Gallardo - Roch: deal is DONE (signed)

[Frobby]

The O's doctors might be technically correct, but that's not the problem. As Frobby indicated, the problem is waiting this long to "sort out" the pitching picture, going through the process of reaching an agreement, and then watching it fall apart with no backup options. Or (maybe) worse...completing the Gallardo deal only to discover that he is, in fact, damaged goods.

I am not necessarily blaming the team for (1) waiting until the end of the winter to sign an established starter, or (2) giving him a thorough physical and only going through with the deal if they are satisfied with the results. But, that approach did have certain risks, and now we are watching one of those risks play out. If we had reached a deal with Gallardo a month ago and then had issues with his physical, there still would have been a few options out there in the marketplace.

At this point, there is a lot of speculation as to just what the nature of the issue is and how likely it is to cause the Orioles to back out of the deal or seek to renegotiate. I don't think the information out there is that solid, so I'm just going to sit back and see what happens rather than get all worked up about outcomes that may or may not occur.

[baltfan]

I am so tired of the national media trashing the Orioles on this. I didn't hear any trashing of the Dodgers on Iwakuma. I didn't hear any trashing of the Yanks on Hunter.

A few years back the Sox renegotiated with Napoli because of a degenerative hip. He went from 3/39 to 1/5. I didn't hear anyone complaining when it turned out his hip was fine.

The last time we heard all of this complaining by the media it was with Balfor. Everyone laughed at the Orioles. His personal physician came out and excoriated them in public. He signed with the Rays instead. 4.91 ERA in the first year. Released after 4 innings in the second year.

The Orioles are doing exactly the right thing. If Gallardo is healthy, let him sign a more incentive laden contract or just go to another team. If the Orioles are such idiots, their opinion shouldn't affect how another team feels about Gallardo.

[fearthenoodle]

Just like every other media person, I'm sure Jim Duquette is simply speculating about Angelos. Just last night we heard that the hold-up was over whether or not to give up the draft pick if Gallardo was perceived as a higher than normal injury risk.

So which is it, because you know Angelos doesn't know or care anything about that draft pick. So it's either about Angelos and money or the FO and draft picks.

[Tx Oriole]

Well nail meet coffin.

And how does JD know this? He is not associated with the O's anymore? Nor do I

believe DD called up JD to discuss Gallardo.

[lovetoaster]

I really don't like the fact that players' medical issues are being reported, when a big amount of money is on the line. I don't know where the leak is, but it should be dealt with harshly. I can't imagine it's coming from the player.

Unfortunately it happens all the time these days. And I agree, it's not cool. Fans and media are rabid for more information, wanting to know what is happening at every moment. Some information comes out, it gets analyzed incessantly, and conclusions are drawn that are usually incorrect. But we kinda forget that there is a human being that we are playing internet physician with.

But you are right...medical leaks are a pretty serious issue. It's illegal. I mean, look at those hospital staffers that leaked Jason Pierre-Paul's medical charts. Not just information, but his actual charts. That's just ridiculous. They got fired, but probably should and very well might face criminal charges.

[CaptainRedbeard]

Gallardo's only real selling point is his durability. His medical record has a large impact on his value as a free agent. There are some serious penalties to the Orioles backing out of the deal and they wouldn't do it if it wasn't justified. It hurts their chance of negotiating with free agents with injury questions marks, and they expose themselves to legal repercussions of negotiating in bad faith if they back out of the deal without evidentiary support of a medical issue.

Cancelling a deal that has some legitimate money on the table due to the physical is a risky thing to do, so I see almost no scenario where the Orioles are doing it as some sort of perverse bargaining tactic to get Gallardo to sign to a better contract.

I'd also add that Heyman's take on this is completely asinine. Because he's been durable in the past we shouldn't worry about new medical issues that we're only seeing now? Presumably they have his current MRI now to compare to an old one. I believe it's normal practice to have the old MRIs before even signing the contract, but not the new one from the physical after signing. If he'd torn his labrum in the offseason, by Heyman's logic, we shouldn't care because he was durable in the past. The Orioles are clearly seeing some kind of medical problem that Gallardo didn't have before.

[atomic]

It's definitely a poor situation for the O's to be in, even if Gallardo is healthy. Reminds us just how important it is to be able to develop your own staff. Which is an extra-frustrating notion considering the guys the O's have given away in the past 3 years without much to show for it.

The Orioles haven't really developed their own staff. None of the starters at the start of last season were drafted by the Orioles: Chen, Gonzalez, Norris, Tilman, and Jiminez were all drafted by other teams. Same in 2014 and 2013. That grow the Arms things was some BS that MacPhail came up with to give us 4 straight seasons where we couldn't even win 70 games. I prefer winning..

[DrungoHazewood]

If we had reached a deal with Gallardo a month ago and then had issues with his physical, there still would have been a few options out there in the marketplace.

A month ago Gallardo was probably asking for a Chen/Kennedy deal.

[CaptainRedbeard]

Also, of all possible times, this is the worst possible time to criticize Angelos for being afraid to spend money. He's dropped nearly $300 million this offseason. Clearly he's not afraid to spend on healthy players. The only reason he'd be afraid to spend on Gallardo is if he isn't healthy.

[Dark Helmet]

First of all: Jim Duquette. Second of all: he just said they're not out.

I doubt PA signs off on this deal. Imo. And I wont blame him if he does. I just don't get why some are reporting one thing and some others. The National guys are reporting a possible restructure. Then you have Roch sayings it's basically just a more thorough look at things. Then Britt reporting the MRI showed nothing abnormal. It's been a weird ride since this started.

[CallMeBrooksie]

The Orioles haven't really developed their own staff. None of the starters at the start of last season were drafted by the Orioles: Chen, Gonzalez, Norris, Tilman, and Jiminez were all drafted by other teams. Same in 2014 and 2013. That grow the Arms things was some BS that MacPhail came up with to give us 4 straight seasons where we couldn't even win 70 games. I prefer winning..

Are you really trying to argue that buying your pitching staff on the FA market is preferable to developing your own?

If the O's had been able to develop a couple of solid starters from within who are cost-controlled for years, they wouldn't be in this situation with Gallardo, who really isn't a game-changer to begin with. Do you disagree?

[DrungoHazewood]

I do too, right now, too early to push the panic button.

I'm having a hard time pulling out the gas can to self-immolate over a guy who Steamer forecasts to 1.6 wins.

[McLovin]

I'm having a hard time pulling out the gas can to self-immolate over a guy who Steamer forecasts to 1.6 wins.

That's kind of where I am. If they sign him, I'm OK. If not, it's probably for the best.

[jjnono]

I'm having a hard time pulling out the gas can to self-immolate over a guy who Steamer forecasts to 1.6 wins.

Correct. I've never thought Gallardo would make us a substantially better team. Better by degrees, maybe. But not a player I couldn't walk away from.

[El Gordo]

I doubt PA signs off on this deal. Imo. And I wont blame him if he does. I just don't get why some are reporting one thing and some others. The National guys are reporting a possible restructure. Then you have Roch sayings it's basically just a more thorough look at things. Then Britt reporting the MRI showed nothing abnormal. It's been a weird ride since this started.

The National media are stirring the pot with speculation to fill columns. Roch and Britt are reporting what the club wants you to hear. I would tend to believe Roch and Britt over Rosenthall.

And Jim Duquette has his own ax to grind with PA.