An agreement reached just before baseball’s 99-day lockout began in early December finally became official Saturday with the Orioles announcing a one-year deal with veteran pitcher Jordan Lyles.
The 31-year-old right-hander is guaranteed $7 million, but a club option for the 2023 season would pay him a total of $17 million over two years if exercised. Even with his unimpressive 5.15 ERA with Texas last season and a 5.21 career mark over 11 seasons, Lyles is the most expensive free agent Baltimore has signed since general manager Mike Elias was hired in November 2018.
Coming off their awful 52-110 season in which only three pitchers logged 120 innings — with two of them sporting ERAs above 6.00 in the process — and no starter finished with more than John Means’ 146 2/3, the Orioles envision Lyles eating plenty of innings after he logged a career-high 30 starts and finished sixth in the American League with 180 innings for the Rangers. Though he gave up a league-worst 38 homers in 2021, Lyles managed to pitch well down the stretch, posting a 3.08 ERA over his final six games covering 38 innings.
Having pitched for Houston, Colorado, San Diego, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and the Rangers over his career, Lyles turned in his best season in 2019 when he pitched to a 4.15 ERA and struck out 146 batters over 141 innings.
The Orioles have also reached an agreement on a one-year contract with veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 37-year-old is a logical candidate to back up rookie Adley Rutschman when the consensus top prospect in baseball arrives in the majors — as early as Opening Day or soon thereafter. A career .231 hitter with a .757 on-base plus slugging percentage in 10 seasons, Chirinos batted .227 with five homers and a .778 OPS in 45 games and 112 plate appearances for the Chicago Cubs last season.
