Jimenez to Orioles for $4/48m (Deal done)

[dagger]

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 1m
Source: #Orioles in agreement with Jimenez. Deal is pending physical.

Roch Kubatko ‏@masnRoch 3m
Source: #Orioles have made substantial progress on Jimenez and are working to finalize deal. Believed 4 years and around $48 mil.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 32s
Source confirms #Orioles working on deal with Jimenez. Report from @masnRoch said deal could be $48M for four years.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 6m
Source says numbers reported by @masnroch for #Orioles’ deal with Jimenez - four years, $48M - are “close” to actual value.

Sure, let a division rival get him. Too many years for my liking, but it still bites.

MASN is the sports network owned by the Orioles and Nationals, so I have no doubt the story has legs. No other details, so not clear what is guaranteed and what is not.

[Randle McMurphy]

If the Jays actually have any money to spend this offseason, please let it be on a hitter and not a pitcher now. Giving Ervin Santana a contract similar to this would be a mistake.

[dagger]

If the Jays actually have any money to spend this offseason, please let it be on a hitter and not a pitcher now. Giving Ervin Santana a contract similar to this would be a mistake.

Agreed, but I wonder if the plan changed somewhere between November and now. Almost seems like the plan now is to stand pat, and if the team doesn't get off to a great start, go into full rebuild mode. The team didn't take on any significant obligations, didn't trade any bullpen surplus once the Santos deal fell through. Back in November, tinkering with the catcher spot and trying to improve by dealing Santos at least signified a desire to make this lineup work for this season. Now, it seems like AA is poised to go give this lineup one final, brief go, and if that doesn't work, blow it up.

[MGD24]

what a joke

[Randle McMurphy]

If the Jays actually have any money to spend this offseason, please let it be on a hitter and not a pitcher now. Giving Ervin Santana a contract similar to this would be a mistake.

Agreed, but I wonder if the plan changed somewhere between November and now. Almost seems like the plan now is to stand pat, and if the team doesn't get off to a great start, go into full rebuild mode.

Don't think the plan has changed at all over the last few months (or that a full rebuild is even in AA's mind right now). They're trying to win in 2014 with a pretty flawed team where just about everything will have to go right to contend.

[dagger]

If the Jays actually have any money to spend this offseason, please let it be on a hitter and not a pitcher now. Giving Ervin Santana a contract similar to this would be a mistake.

Agreed, but I wonder if the plan changed somewhere between November and now. Almost seems like the plan now is to stand pat, and if the team doesn't get off to a great start, go into full rebuild mode.

Don't think the plan has changed at all over the last few months (or that a full rebuild is even in AA's mind right now). They're trying to win in 2014 with a pretty flawed team where just about everything will have to go right to contend.

I'm wondering if financially it has... the rapid decline of the C$ costs them some flexibility unless they were fully hedged. A lot of businesses were only partly hedged for 2014, and the rapid decline of the C$ caught them off guard. I don't think the team management is so naive as to think the odds of this lineup are that good, but it's the failure to follow up on the aborted Santos trade with another deal of relievers for starter or posititional help that intrigues me most.

[dagger]

John Lott ‏@LottOnBaseball 9m
Jimenez to O’s? Harrumph. #BlueJays are knee-deep in good starters, Gibbons and Walker told Toronto media today.

[dagger]

Greg Brady ‏@bradyfan590 1m
Starting to wonder (& I know nothing...stop nodding) if Rogers is telling AA "no extra cash" until you can prove YOU can dig out of this...

Greg Brady ‏@bradyfan590 49s
No one has to like it, but why give a GM you're unsure of another $30M when he HAS to improve by 22+ wins this season? I wouldn't.

[CapeCrusader]

Yeah depending on money, Santana wouldn't be bad. But at the same time I really want to see Hutch, Stroman and others given a shot at the rotation.

[dagger]

Ah, the recriminations are starting

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bradyfan590/status/435568940186468352[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bradyfan590/status/435569312330289152[/tweet]

[Randle McMurphy]

Agreed, but I wonder if the plan changed somewhere between November and now. Almost seems like the plan now is to stand pat, and if the team doesn't get off to a great start, go into full rebuild mode.

Don't think the plan has changed at all over the last few months (or that a full rebuild is even in AA's mind right now). They're trying to win in 2014 with a pretty flawed team where just about everything will have to go right to contend.

I'm wondering if financially it has... the rapid decline of the C$ costs them some flexibility unless they were fully hedged. A lot of businesses were only partly hedged for 2014, and the rapid decline of the C$ caught them off guard. I don't think the team management is so naive as to think the odds of this lineup are that good, but it's the failure to follow up on the aborted Santos trade with another deal of relievers for starter or posititional help that intrigues me most.

Would be pointless to speculate on the first. I don't think there's any reason to think the Jays aren't trying to improve their team, though. I think they're just trying to find ways to improve that can fit within the budget that has been set for them. Probably waiting for bargains that may never come, though.

[Wo1verine]

If we aren't going to sign a SP what about 2B or our bench? Pretty obvious those positions are terrible

[Wo1verine]

What do they expect to pay for a SP? C'mon this is FA we are talking about here.

[Schad]

His three-year fair market value would be about $10.4m/year, or one could look at it as him being underpaid relative to his 2011 and 2013 seasons, and drastically overpaid relative to his disastrous 2012 year. The money is where I expected, but I'm a bit surprised that he got four years...it's a major risk/reward deal for the Orioles, and it'll likely be the end of the second season before it's clear whether it was a good idea or a future albatross.

[Duffman100]

What do they expect to pay for a SP? C'mon this is FA we are talking about here.

Where I'm getting frustrated is the whole " the money is there is if we need it" spiel. Really? Is it? Every year we're getting the same "It was too expensive speech". Every year it's going to be expensive.

They just know if they come out and say they're on a X amount budget, people will lose their mind on Rogers.

[Ado05]

This will hurt even more if we sign Santana to a similar deal.

[joshgc]

This offseason has been a disappointment.

[youreachiteach]

What happened to "we need at least 2 starters?"

From the start of the free agency period to now, the Jays have backtracked 180 degrees. It's obvious their plan was a trade for Samardija or Anderson-- and when they fell through the next best thing was to try and wait out free agency in hopes for a bargain.

They've been setting themselves up with the "we have so much more depth than last year" in the media for months--when I heard that I knew no help was coming.

Hopefully, this plan of AA's is to see if the team can succeed and then save his bullets for the trade deadline this year...otherwise this was all bullsh*t.

[Wo1verine]

According to Buster, the Jays didn't even make an offer, lol

[youreachiteach]

Part of this is because of all the Boras clients--the Jays don't seem to want to deal with them, which lets out Drew. On top of that, they have already spent large on the backup second baseman they have already.

I knew nothing was happening at second, but I thought they;d at least bring a pitching piece to give them a little extra certainty,

We'll just have to hope that Hutch and Stroman and Sanchez turn out soon.