By Justin Groc

It was reported back in late January that the Orioles had agreed to sign former Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens to a one-year deal. That agreement has now been put on hold with the Baltimore Orioles worrying about the health of Jurrjens’ knee. His knee received an MRI back in September 2011 which revealed a bone bruise. He also had spent two months on the disabled list back in 2011 because of a knee strain, a knee in which had been operated on because of a torn meniscus prior. Jurrjens had started to complain of knee soreness in the second half of 2011, after the All-Star break. In seven starts during post-All-Star break, he went 1-3 with a 5.88 earned run average.

Baltimore had agreed to sign Jurrjens to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million in base salary with $2.5 million in incentives. In all likelihood, his knee is the reason why he had a less than average year in 2012 going 3-4 with a 6.89 ERA, after going 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 2011 to make the All-Star team. Jurrjens had his best year in 2009 where he had gone 14-10 with a 2.60 ERA.

Baltimore tried to acquire Jurrjens during last season via trade. Now they are worried about a relapse that Jurrjens may be facing with his knee. He has proven to be an effective pitcher when healthy but with Atlanta not even tendering Jurrjens it brings up a red flag signaling potential damaged goods. Atlanta usually knows what it is doing in situations like this. They did not even bother to bring Jurrjens back in any capacity so it is possible that his knee may be more serious than others believe.

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