Atlanta Braves might really have something in reliever Darren O’Day
Even though he’s side-lined for the rest of the year, new reliever Darren O’Day has already provided Atlanta with a small token of his esteem for them.
The Atlanta Braves picked up 3 players from Baltimore within the past few days… though we won’t see one of them until 2019. But first, I want to talk about one of their former teammates.
Outfielder Adam Jones hit the majors in 2006 as a member of the Seattle Mariners. During the off-season after 2007, he was traded to the Orioles. At some point in early 2017, Jones reached a career milestone: 10 years of service time.
This event also afford him a key right, as he had already been with the Orioles for 5 seasons. This combination – 10 years in the league, plus 5 with the same team – grants a player leverage in any attempt to trade him. It is an inherent right to veto any deal that he doesn’t approve.
This right came into play this week as Jones declared his intention to remain with the Orioles. It also turned out to be of potential interest to the Braves, for the deal he turned down would have sent him to the Philadelphia Phillies.
I Got The Pow-er
Normally, a player will end up accepting a chance to play for a contender down the stretch – particularly when free agency is imminent – which is the case for Jones. With the players’ union backing, such players will often extract some sort of concession from the ‘destination’ club.
Such perks often include requests for a 1-time cash bonus or perhaps the guarantee of an option clause in his contract. For example, Brandon Phillips received an assignment bonus from the Braves when he was traded from Cincinnati last Spring.
All Day Long
That brings me to Darren O’Day. While he’s on the 60-day disabled list for hamstring surgery (conducted on July 12th), he still accrues major league service time.
This kind of flew under the radar, but the close-to-36-year-old hit his own 10-and-5 milestone at some point very close to the point at which his hamstring popped.
Yet we heard – at least publicly – just scant notice about this as he was traded to the Braves on Tuesday afternoon. This was buried deep into 1 article.
"“O’Day, 35, is signed through next season, making $9 million per year. He will miss the rest of this season with a hamstring injury. O’Day waived his 10-and-5 no-trade rights (10 years of major league service time, five straight with the same team) to go to the Braves.”"
That’s it… just a simple 1-liner. He waived his rights and the Braves were not asked to pony up anything beyond his contract to get him.
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That’s… nice… and a bit unusual, but this generous action allowed the deal to go through smoothly.
O’Day is actually from what I’ll call the “greater Braves Country” area (a characterization which MLB might disagree with). But being closer to home could have been a factor – never mind the chance to be with a great group of new (and old) teammates.
O’Day was born either in Jacksonville, FL or Smyrna GA (depending on who you believe), attended High School in J’ville, and went to the University of Florida before being signed an an undrafted free agent.
Boasting a lifetime ERA of 2.56 in 577 games and 555 innings, O’Day turned into a bullpen weapon for Baltimore in 2012, earning an All-Star nod in 2015.
It’s unfortunate that we won’t see that this season (and indeed, his ERA has risen into the mid-3’s in recent years), but here’s hoping that the time off will allow him to recover from a lot of work (60+ appearances in 5 of the last 6 seasons prior to getting hurt this year). Honestly, if he was fully healthy, he’d have been a much tougher “get” from Baltimore.
If he does recover that prior form next year, O’Day could certainly become an excellent setup-man. Even if not, you can likely still expect him to deliver relief at an above-average performance level.
dark. Next. Wall Ball in play?
That sounds like a gift that would still keep on giving.