The long-awaited deal is done:
Gallardo, orioles have a deal. $35M, 3 yrs
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 20, 2016
Gallardo deal with #Orioles pending physical, but early check on medicals raised no issues, sources say.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 20, 2016
Gallardo breakdown: $9M in 2016, $11M in 2017, $13M in 2018, $13M club option for 2019 w/ $2M buyout. Some deferrals. #Orioles
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) February 21, 2016
Based on his age (not yet 30) and previous results (3.51 ERA two years ago, 3.42 ERA last year), that looks like a steal for the Orioles. However, there’s a reason Gallardo lingered as long as he did on the market, and it’s the twin impacts of severely declining an unnerving peripheral statistics and the draft pick cost. As a qualified free agent, signing Gallardo costs the Orioles the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft – a very steep price.
[adinserter block=”2″]Now that they’ve paid that price, the belief is that they’ll finalize a deal with Dexter Fowler (who will cost the the number 28 overall pick).
Once that happens, the Cubs recoup a draft pick of their own, which, after accounting for the two qualified free agents they signed, will be their second round pick. In other words, the moment Fowler signs, the Cubs’ first pick in the 2016 draft goes from the third round to the second round. That’s a really big deal, and hopefully Fowler signs soon. And hopefully, for his sake, he still gets a pretty decent deal, even if the market’s been soft.