The Baltimore Orioles have re-signed first baseman and outfielder Chris Davis, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Saturday.
Davis signed a seven-year, $161 million deal with the Orioles, Heyman reported. That is $23 million per season, which ties him as the highest-paid free agent on a per year basis with new-Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward. In total guarantee, however, Davis falls short of Heyward by one-year and $23 million. The deal has an interesting structure. Davis will make $17 million per season over the life of the contract, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Then, he will receive $3.5 million a year from 2023 to 2032. From 2033 to 2037, Chris Davis will make $1.4 million a year. In terms of total deferred money, Davis will be paid $42 million after his deal expires. It obviously is interesting to see a deal structured this way, but deferred money is not rare around baseball, especially in larger contracts. It allows for the Orioles to have more space on their payroll to try and contend while Davis is under contract. He is not as much of a burden on their payroll as he would be without the deferred money. Davis is one of the most feared sluggers in all of Major League Baseball, hitting 126 home runs in the past three seasons in Baltimore, averaging 46 per 162 games played. He obviously would command a big contract from the start of this offseason. Scott Boras is Davis' agent, and he is known for always getting a lot of money for his players. Davis did not have many suitors outside of the Orioles this offseason, but their negotiations reportedly did not go too smoothly. The Orioles reportedly discussed amongst themselves whether to walk away from negotiations with Davis at numerous times. They reportedly had an offer out to Davis of seven-years and $154 million, but would not raise their offer any further to meet his demands. The latest update in Baltimore came just yesterday, when the Orioles were allegedly very frustrated with the negotiations of Davis and could consider moving on to other options like Yoenis Cespedes. It's not exactly certain what ended up happening, though it appears that if the Orioles were considering moving on to Cespedes, they had a quick change of heart and gave into Davis' huge contract wishes. Last season, the soon-to-be 30-year-old hit .262/.361/.562 with 47 home runs and 117 RBIs in 670 plate appearances. However, he also struck out a league-leading 208 times. According to FanGraphs, Chris Davis was worth 5.6 Wins Above Replacement. Over his Orioles' career, Davis has been an invaluable part of their lineup, amassing 15.1 fWAR in about 3 1/2 years with the club. --Devan Fink
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The free agent outfield market, outside of Jason Heyward, has been slow moving.
Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon, and Justin Upton are all out there for teams to sign, but the three have yet to really develop their markets. Barring a major shakeup, they will probably all be free agents going into the new year. According to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez, Cespedes' market, in particular, has begun to take shape. He reports that the Orioles and White Sox are emerging as leaders for Cespedes "for now." The Giants and Angels are also reportedly in the mix and the Rangers are monitoring the situation. Both Baltimore and Chicago have shown the need for an outfielder. The Orioles are missing depth in the corner outfield. They already agreed to sign Hyun-soo Kim out of Korea to fill one of the two sports, but as of now, L.J. Hoes is the starter in the other. In general, the Orioles' lineup will take a step back with the expected loss of Chris Davis from the heart of the order. As for Chicago, they are in a similar situation. The team showed their willingness to contend already this offseason, acquiring Todd Frazier from the Reds. Any outfielder they sign would likely be an upgrade over Avisail Garcia in right field. He hit for just a .675 OPS and 89 OPS+ in 601 plate appearances. The Giants and Angels have already been connected to free agent outfielders this offseason. The Rangers could always make a splash. Last season, the 30-year-old Cespedes hit .291/.328/.542 with 35 home runs and 105 RBIs in 676 plate appearances with the Tigers and Mets. According to FanGraphs, he was worth a whopping 6.7 Wins Above Replacement. --Devan Fink
After Mike Leake signed earlier this week, the market for other mid-tier starting pitchers, like Yovani Gallardo, have begun to move to forefront around Major League Baseball.
Gallardo's agent, Alan Nero of Octagon, told The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo said that he has been in discussions, but that nothing has "moved forward" during this holiday week. Teams are in on him, but not quite all-in. The Royals, Astros, and Orioles have all been linked to the free agent right-hander. Cafardo notes that fellow starter Scott Kazmir's market appears to be tied to Gallardo's, meaning that once Gallardo signs, teams who were unable to get him will turn to Kazmir. They are, at least in my opinion, going to get comparable contracts. Gallardo, who turns 30 in February, was very solid production-wise last year. He went 13-11 with a 3.42 ERA and a 121 to 68 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 184 1/3 innings pitched. According to FanGraphs, he was worth 2.5 Wins Above Replacement. --Devan Fink
The Baltimore Orioles have re-signed right-handed relief pitcher Darren O'Day to a four-year deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on Sunday.
O'Day will make $31 million over the contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. O'Day was reportedly deciding between the Nationals and Orioles. Reports last night stated that the Nationals were the front runners for O'Day, but Rosenthal reported this morning that they were reluctant to give him a fourth year, which the Orioles ended up giving. In MLB Trade Rumors' Top-50 free agent rankings, O'Day was the highest ranking reliever, coming in at No. 33. With him signing, the relief market should progress quickly. O'Day's $7.75 million annual average value is a lot of money for a non-closing relief pitcher, but his signing comes on the heels of an offseason when relief pitching was getting plenty of money. In the 2014-2015 offseason, David Robertson (four-years, $46 million) and Andrew Miller (four-years, $36 million) set the tone for good relief pitcher money. While those players are both closers, O'Day is one of the best setup men in baseball and wanted a contract in that range. Last season, O'Day went 6-2 with a 1.52 ERA, 11.3 K/9 ratio, and 1.9 BB/9 ratio in 65 1/3 innings pitched. He was named to the American League All-Star team, the first distinction of his career. Advanced pitching metrics FIP and xFIP pegged him at 2.49 and 3.05, according to FanGraphs. As for the Orioles, O'Day coming back gives them a potentially strong back-end bullpen in 2016. Along with Mychal Givens and Zach Britton, the Orioles hope the trio will be able to shut down the opponent's lineup at the end of games. --Devan Fink Here's the latest around the league from Tuesday.
Minnesota Twins sign Byung-ho Park to a four-year, $12 million deal. The Korean third baseman's contract includes an option for the 2020 season worth $6.5 million with a $500,000 buyout. Park and the Twins had a 30-day negotiation window for a contract after they won the bidding for him last month. Park is a slugging third baseman out of a hitter-friendly KBO. Even by KBO standards, he still posted eye-popping numbers, hitting a combined 105 home runs over the last two seasons. Baltimore Orioles acquire Mark Trumbo and another player from the Seattle Mariners for Steve Clevenger This deal is not quite completed yet, but according to Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune, the Orioles will be receiving Trumbo, who has moved around quite a bit over the last few seasons. The Mariners have increasingly wanted to deal Trumbo over the past few days, due to the fact that he will be owed a large sum in arbitration this offseason that they apparently are not willing to pay. According to MLB Trade Rumors' predictions, Trumbo will make around $9.1 million this offseason. The Orioles see a potential replacement for Chris Davis in Trumbo, who has plenty of power, but has horrid defense. The almost-30-year-old has averaged 31 home runs per 162 games played, but has on-base percentage issues. Last season, he hit .262/.310/.449 with 22 homers and 64 RBIs between the Diamondbacks and Mariners. --Devan Fink |
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