Orioles May Get Free Pass on Balfour

Hey, remember that post about how the Grant Balfour signing saved Dan Duquette’s offseason from being “criminally negligent” to “overly disappointing, but with solid improvements to the bullpen?”

Yeah, that might have been premature.

A problem related to his shoulder torpedoed the team’s plans to announce the signing on Friday, and may end the deal altogether. Whereas it is possible that the two parties will come to an altered agreement (think Jair Jurjjens taking a minor league deal after the physical confirmed the club’s suspicions on his knee). There is no indication yet as to whether the team will rework the deal, or move on to other options.

As the closer market thins, the Orioles appear to  be turning their attention to Ferndando Rodney, formerly of the the Rays. Balfour and Rodney had comparable 2013 seasons:

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