Darren O'Day is getting paid -- the Baltimore Orioles have reportedly reached an agreement with the sidearming righty on a 4 year, $31 million deal.
Its been quite the journey for the 33 year old, who was signed as an undrafted free agent as a 23 year old out of the University of Florida by the Angels, spent some time in the majors with LAA in 2008, was waived, went unclaimed, got outrighted, was then selected in Rule 5 draft by the Mets, stuck with them initially, got waived again, and was claimed in April, 2009, by the Texas Rangers.
Rangers fans remember O'Day arriving at Toronto mid-game on April 22, 2009, and being summoned from the bullpen in the 11th inning to pitch -- O'Day was wearing a Kason Gabbard jersey because he was so recently obtained that they didn't have time to get him a uniform yet. O'Day had a sub-2 ERA in 2009 and 2010, but after an injury-plagued 2011 season where he put up a 5.40 ERA in just 16 major league games, the Rangers apparently decided his gimmick was done, and opted to waive him rather than keep him at what was expected to be a salary just north of $1M via arbitration, apparently deciding that Mark Lowe was a better bet going forward.
That backfired on the Rangers, as Mark Lowe was Mark Lowe, while O'Day was claimed by the Orioles and had four straight outstanding seasons as a setup guy.
And now O'Day is going back to Baltimore with a guaranteed deal that sets him and his children up for life. This former undrafted free agent will end up having made about $45M in the majors once this deal is up...so mommas, teach your babies to pitch.