Report: Orioles sign ex-Tigers lefty reliever Walker

The Baltimore Orioles have a three-year agreement in principle in place with lefthanded reliever Jamie Walker that will pay the former Detroit Tiger about $11.5 million, The Baltimore Sun reported, citing team sources.

The team declined comment on the report, but club officials acknowledged they had been in discussions with Walker's agent, the Sun reported. "We're in the running," team president Mike Flanagan told the newspaper.

Walker, 35, was 0-1 with 2.81 ERA in 56 games last season and held left-handers to a .238 batting average. He allowed 47 hits and 15 runs, all of them earned, in 48 innings.

In 383 appearances over seven years for the Tigers and Kansas City Royals, Walker is 15-16 with a 3.95 career ERA and 5 saves.

The Orioles, who had the second-worst bullpen ERA (5.25) in the majors last season, are undertaking a bullpen overhaul. The newspaper reported that according to sources, the O's have made offers to San Francisco Giants left-hander Mike Stanton, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Justin Speier and Atlanta Braves right-hander Danys Baez.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2664466

For that money, BYE!!!

Yeah no kidding. We'll do fine without him as long as we add another solid left handed reliever, which shouldn't be too hard.

^Andrew Miller I hope.

I don't want to see Miller up here in the bullpen. He needs to spend a year in the minors to polish off his pitches. It would be insane to start the clock on his MLB service time so early.

Technically speaking, his MLB service time already started because he was up with the big league club in September.

But I do agree with what you are saying though, he needs to spend the year in the minors as a starter. A LOOGY role at this point of his career would be counter-productive IMO.

^Seconded, H1Man.