Pitcher Russ Ortiz, who was recently released by the Diamondbacks, signed a contract today with the Baltimore Orioles.

Arizona signed Ortiz to a 3-year, $33 million deal in December 2004 when he was coming off some fine seasons with the Braves and Giants. After posting a 5-11 record last year and going 0-5 this season though, the Diamondbacks were anxious to shed him from the roster. They designated the struggling right-hander for assignment, and later released him. The team is on the hook for the balance deal, a figure GM Josh Byrnes said was close to $22 million.

The Baltimore Orioles think they can be the host for Russ Ortiz's return to form. Orioles' pitching coach Leo Mazzone worked with Ortiz in Atlanta, when had the best season of his career.

"I think it is probably the perfect fit," said Ortiz's agent, John Boggs. "I believe that Russ still has a lot of great pitching ahead of him. The bottom line is I think it's the right team for Russ."

I'm not certain that Russ can turn his losing ways around; only time will tell. I've started a new poll below–what do you think? 

This post was added on Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 11:10 am and is filed under Player Acquisitions . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.