Major League Baseball is entering a new phase in the off season period. The winter meetings are set to conclude in a day and teams are moving in on remaining free agents to secure their weaknesses in the formation. Ball clubs are looking to restructure and
one club in particular has made progress.
Koji Uehara has signed a new deal with the Baltimore Orioles and the confirmation comes from the Baltimore Sun. The two parties involved in the deal have agreed to terms on a contract for 2 years. An option for 2012 has been accommodated in the proceedings
and even though no definite figure is available, the development is expected to spread relief in the management quarters.
President of Baseball Operations, Andy MacPhail has been active in the winter meetings, thus far and he was the real figure to develop an understanding on the negotiation process involving the Orioles and the Koji. He maintained a confident outlook on the
proceedings and that is how the deal came through. Uehara was considered the side’s best relief pitcher when he took the pitching mound in the season.
Uehara was recently declined arbitration but he was not wavered in the hopes of being resigned to the bullpen. Fortunately for the Orioles, that came to be the case as the side was able to seal the deal on the pitching star. The Japanese player had been
getting offers from outside the club but his preference with Baltimore came due to his familiarity of Baltimore’s surroundings.
Uehara, who is considered the franchise’s first Japanese player since moving to the States in January of 2009, is going to power the bullpen again. The club will be taking good lessons from the event as future negotiations would need to go through the same
process.
Koji has been part of the Orioles for a long time now. The 35-year-old featured in 43 games last season. He has won 1 game and lost 2 for the Orioles. In total, he pitched in 44 innings and conceded 5 walks. He allowed 37 hits but maintained a low ear runs
tally of 14. To summarise his performance from last season, he maintained an earning runs average of 2.86, while striking out 55 batters and saving 13 fixtures for the last placed team in the American League East table.
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