Orioles sign Darren O'Day to two-year deal with option for 2015

The Orioles final un-signed player, relief pitcher Darren O'Day, signed a two-year deal with an option for 2015 yesterday. O'Day wouldn't have been a free agent until 2014 anyway, so the deal will buy out his remaining arbitration year and give the team an option for 2015, should O'Day continue to be as awesome as he was in 2012.

According to the article in the Baltimore Sun, O'Day will make $2.2M in 2013 and $3.2M in 2014. The club option for 2015 is $4.25M with a $400K buyout.

O'Day was, of course, one of the key pieces in the bullpen in 2012. While Jim Johnson gets a lot of the credit as the team's closer, O'Day was just as filthy. Both players put up a 1.4 fWAR. O'Day put up a K/BB of 4.93 in 69 games with a 2.28 ERA. He also allowed just 6 of his 43 inherited runners score, which means he spent a lot of the season saving the day.

I'm normally not a fan of multi-year deals for relief pitchers, but this one definitely works for me. I'm especially sold on it due to the fact that while O'Day is still relatively young, he has a very solid track record. Other than 2011 when he was hurt, which led to the Orioles having the chance to claim him on waivers, O'Day has been awesome pretty much since breaking into the big leagues in 2008.

The deal pushes the Orioles payroll to just over $90 million.