Jan 7th 2009 2:15AM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Baltimore entered the offseason with exactly one rotation spot filled, so to say it needs pitching help would be an understatement of epic proportions. The Orioles signed journeyman Mark Hendrickson last week. Now they’ve erased another of the question marks after Jeremy Guthrie by agreeing to two-year deal with Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara, according to Dan Connolly of the .

Uehara, who will be 34 on Opening Day and who has an outstanding international resume, will be the first Japanese player in franchise history — a strange thought considering the impact talent from the Far East that currently resides in the AL East.

The signing certainly could pay future dividends, as Peter Schmuck writes, but the question in the short-term is just how he’ll fit in at Camden Yards and how he’ll cope with pitching in the toughest division in baseball.

His agent thinks he’ll be outstanding:
“I have a lot of confidence in this guy. He’ll take the ball every fifth day and can be a No. 2 or 3 in a very difficult division,” [Mark] Pieper said. “This will be a challenge for him but he is clearly up for it.”Of course, agents are paid to think and talk like that about their clients.Continue Reading