Baltimore Orioles Sign Dan Straily To Help Starting Rotation

The Baltimore Orioles have signed Dan Straily to a major league contract.

Originally reported on Twitter via Anderson Pickard of SBNation’s MLB Daily Dish and confirmed by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Baltimore Orioles have signed free agent starting pitcher Dan Straily to a major league contract.

Last week, it was reported that Straily had three offers from American League teams, all of which guaranteed him a spot in the starting rotation. It’s now confirmed that Straily has elected to make Baltimore his new home. MLB Network Radio’s Craig Mish has reported that the deal is worth $575,000.

I posted the question a few days ago, how much sense does Dan Straily make for the Baltimore Orioles? I said it made a lot of sense then and after watching this team since, I believe it even more.

This starting rotation doesn’t need to be going through a batting order three times, meaning they won’t be going deep into games, even on a good day. Brandon Hyde‘s bullpen has already been heavily worked through the first week of the season, thanks in large part to bullpen days lead by Nate Karns.

Dan Straily makes sense for the Baltimore Orioles.

While I like the strategy and Karns has performed well in his two short starts, the Orioles don’t currently have the manpower to be successful with it long term. Adding Dan Straily to the rotation isn’t going to win the Orioles many more games, but it will benefit the pitching staff. Karns can work out of the bullpen and continue getting his work in, teaming up with John Means to give the O’s two solid long relief options out of the pen and Mychal Givens won’t be needed to throw 50 pitches in one game.

As I mentioned previously, if Straily can return to his 2016 or 2017 form, the Orioles will have a 1-2 WAR player who could be an attractive piece at the deadline for a contending team.

Straily was with the Miami Marlins for the last two seasons, going 15-15 with a 4.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He logged 304 innings during his tenure with the Marlins and pitched 191 innings with the Cincinnati Reds in 2016. He’s been a reliable back-end piece for many seasons and will hopefully serve that same role with Baltimore.

As of 5:00 pm, no corresponding move has been officially confirmed by the Baltimore Orioles. There is an initial report by Anderson Pickard that it is Drew Jackson who has been designated for assignment, which would mean the Rule 5 utility man joins Pedro Araujo in being traded or returned to their respective teams, unless a deal can be worked out.

**Update: The Baltimore Orioles have confirmed that Drew Jackson has been designated for assignment. They must now find a trade partner or send him back to the Los Angeles Dodgers.**