Adam Eaton the latest Orioles reclamation project

Eaton on the mound. 

I was pleased when they signed David Pauley.  I stood up and cheered when they picked up Rich Hill.  But now that the Orioles have signed former Philadelphia pitcher Adam Eaton, I'm just downright confused.

Eaton, 31. was Philadelphia's first round draft pick in 1996.  He was traded to San Diego in 1999 and he re-signed with the Phillies in 2006 after a stint with Texas.

The pick up is, indeed, another "low risk" maneuver by the Orioles.  But Eaton is now the latest in a long list of players who will either have to make the club or find work elsewhere.  Roch Kubatko is reporting that Eaton will not be playing for AAA Norfolk, despite the fact that his deal is officially a "minor league" signing.  

Starting pitchers Hayden Penn, David Pauley, Rich Hill, and John Parrish will all have to make the team's Opening Day roster if the team wants to keep them off the waiver wires.  Eaton thus joins Pauley, Hill, and Parish as yet another underperforming pitcher to come to the Orioles this offseason looking for work.  

In Eaton's case, a big part of the allure is that the Phillies are on the hook for Eaton's eight million dollar salary in 2009, and the O's would only have to pick up $400 K of that salary if he makes the team's roster.

The Phillies aren't simply giving the O's a gift here.  Eaton's statistics, especially the last three seasons, are rather bad.  His WHIP and ERA are particularly troublesome.  Check out his career stats here.   

Maybe the Orioles are worried about the amount of youthful potential they see at Spring Training, so they are reaching for something familiar.  Baseballreference.com lists Kris Benson, Jaret Wright, and Rodrigo Lopez as three pitchers with statistics similar to Eaton's.

But seriously, it would make sense to stockpile pitchers in order to avoid the late season collapse that has befallen the club in each of the past several seasons.  However, players like Eaton, Parish and others who cannot be placed in the minors to await the inevitable injury-induced call up will not prevent such a collapse.  Should they not find spots in the starting five this April, they won't be in Norfolk when the O's need to reach down and fill a need. 

It appears as if when it comes to starting pitching, the Orioles are stockpiling quantity because they do not have enough by way of quality.  Either that, or there is more to the recent spate of injuries that have infected the staff's early Spring schedule than the club is letting on.

Going for quantity is fine when it comes to potato chips.  Some people prefer to spend extra for a smaller bag of choice cut spuds, while others are happy with twenty-five cent bags of greasy, crumbly chips.  But pitchers aren't potato chips, and hopefully the Orioles will have their Ruffles-quality grade A starters coming soon in the form of Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and Jake Arrieta.

Those guys are supposed to be delicious.

Snack foods aside, one thing is certain.  With Hill, Eaton, Penn, Pauley, and Parish all fighting alongside several other would-be Birds for spots in the rotation behind Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara (let's assume Mark Hendrickson is the swing man), several current O's pitchers will be watching Opening Day from their couches.