Just going to trust Dan...
Will miss JJ.
It sure looks like they weren't going to tender him and got what they could in a dump.
Says Buster:
? On one hand, the Orioles insisted that they were going to tender a contract to closer Jim Johnson, and on the other hand, other teams reported in recent weeks that the O's were working feverishly to dump the closer, who will make close to $11 million in 2014 via arbitration. Given the timing of the trade with Oakland -- right around when the Orioles would've been required to tender an offer to Johnson -- there is a ton of industry speculation that Baltimore would've simply non-tendered Johnson if they didn't find a deal.
And the trade they did find is regarded as something close to a giveaway, because Jemile Weeks is regarded as a first-round bust. He turns 27 in January, and has a .319 on-base percentage in 223 games in the majors.
Johnson is a big-time ground ball guy and likely benefited from one of the better defensive infields in baseball with the Orioles. But he'll be pitching in a much more forgiving park in Oakland.
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Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN 59m
Two questions O's must now answer: 1. Who's the closer? 2. How could the A's--the Moneyball Athletics--afford what the Orioles could not?
I still think Billy moves him.