Orioles sign Jair Jurrjens

The Baltimore Orioles have at long last signed free-agent right-hander Jair Jurrjens, though not to the big-league deal originally agreed on. Jurrjens will get only a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, reports Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.

The two sides have been in talks for three weeks, but they were not able to come to an agreement until now because of injury concerns. Jurrjens' balky right knee held the deal up.

The exact terms to the minor league deal are not known, but it does include an opt-out clause for the right-hander if things don't pan out. His original deal had him slated to make $1.5 million (and up to $4 million with incentives), so he may be in line for that if he's able to make the Opening Day roster.

Jurrjens, 27, posted a 6.89 ERA in 10 starts for the Atlanta Braves last year, easily the worst season of his career. He was non-tendered by the Braves in October and has been negotiating and re-negotiating with the Orioles for the last month.

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The Orioles pitching rotation has several candidates, so Jurrjens has his work cut out for him. They have Jason Hammel, Wei-Yen Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, and Chris Tilman likely already in the rotation, with Zach Britton, Steve Johnson, Brian Matusz, and Jake Arrieta also competing for a spot.

Jurrjens did find some success with the Braves before his struggles last season, putting up a 2.96 ERA in 2011, so he could rebound for the Birds. In six big-league seasons, he owns a career 3.62 ERA and 6.0 K/9 rate in just over 750 innings.