The Baltimore Orioles have a new addition to their team as veteran Adam Eaton — who was released from the Phillies a few days ago — has signed a minor league with Baltimore. Unless Eaton is just plain awful in Spring Training, I would surmise that he will have a spot on the squad and perhaps be slotted as a starter.
Frankly, Eaton is a mediocre to average pitcher; however, he may just be a place holder until the young pitching is ready to arrive.
From the Orioles.com: The Orioles signed Adam Eaton to a Minor League contract with an invite to Spring Training on Sunday, adding another veteran arm to the mix of contenders for the starting rotation.
Eaton, who was released by Philadelphia on Friday, has a 68-63 record and a 4.80 ERA for his career. The right-hander hasn’t had an ERA under 5.00 in any of the past three seasons, but he’s made at least 13 starts in the big leagues in every season since 2003. Baltimore’s rotation, by contrast, has a dearth of Major League experience behind Jeremy Guthrie.
Here’s more on the signing from MASN’s Roch Kubatko.
From MASN Sports: Adam Eaton is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday and report to the club the following morning.
“The release surprised us some because we had intended to see him if he pitched this spring,” team president Andy MacPhail said. “We wanted to make sure our scouts went in and saw him. He was on our target list, but since he was available today, we put in a call as soon as we knew he was released. A couple of other clubs clearly had interest, but they must have weighed the opportunity as one that made sense for us.
“We’re pleased. It’s an opportunity to add a veteran starter. Last year, he had 19 starts, 10 of which were quality starts. It’s something that’s appealing to us. It represents a low-risk opportunity to have a veteran that we can evaluate to see if it makes sense to us going forward.”
The Orioles have no interest in Eaton as a Norfolk Tide. If another team wants to sign him and he’s not going to make the 25-man roster, he’s free to leave.
At this point, as long as he can throw strikes and get batters out, I’ll be satisified.
