I thought this was a joke when my good friend texted me while driving from an appointment; however, it’s not.
It looks like veteran southpaw Jamie Moyer – at the ripe old age of 49 – has been signed by the Orioles to a minor league deal.
From Roch’s Blog: BOSTON – The Orioles added to their ever-growing veteran pitching depth today, signing 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer to a minor league deal.
Moyer has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk and is scheduled to start for the Tides Saturday in Buffalo.
Moyer began the season with the Colorado Rockies and went 2-5 with a 5.70 ERA in 10 starts before being designated for assignment. In 25 major league seasons, he’s 269-209 with a 4.25 ERA and at least nine lives.
This will be Moyer’s second tour of duty in the Orioles’ organization. He pitched for them from 1993-95, going 25-22 with a 4.41 ERA in 75 games (66 starts).
Manager Buck Showalter said Moyer will get two or three starts with the Tides while the Orioles evaluate him.
I guess it would not hurt the Orioles to see what Moyer has; however, why sign a guy closing in on 50 to any deal? I know he’s a class act, great guy, and what not, but I’d prefer to see a starting rotation spot taken by a prospect half his age.
Moyer deserves a lot of credit for coming back from Tommy John surgery when most men would have just hung it up. Over the past month with the Rockies, he looked close to the end of his career due to complete ineffeciveness. If anything, he will be another arm available for the organization.
I’m sure Moyer will be a good mentor for the youngsters in Norfolk, but do the Orioles need him? No.
Maybe this is a full-circle type of thing as he pitched for Baltimore earlier in his career.
