Orioles officially sign Delmon Young, designate Ryan Lavarnway for assignment

The news that the Orioles would be signing Delmon Young was a bit of an early Christmas present for Orioles fans, yet here we are days past when our true love gave us twelve drummers drumming and all the rest of that stuff, and it's only now that the contract has been made official. The team had to go through the motions with the physical. You know how it goes.

Unlike what happened a couple of times last year when there was a long delay before a signing, there were no issues with the physical for Young. So why did it take so long? Maybe the Christmas to New Year's period had something to do with it.

With a full 40-man roster, that means that the Orioles have to clear a spot to sign Young. They did so by designating Ryan Lavarnway for assignment. Making their decision on the player to cut loose may have been another reason for the delay. Dan Duquette takes his time on these things when he wants to. The Orioles had five catchers on the 40-man roster and Lavarnway, who's bounced on waivers from Boston to Los Angeles to Chicago to Baltimore, looks to be bouncing again this offseason.

For Young, his reward for doing a good job in a part-time role last year is a contract worth about $4 million for this season. That beats the heck out of only having a minor league contract to start out last spring training. He'll probably have a bit more of a role beyond just a pinch hitter as well. Without Nelson Cruz to be an obvious designated hitter on most days, that's more at-bats that can and probably will go to Young.

In all, Young batted .302/.337/.442 on the season and 1.000/1.000/2.000 in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the ALDS.

Aw, heck, there's never a bad time to re-live that glorious hit, is there?

That is a $2.25 million hit in and of itself. Three years ago, we hadn't had a winning season for 15 years. Three months ago, we got that Young double. It's a good time to be an Orioles fan. Here's hoping Young gets a chance to deliver another clutch postseason hit in the upcoming season.