Jair Jurrjens agreed to an incentive-laden one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Orioles two weeks ago and was in town to take his physical exam last week, but the two sides still haven’t officially announced the deal.
“We’re still trying to discuss some small stuff on the contract,” Jurrjens told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. “We are getting close, just some small details we want to make sure we go through before we sign.”
And what are those small details? According to Connolly “doctors are still vetting Jurrjens’ medical information” after injuries derailed the once-promising right-hander’s career in Atlanta and made him available for such a modest price tag.
Connolly spoke to a source who says “the drawn-out situation does not necessarily mean that Jurrjens’ deal is in jeopardy, but also wouldn’t rule out that possibility.” In other words, this could be a Mike Napoli-type situation where the physical exam revealed a more worrisome injury outlook than initially expected and the Orioles are re-working part of the contract to lessen their upfront commitment.