Orioles designate Paredes for assignment (Yoon signing official)

SARASOTA, Fla. - Though the Orioles still haven't made the signing of Suk-min Yoon official today, they cleared a spot for him on the 40-man roster by designating utility player Jimmy Paredes for assignment. The Orioles claimed Paredes off waivers from the Marlins on Saturday. The Royals claimed Paredes this afternoon, according to a tweet from the organization. We hardly knew him. The Orioles will announce the Yoon signing shortly. Yoon, 27, agreed to a three-year deal on Thursday and passed his physical a few days ago, but the club needed to create room on the 40-man roster. He will be introduced to the media Tuesday in a press conference at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Yoon signed a three-year, $5.575 million deal that can increase in value to $13.075 million with incentives, terms first confirmed by MLB Daily Dish. He's expected to work out as a starter in camp, but also could move to the bullpen in a long or late-inning relief role. Last year, Yoon worked as both a starter and reliever for the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization. Hampered by a shoulder injury - which he can detail Tuesday at the noon press conference - he went 3-6 with a 4.00 ERA and seven saves in 87 2/3 innings. Yoon's best season came in 2011, when he went 17-5 with a 2.45 ERA and 178 strikeout,s and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. The Orioles watched him throw at Cal-Irvine during FanFest weekend. In nine seasons with the Kia Tigers, Yoon has gone 73-59 with a 3.19 ERA and 949 strikeouts over 1,129 innings. He posted a 1.198 WHIP. Until today, the Orioles' biggest free-agent signing of the offseason was the two-year, $4.50 million contract given to reliever Ryan Webb. Their two-year, $14 million agreement with closer Grant Balfour fell apart following his physical. Update: The Orioles just announced the Yoon deal. Yoon is the first Korean-born player in club history. As a member of the Korean National Team, Yoon pitched in the Asian Games (2006 and 2010), Olympic Games (2008) and World Baseball Classic (2009 and 2013). In 2008, he helped lead Korea to their first Olympic gold medal in baseball during the Beijing games, going 2-0 with a 2.34 ERA (7 2/3 IP, 2 ER) in five appearances. Yoon will be introduced tomorrow at noon and will wear No. 18 for the club. For those who were wondering, the correct pronunciation of his name is syuck-min you-n. Here's Dan Duquette's statement on the signing, passed on by my colleague Steve Melewski.