Did Ubaldo Jimenez turn the corner late last year?

In the second half of the 2013 season, right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez went 6-5 with a 1.82 ERA and struck out 100 batters in 84 innings over 13 starts for the Cleveland Indians.

That strong finish to his season helped Jimenez land a four-year, $50 million contract with the Orioles in February.

But Jimenez had a rough first season with the Orioles, lost his rotation spot in mid-August and this year pitched to an ERA of 5.96 after the All-Star break.

Owed $38.75 million over the next three seasons, Jimenez is almost untradeable at this point, but is he fixable? The Orioles think so.

New pitching coach Dave Wallace helped Jimenez simplify his mechanics late in the year and the right-hander went 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings in September. It's a very small sample size, but provides some hope, at least, that the Orioles can get Jimenez pitching well again next year.

I talked to Wallace recently about Jimenez.

"I think he was a little bit flustered when he came out of the rotation," Wallace said. "I think that might have been the first time for him and to Buck (Showalter's) credit, that is not easy to do, a guy of that stature. I think he was upset a bit and that's OK and he got through that.

"Then he probably got serious and he noticed some things and we talked about it a little bit and he took it into some games. Maybe something as simple as not coming up quite as far over his head and keeping his eyes focused on home plate a little longer. Nothing major.

"As I learned in talking to Mickey (Callaway, Cleveland pitching coach), who had him last year, there is a way of approaching this guy. If he thinks he's making the adjustment, then that is fine. He probably did a lot of it himself."

During the 2013 season, Jimenez gave up three earned runs or fewer in 27 of 32 starts. He did that in just 12 of 22 O's starts.

How did the mechanical tweak help Jimenez?

"I think it allowed him to repeat (his delivery) more and as we saw, (I) think it was a game in Toronto, he really came up big," Wallace said. "Think his stuff got crisper and there was more consistency to his fastball.

"You know what? I think he just got away from it a little bit. He's been successful for so long, but also has been inconsistent. He's been consistently inconsistent. Who knows what between the ears happened to him this year as far as trying to do well and prove his value?

"Hopefully, we get through that. It will not be easy, I'll tell you that. There are a lot of moving parts."

That is for sure. Jimenez's active mechanics and windup, with arms and legs seemingly going everywhere, can help him get outs, as it sometimes causes deception for hitters. But it was also causing Jimenez to walk too many batters.

After averaging 3.9 walks per nine innings in 2013, he averaged a career-worst 5.5 last year. He also saw his strikeout total decrease from 9.6 per nine innings in 2013 to 8.3 and his WHIP increased from 1.33 to 1.52. He was nowhere near the pitcher that finished ninth in the American League in strikeouts and 10th in ERA in 2013.

So does Jimenez's solid finish tell Wallace he has made a turn for the better heading into next year?

"No, I don't think by any means we've turned the corner," Wallace said. "I think we've got to be evidenced by what we see in spring training. But at least we have a reference point right now and can get after it a little more aggressively than we have."