There have been conflicting reports all morning about where the Adam Jones deal is going to come down. Some people have pegged at as north of $100 million. Ken Rosenthal says, however, that he’s hearing it will be six years and “in the $85 million range.”
If so, this seems like a pretty good deal for the Orioles, coming out just north of $14 million a year. At that rate, Jones need not slug .600 like he is this year. Indeed, this could be a career year for him, followed by some years of good-to-moderate power, good defense and .280+ hitting, and it would still be a nice signing for the Orioles. And for Jones, too.
Still, this is the Orioles’ largest deal in history, eclipsing Miguel Tejada’s six-year, $72 million free agent deal back in 2004 and sending a signal to O’s fans that they’re serious about putting a quality product on the field.
