone cheater that doesn't get on base much. Oh yeah. We really cleaned up.

That's a lie. Jiminez has been very good in 2 of the last 3 years. His bad year was an anomoly and he was hurt.

[MemphisOsFan]

Cruz should be motivated enough to perform well, is what I am hoping. I was hoping for Morales but like others have said, for the cost of Cruz's contract, it is worth it. I am not sure how far the Orioles are willing to go with their current payroll this year but it seems if they are going for it now instead waiting for their window to close.

[section18]

I didn't see it posted on here anywhere that Cruz is supposed to get $8 mill + $750,000 in incentives for being on the roster most of the season. We can still sign Ervin Santana. There are several pitchers who will not be on this team when the season starts that have more than league minimum salaries like Britton, Patton possibly Matusz, Norris, Reimold and Pearce that could be moved in deals. I like Norris but would you rather have him in your rotation or Santana. We can cover part of his $10-12 million dollar deal by moving these players in trades. About $11.5 million if my numbers are right.

[Fiver]

I don't particularly understand anyone complaining about this one. Yeah yeah draft picks blah blah blah. SCREW THAT. We watched a team that for 14 years was just godawful. Out of contention by June 1 year after year. Now we finally have a core worthy of supplementing, and they've gone and done it.

They have boosted themselves onto the contenders list with these moves. Look at that lineup someone posted a few pages ago. Top 5 is Markakis-Machado-Jones-Davis-Cruz. That's pretty sick, and after you deal with them, you still have to get through guys like Hardy and Weiters, who even with their weaknesses look a hell of a lot better that far down in the order than they did in the 2 and 4 spots.

If we had gone into the season touting AGAIN what's healthy Reimold can do, that would have sucked. Now guys like him, Pearce and the like are the auxiliary players they always should have been.

Its time to celebrate people. Screw the draft picks, for just this one year who gives a flying EFF. We have a LEGIT CONTENDER going into the season. We haven't been able to say that since 97. This is a GOOD DAY!!!!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[weams]

I didn't see it posted on here anywhere that Cruz is supposed to get $8 mill + $750,000 in incentives for being on the roster most of the season.

The 750,000 keeps him from being hurt or suspended.

[oriole]

Hmmm, I was really hoping Cruz wouldn't be an Oriole but at these terms I don't think I can complain. Welcome to bird land Nelson!

[Frobby]

My quick take on this is it would never have happened without first signing Jiminez. Dan did not believe Cruz was worth a first round pick . Second, Dan may be thinking about RF for 2015 with this and someone who could possibly replace Nick. Does Cruz want to turn down a QO two years in a row after the hit he took this offseason? Third, this is a move Angelos traditionally wouldn't have approved so it appears Dan has more leverage than thought. Finally, this puts payroll around $105M, which is about as high as I thought they would go, although for the longest time it didn't appear they would get there.

Good take, but is payroll really that high? BB-ref had us projected at $93.3 mm before today, and that was including all of Jimenez's 2014 salary, including the deferred $2.25 mm. In any event, Dan has kept his promises.

[SilentJames]

I hate giving up a draft pick for one year.

Hopefully the Orioles continue to go international to supplement the lost picks.

[AlbionHero]

We gave up a first round pick for a pitcher that was horrible for 2.5 of the last 3 years and a second round pick for a 34 year injury-prone cheater that doesn't get on base much. Oh yeah. We really cleaned up.

No, we gave up a first for a pitcher who was horrible 1 of the last 3 years (he had a 3.60 FIP in 2011, he was hurt by being a groundball pitcher with terrible defenses behind him). And we gave up a 2nd for a good home run hitter in a low risk move... why does being a "Cheater" have anything to do with his production? Does moral issues somehow make him a worse player?

[fearthenoodle]

Good take, but is payroll really that high? BB-ref had us projected at $93.3 mm before today, and that was including all of Jimenez's 2014 salary, including the deferred $2.25 mm. In any event, Dan has kept his promises.

I think we are roughly around $100M in terms of effective payroll.

PROJECTED OPENING DAY PAYROLL

C Wieters $7.7MM

1B Davis $10.35MM

2B Flaherty $500K

SS Hardy $7MM

3B Machado $500K

LF Lough $500K

CF Jones $13MM

RF Markakis $15MM

DH Cruz $8MM

BN Reimold $1.025MM

BN Pearce $850K

BN Clevenger $500K

BN Casilla $500K

SP Jimenez $9MM

SP Tillman $508K

SP Chen $4.072MM

SP Gonzalez $502K

SP Norris $5.3MM

RHP Yoon $750K

RHP O'Day 3.2MM

LHP Matusz 2.4MM

RHP Hunter 3MM

RHP Webb 2.25MM

RHP Aceves $1.2MM

LHP Britton $500K

X- LHP Patton 1.275MM

Grand total: $99.382MM

[fearthenoodle]

Couple things about that payroll I posted- I didn't include Yoon's bonus. Casilla likely makes double or slightly more the minimum if he makes the roster, but I don't have those numbers. All the ML mimimum guys likely will make more than the bare $500K minimum, but we're only talking small amounts at that point.