There's been a lot of buzz about the Orioles getting University of San Diego pitcher Brian Matusz. And now it seems like things are really coming true. The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec has been covering the situation extensively and found out that Matusz is scheduled to take a physical in Baltimore today, which is one of the final steps in reaching an agreement. According to a source, the two sides are closing in on a deal that could be done within 24 hours.
Let's hope so, because the Orioles have until midnight tomorrow to reach an agreement, or they'll forfeit their draft rights to the left-handed pitcher.
Orioles president Andy Macphail said, "The fact that it's not done yet and we thought it would get done earlier, that makes it a concern. We really don't have much in the way of progress to report at this present time." And O's director of scouting Joe Jordan said, "We're working on it as we speak, but there's no need for me to publicly comment."
Matusz himself wrote in an email: "Both the Orioles and myself have been working diligently on getting a deal done. I want to sign and will do so upon receiving a fair (not record-breaking) deal. While I am not at liberty to discuss any parameters or numbers of the deal, I am hopeful that a resolution can be reached."
I certainly hope that we hear more finalized news soon because we could use the skills of this 6-foot-5 left-hander with a 90-93 mph fastball. During the regular season, he went 11-2 with a 1.88 ERA and 131 strike outs in 96 innings. And as this season, especially, has shown us, pitching truly makes or breaks a team.
1 comment:
So much for this being an O's blog. What happened to the rest of the season?
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