Baltimore Orioles: Possible Jurrjens explanation

One lingering question for the Baltimore Orioles is what’s going on with Jair Jurrjens? The O’s agreed to a one-year contract with the right-handed pitcher a few weeks ago, however the deal has yet to be “formally announced.” There are some injury concerns with Jurrjens, specifically knee problems that have plagued him in the past. All deals are contingent on physicals, so apparently the Orioles have seen something in Jurrjens’ physical that raised a red flag. Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter have been fairly mum on the issue all week, simply saying that they hoped to “have that finished in a few days’ time.”

Courtesy of Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

However there’s another possibility that would come across as a bit more benign regarding Jurrjens. Once spring training starts (workouts that is) teams have the option of using the 60-day DL once again. The Orioles also have Tsuyoshi Wada, who’s coming off of Tommy Johns surgery last year. Wada was signed last off season (along with Wei-Yin Chen) from the Japanese League, and never really got going due to the necessity of surgery. At the moment the Orioles’ 40-man roster is full, which would mean that the team would have to make a roster move to bring Jurrjens aboard.

From what I’ve heard, Wada won’t be ready for the beginning of the season, so is it not possible that they’re trying to get a grasp on his timetable before formally bringing Jurrjens on? If Wada can be put on the 60-day DL, there’s your corresponding roster move for Jurrjens. That’s a theory folks…I’m not a doctor and I’m not reading the results of Jurrjens’ physical. Odds are there were a few complications with the results, and the Orioles are trying to get some questions answered before formally bringing him on. You might recall a couple of seasons ago the O’s signed Justin Duchscherer to a one-year deal just before spring training commenced. Duchscherer appeared in one Grapefruit League game before aggravating a hip injury and was ultimately released in August of that year without ever seeing the field with the Orioles (in a regular season game). The Orioles ended up being on the hook for Duchscherer’s salary that season, a situation I’m sure that Duquette, Showalter, and owner Peter Angelos want to avoid with Jair Jurrjens.