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Baltimore Orioles rumors: Blue Jays interested in Chris Tillman

By Kristen Bentley

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 30: Chris Tillman #30 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 30, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 30: Chris Tillman #30 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 30, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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The latest Baltimore Orioles rumor does not involve the Orioles and fans should rejoice.

Instead, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman is drawing interest from the Toronto Blue Jays.

This is great news because it means that the Orioles should not be able to re-sign the pitcher that managed to record an ERA of 7.84 in 93 innings pitched.

This fantastic rumor comes via Jon Morosi through Twitter:

Quiet free agency for former Orioles pitchers

It was a good day when the season ended and the Orioles let three of their starting pitchers enter free agency. Along with Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Wade Miley led the Orioles to the bottom of the AL East with horrible pitching. The Minnesota Twins have shown interest in Miley according to NBCSports. And no teams have shown any interest in Jiminez. It’s not much of a surprise that the free agency market has been slow for these players. It’s been slow for everyone.

Earlier in January, Tillman was tied to the Orioles as he appeared at the minicamp for pitchers. Tillman has been working out at the Orioles facilities in Sarasota, Florida. Several sources, including Rich Dubroff with Press Box, the Orioles have given him permission to conduct his workouts there. By simply working out at Ed Smith Stadium, he has managed to remain on the radar of the Orioles. With three spots to fill, an inexpensive Tillman could be re-signed to eat innings.

But, let’s hope not.

Quality of pitches weren’t good in 2017

More from Orioles News

A unique statistic that shows why the Orioles should not re-sign Tillman is the Quality of Pitch stat (QOP).  Bad pitches are balls, intentional walks, hit-by-pitch, and balls in the dirt. Quality pitches include strikes. You can read more about the statistic here.

According to this statistic, Tillman repeatedly had some of the worst quality of pitch statistics on the team. In 2017, his QOP number was 4.11. This number put him ahead of Mychal Givens and Gabriel Ynoa. The QOP average in the MLB was 4.56. The pitcher with the best QOP in 2017 in the MLB was Darren O’Day with 6.01. This statistic offers some surprises, as Max Scherzer was given a 3.98 rating in his QOP. Yu Darvish had a QOP average of 4.56 and so did Gerrit Cole. Check out your favorite pitcher’s statistic here.

Next: Several minor league players suspended for PED violations

As an Orioles fan, I would be perfectly happy with Tillman heading off to Canada. Maybe the Orioles will be able to hit a few home runs off of him in 2018.

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