Baltimore Orioles exercise club option on Luis Ayala, decline Mark Reynolds - MLB News
Baltimore Orioles on October 31 exercised their one million dollar club option on the right-handed pitcher Luis Ayala and declined the $11 million on first baseman Mark Reynolds. Currently Reynolds is still with the Orioles organisation and all is not lost.
The first baseman had a good defensive year at first base but his bat initially was not on song. Eventually he ended up with 23 home-runs and had a batting average of .221 with 69 RBI’s. If the ball club decides to let him go, they will either be filling
the spot from resources within the team or will have to search the free agent market to cap the hole.
The 29-year-old, who had played with Orioles for two seasons now, may still be a part of the O’s if the club decides to offer him arbitration or the two concerned parties can reach a mutual agreement. In case of arbitration, the right-handed hitter is likely
going to get a deal of around $9 million. His salary in 2012 was $7.5 million.
Two sides have until the end of November to sort matters out. After the November 30 deadline, Mark will be bought out by the Orioles for $500,000 and will become a free agent.
Hitter from Pikeville, Kentucky has been playing in the Major League for six seasons now and for the last two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Reynolds previously was associated with the Arizona Diamondbacks with whom his association continued for four
seasons.
Luis Ayala, who had a decent 2012 Major League season as a pitcher, will be returning in the Orioles colours in 2013. The pitcher who was acquired in February this year would have had a $1 million buyout if the club had declined their option on the player.
Making 66 appearances in 2012 season, the right-handed pitcher had a 5-5 win-loss record with a 2.64 ERA.
The 34-year-old is a veteran of 10 years in the Major League. During this period has played for six different ball clubs, predominantly for the Montreal Expos, who later moved to Washington DC and are now the Washington Nationals.
Orioles also added a former University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) pitcher Zach Clark. The 29-year-old has been in the Orioles’ Minor League system since 2006. During the 2012 season, the player represented the Double-A Bowie and the Triple-A Norfolk
with season numbers of 15-7 win-loss ratio in 28 games, 26 of which were as a starting pitcher. He had an ERA of 2.79.
In 2006, he was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the O’s Scout Dean Albany. He has since played 171 games, starting 116 of them, having a 49-44 win-loss ratio and a 3.68 ERA.
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