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Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (pictured) was on his way to his second strong performance in a row when he grabbed at his side and exited Sunday's game with a right oblique strain. That's very bad news for a team that already has called on four Triple-A starters to fill in the fifth slot in the rotation and replace injured Miguel Gonzalez. It was a tough week already, after so-so outings by Jason Hammel, Freddy Garcia and Steve Johnson, and that was reflected in the combined numbers. The rotation posted a 2-2 record with a 6.03 ERA and averaged just five innings per start. Even though the team managed to go 4-2 in those games, this is starting to get scary.
Grade: D (Hannah Foslien / Getty Images /May 12, 2013)
The Orioles avoided arbitration with one of their key pieces from 2012, agreeing to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with closer Jim Johnson on Friday, according to multiple sources.
He can receive another $50,000 in performance bonuses related to games finished. The right-handed reliever, who has been with the Orioles for his entire career, made $2.625 million in 2012.
Johnson, 29, had 51 saves in 54 chances to set the franchise’s single-season saves record. He also led the major leagues in that category and posted a 2.49 ERA in 71 appearances.
In his third year of arbitration -- he has one more remaining -- Johnson had asked for $7.1 million and the Orioles had countered with $5.7 million. They basically met halfway to avoid a hearing, which would have been held in Arizona starting the week of Feb. 18.
The Orioles now have two potential arbitration cases outstanding: reliever Darren O’Day (he filed for $3.2 million and the Orioles filed for $1.8 million) and starter Jason Hammel (he filed at $8.25 million and the Orioles countered with $5.7 million).
