The Orioles Warehouse

Unto us a reliever is given

Although he didn't come cheap, Kline looks like a good pickup for the O's. At 32 years old, he should have plenty of gas left in his arm to last the next two years. He essentially will replace the departed Buddy Groom in the bullpen as a lefty matchup reliever for the middle and late innings. His acquisition strengthens the Orioles' relief corps and gives manager Lee Mazzilli more maneuverability in late-game situations.

Kline, who pitched for Jim Beattie's Montreal Expos from 1997-2000 before joining the St. Louis Cardinals from 2001-2004, has enough assets to make his presence on the roster worthwhile. He has always been tough on left-handed batters, holding them to a .215 batting average over his eight-year career and .209 over the last three seasons. He's held his own against right-handed batters, too, as they have hit .265 against him lifetime and .254 from 2002-2004. Kline deals from a sinker-slider repertoire that results in lots of grounders (1.87 G/F ratio career) while yielding few gopher balls (0.76 HR/9 career) or other extra-base hits (career .371 SLG and .125 IsoP allowed). He doesn't walk an excessive number of batters (3.8 BB/9 career) but has struck out his share (7.0 K/9). He has been durable in the past, leading the National League in appearances three straight years from 1999 to 2001. And it certainly doesn't hurt that the Cardinals refused to offer Kline arbitration, so the Orioles lost no draft picks for signing him. (As a Type A free agent, he would have cost the Orioles a second-rounder in 2005 if St. Louis had offered him arbitration.)

However, Kline comes with a few caveats. One is that he is coming off two recent injuries: a torn groin (ouch) that kept him out for about three weeks late in the regular season, and a torn tendon in the index finger of his throwing hand suffered in Game 2 of the NLCS that kept him out of the World Series. These ailments were relatively minor, though, and unlikely to recur, according to Will Carroll, who gave Kline's health a green light on BaseballProspectus.com.

Another warning sign is Kline's low strikeout rate over the past three years (5.6 K/9), which suggests that his pitches have lost some of the nastiness they had early in his career. If a situation calls for a strikeout—say, if the tying run is in scoring position—and a right-handed batter is due up, then Kline is not an ideal man to douse the flame because he allows batters to make contact with regularity. Rather, Kline should be used in situations that suit his strengths, which are neutralizing lefties, inducing double-play balls, and preventing the big blow. For example, he would be an excellent choice to enter a game with the bases empty or a runner on first and left-handed batters coming up.

Kline is not the savior Orioles fans have been seeking this offseason, but he makes a good stocking stuffer in the early free-agent shopping season. (If you'll indulge some linguistic analysis, Kline's surname comes from klein, German for "small" or "little," which seems appropriate to describe his probable role on the team.) Despite some slippage in his stuff, he has remained effective and should be a reliable member of the 'pen for the next two years barring a total loss of command à la Mike DeJean.

Gómez boomeranged

The Phillies offered Gómez back to the Orioles when infielder Plácido Polanco accepted Philadelphia's arbitration offer to return to the team, making Gómez redundant. This move essentially undoes the boneheaded error Baltimore made last week when it exposed Gómez to the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft. The blunder ultimately cost the team $12,500 (the price paid to re-acquire him from the Phils). Whoever made the decision to announce Gómez's signing before the Rule 5 draft should have $12,500 subtracted from his salary, or at least have his Christmas bonus withheld.

Gómez is a fair backup infielder, versatile with the glove and having enough on-base ability to be of use offensively. Moreover, he was genuinely looking forward to playing for the Orioles and was disappointed when Philadelphia plucked him away last week. After the days of Confederate money, it's nice to know that a player actually wants to come to Charm City. Now if Gómez could spread some of that enthusiasm to former Blue Jays teammate and current free agent Carlos Delgado, he could really make a difference.

O's to Jay: A-OK

Gibbons's return was uncertain until yesterday's deal was announced. He is coming off a highly disappointing, injury-ridden season that raised questions about his ability to build on the progress he showed in 2002 and 2003. But the latest reports from Arizona are that he is fully recovered; according to Gibbons, “I think I am in the best shape of my life...I feel awesome.” On top of that, he had postseason laser eye surgery to sharpen his vision to 20/10, which should only help him at bat and in the field.

In the larger picture, this signing gives the Orioles security in the outfield and at first base should they fail to fill one of those positions via free agency or trade. The dollar amount of Gibbons's 2005 contract (in addition to the guaranteed money, he can make $300K in performance incentives) makes sense if he can remain injury-free and return to or improve on the form he showed in 2001-2003, when he posted OPS's in the .800 range. But injuries have been a recurring story throughout Gibbons's career, so staying healthy will be the critical challenge for him to overcome next year.

Gibbons is a talented player, but he has his limits. He is an adequate right fielder when healthy, but his lack of speed can be exposed in large stadiums, so first base and DH are probably better positions for him. He has also struggled a bit against lefties in his career (.718 OPS vs. LHP, compared to .781 OPS vs. RHP). Because of this, the Orioles would do well to find an inexpensive right-handed batter that can platoon with Gibbons, maximizing the team's production from whichever position he plays. (If that position is first base or DH, Javy López could fill that role, provided that the Orioles acquire another decent-hitting catcher.)

Chen gets another chance

The Orioles apparently saw enough in left-hander Chen to bring him back at an affordable one-year rate. As mentioned here back in August, Chen has the stuff to make batters swing and miss; he needs to find a way (as Mazzilli would say) to keep the ball in the park and reduce the number of walks he surrenders. In the right situations, he can be successful, but his inconsistent track record raises a lot of doubts. Maybe Ray Miller can make a pitcher out of him yet, though. Going into the spring, Chen slots as a back-of-the-rotation starter or long reliever.

Make 'em an offer they can't refuse

Of the six players offered arbitration, López and Ryan figure to have the most prominent roles on the 2005 Orioles. Coming off seasons as the team's top starter and reliever, respectively, they likely will receive sizeable raises. Hairston and Matos, on the other hand, were hampered by injuries last year, so they probably will not merit big pay increases. They apparently will compete for the starting center field job, with the loser being benched or traded.

Julio and Parrish had passable 2004 seasons in relief for the O's, although both gave up far too many walks to be really useful. Julio in particular has an interesting arbitration case because of his gaudy save totals; he has 83 saves over the last three seasons, yet he ended last season as a middle reliever and may not be the full-time closer next year. Both Julio and Parrish need to keep improving to stay on the team because the Orioles have a glut of rotation candidates, and the losers in the battle for the rotation will also be in competition for relief roles.

With the players who were not offered arbitration yesterday added to the mix of free agents, the market is now at a full stage of maturity. As a result, the bidding wars promise to heat up over the next month. More free-agent coverage is upcoming.