O'Brien is over the hill as baseball players go, but can still get it done on the mound. He was a finalist for last year's AL Cy Young Award, after spinning a 19-11 campaign with an ERA of 3.19. O'Brien also notably threw a no-hitter at age 36 a couple of seasons ago. Even at 38, he will bring Type A compensation back to the Amberwoods if he signs elsewhere.
O'Brien is hoping for at least 2 years on any new contract, which might be a point of contention for some franchises given his age. But he hasn't seen much dropoff in production, and he has never had to go to the DL. Perhaps O'Brien is just one of those players who defies all laws of nature. Or perhaps Arizona's commitment to player training regimens and medical facilities are the reason O'Brien seems as spry as a 27-year-old.
When looking at possible destinations for the all-world pitcher, 7 teams spend $20 million on training as Arizona did, and only 5 of those could benefit from the win-now mindset signing O'Brien would require. Of those 5, Portland and Philadelphia are already pretty solid in their rotation. So that leaves Los Angeles, Rochester, or O'Brien's original home, and the Stars don't have the room in their budget to meet O'Brien's demands. So the leading candidates for now might be the Amberwoods and the Lake Effect Snow.
Those are the only teams who should sign him, but of course there's no rule saying a team must spend $20 million on training to make a big free agent splash. Only time will tell, but O'Brien is definitely one of the major storylines as free agency officially opens today.
