All Matusz, all the time
Brian Matusz will report to Aberdeen within a week to begin his throwing program. He'll eventually pitch in the Arizona Fall League or Hawaiian Winter League.
That seems to be the routine now with first-round picks. Sign them on the last day and ship them to Aberdeen. They just don't formally join the IronBirds' roster.
Matusz wanted a major league deal all along and wasn't going to sign without one.
"He stated that it was very important to him," said Joe Jordan, director of scouting. "We did try to take it down another road, but there was a point when we had to realize as a club that we had to do this part of it to make this thing come together. And from an organizational standpoint, we're thrilled with the way things worked out. He's happy, his family's happy. It's all very, very good and positive, and both sides are happy with it. That's what it took and we were willing to do whatever needed to get done."
Matusz said he doesn't have any regrets that the negotiations dragged out and he won't pitch for one of the affiliates.
"The negotiations are a process and it's something we had to go through, and it did take a little bit of time," he said. "But I'm happy to say I'm an Oriole and I can begin the process of getting better every step of the way."
I kept hearing all along that there were no hard feelings on either side, and that much was obvious after speaking to Matusz and Jordan.
"You never know how this thing is going to go and the timeline and all," Jordan said. "I wouldn't say they were tough negotiations. It's just a process you've got to go through. The thing I told Brian earlier was, I thought the conversations were positive and I appreciated his patience and how he handled everything. It was handled well. And at the end of the day, we got the guy we wanted. He's part of the organization. Anything we went through was well worth it."
Listen to Brian Matusz and Joe Jordan's press conference
Roch, that was a fine explanation for me - I think I get the gist of it anyway. Thanks for all the blogs today and keeping us informed!
Roch, I really glad they signed Matusz. They let this happen with Wieters last year and did it to Matusz this year but again but got it done.
You half to wonder how this is all going to work out. I hope for all of us O's fans that it works out well
That doesn't do me any good with the audio embed. I'm hard of hearing so I can't hear nothing. Can you see if you can get a video embed? or will it be repeatable in tonight's game?
You're on my Fantasy Blog team, Roch, so please don't let me down.
Yay! Glad we got the deal done!
Roch, can you explain what giving a draft pick a major league deal entails? Thanks!
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The most important aspect involves his minor league options. The Orioles don't have as much flexibility and, like with Adam Loewen, will have to keep him in the majors after a certain amount of time or risk losing him through waivers if they try to send him down. And that was a horrible explanation. You deserve better. I'll try to improve upon it later. - Roch