Orioles sign Andrew Cashner to 2-year deal

The Orioles have agreed to sign veteran righty Andrew Cashner to a two-year, $16 million deal, a source confirmed to SB Nation. The deal includes a $10 million vesting option for a third season that vests if Cashner logs 340 innings over the next two years and becomes a player option if he hits 360 innings pitched.

Cashner can earn $5 million in incentives in each guaranteed season and another $5 million in the third season, if the option for 2020 vest. In total, Cashner can earn $41 million over three seasons if all options and incentives are picked up.

Cashner, 31, had a strong season for the Rangers in 2017, posting a 3.40 ERA and 4.6 K/9 in 28 starts after signing a one-year deal with the club last winter. He was widely considered the fifth-best starter on this year’s free-agent market, behind only Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb.

Cashner is a much-needed addition for an Orioles club that entered camp with only two proven starters, righties Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. It’s unlikely that he’ll be the last rotation for the O’s before Opening Day, with Mike Wright, Gabriel Ynoa and Miguel Castro considered internal candidates to grab the remaining spots.

Cashner is a veteran of eight major-league seasons with the Cubs, Padres, Marlins and Rangers. He’ll provide a veteran presence in a young Orioles rotation for at least the next two years and will be considered a strong trade chip if Baltimore decides to blow things up if they fall out of contention this summer.

Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com was first to report the agreement.