Friday’s Baltimore Orioles news roundup is here! We’ve got a fresh new free agent signing to recap in addition to catching you up on all the latest happenings within the world of Major League Baseball. Time to get your day started off right.
Orioles News 12/16/22 – O’s sign Adam Frazier and other MLB News
Adam Frazier: the newest Baltimore Oriole
The O’s finalized their latest signing of the offseason Thursday afternoon when Adam Frazier agreed to a one year, $8 million deal. The second baseman will presumably fill a similar role that Rougned Odor did last year, though he offers a bit more defensive versatility as well, often filling in at both corner outfield positions.
In a vacuum, this will likely end up being a good deal for the Baltimore Orioles. Even though his offensive statistics cratered last season, he represents a significant defensive upgrade over Odor and would be an above average major league regular if he can reclaim even 50% of his past production with the bat. Frazier on a one year deal also limits the degree to which he could “block” any of the plentiful middle infield prospects the Orioles have in the upper levels of their system, like Jordan Westburg or Connor Norby.
Be sure to check out a more detailed breakdown of the Frazier signing right here!
MLB News
Rodón to Yankees as last major SP domino falls
It seems like just yesterday that the pitching market was brimming with talent. Naturally, the ubiquity of bright-eyed free agent starters dried up as the usual cast of characters took turns in the frenzy and late Thursday night, the last big fish was reeled in.
The New York Yankees and Carlos Rodón agreed to a six year, $162 million dollar contract that locks the southpaw up until his age 36 season. The flamethrower was an enigma for much of his career, often struggling with command, until things finally clicked in 2021 and he became one of the best pitchers in baseball. Orioles fans were at one point hopeful the club would be in on Rodón, though that became extremely unlikely after reports (correctly) suggested that he was seeking a six year deal. There’s technically a non-zero chance Rodón regresses, even if just slightly, but for the Yankees to get a pitcher of his caliber in this market for less than $30 million per season is a great bit of business by them. Excuse me while I sanitize my mouth after complimenting the Yankees.