Joe Jordan: "It's a great day, we got everything we wanted"

Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan just finished a telephone press conference with Baltimore reporters. Here is the entire transcript. Q: How excited are you to get all this done? "Really, when we got to today and especially this afternoon, the one I was most concerned about was (Nick) Delmonico. I really felt good that (Jason) Esposito would come to us and I felt like we would do enough to get (Dylan) Bundy signed. "Delmonico was a little bit of a wild card. It was an amazing day. We played it in the order we wanted and a lot of things happened exactly how we thought they would. "I got a lot of good help. (Director, Baseball Operations) Matt Klentak was tremendous. He's so smart when it comes to, you know, how to discuss certain parts of contracts and things that came up. Matt just did a great job. "It's a great day, we got everything we wanted today. We had all the support like we always do from Andy (MacPhail) and Mr. Angelos. I don't know how the hell it could have been a better day." Q: Could you talk about adding Bundy? Was there ever a chance this would not get done? "We negotiated all summer sporadically, but I kept telling Jay Franklin, who represented this kid, 'We're going to do this.' He kept doing his job and posturing. "But when you get down to this player, a special kid and special talent. Very driven. He has every intangible that the really, really good players have. Barring injury, we agreed to terms with a very special player. "I know this kid, I know his intangibles. You know, I think this is a kid that's not afraid to be really, really good. It's a good night." Q: What can you tell us about the deal? "It was a major league contract. That was something that was very important to their side. We tried to stay away from it, but at the end, we decided that the player was worth getting done and that's what it took. "There was a $4 million signing bonus and other than that, I can't give you any more details. Obviously, there is a guaranteed value to this contract and a value that could happen based on certain things. It came together exactly how we wanted and needed it to, so we're very happy about that." Q: Joe, can you mention how late this came together with Bundy? When did it get finalized? "Inside of five minutes. We were 99, 98 percent done probably with eight to 10 minutes to go. You know, it's a situation where you are e-mailing back and forth terms. Everyone's got to try and be as diligent as possible and try to make sure that nothing is missed. "Again, that part of it on our side was handled by Matt Klentak. Matt and I are in the room (in the Warehouse) and Andy is on the West Coast, and we talked multiple times tonight to get his advice and direction. "But as far as the quick back and forth and having the ability and knowledge to do that on the major league side, you know Matt did a great job. Super." Q: What was the key to getting Delmonico done? "You know, at the end of the day, the kid wanted to play. That's really what it came down to. We were a long way apart on the money, even this morning. But, I think it was a situation where, once we got Esposito done, I knew exactly what I had and exactly what we were going to be able to do for them. "It took a couple of conversations to convince Rod, his father. Really, they knew we were where we were going to go, the bottom line it was nowhere close to where they initially started, but the kid wanted to play. "We paid him very well. I got to talk to Nicky just briefly and I have to call him back in the morning, but he's very excited. That's all he wanted to do, he wanted to go play. We recognized his talent handsomely with the bonus we gave him." Q: Joe, putting you on the spot here, but Baseball America is reporting he got $6.225 million. Is that accurate? "You know I would say that's probably in the ballpark. I don't have the exact number in front of me, it's in the other office. I'm sure that stuff has been put out there by their side and that's great. I'm sure it's close to being right if not exactly right." Q: Did Bundy get the biggest signing bonus in Orioles history? "I just told you what the signing bonus was. Right. Again, you guys, I know you need to know and everything, but tonight, it's not something I'm going to do. "We still have administrative stuff that we need to get done, although the terms and everything is in the commissioner's office. There is other stuff we've got to do. It is a major league contract and the signing bonus is $4 million." Q: Joe, does this mean his contract officially starts in 2012 and when does he have to go on the 40-man roster? "Well, the way I understand it. First of all, he will be on the 40-man roster. I think it's basically immediate. It's a 2012 contract." Q: In the last few days were you confident of getting all three done in Bundy, Delmonico and Esposito? "You know, I was confident that we were going to do two of the three. I didn't know exactly where the third one would happen. I've been pretty confident on this. There was just some unknown with Delmonico. "I felt like we'd get two of the three. I definitely felt like we would sign Bundy and at least one of the other two. Being able to get all three, we feel tremendous tonight." Finally, this has been confirmed. Nick Delmonico got a signing bonus of $1.525 million.