Facing a midnight deadline to sign last year's first-round draft pick, Adam Loewen, the Orioles' front office spent Memorial Day cloistered in the B&O warehouse, hoping beyond hope they could work out a deal with the 19-year-old pitcher.
Then it happened. At about 11:55 p.m., the Orioles struck a major league deal with Loewen that will make him the new centerpiece of an organization trying desperately to rebuild.
Loewen is a 6-foot-6 left-hander who went 6-1 this season with a 2.47 ERA at Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Fla. The Orioles made him the fourth overall pick in last year's draft but failed to sign him last summer and weren't allowed to negotiate with him again until his season ended on May 10.
Had Loewen not signed by midnight, he would have gone back into the June 3 draft, and the Orioles would have received a supplemental-round pick (No. 37 overall) as compensation. Many draft analysts predicted Loewen wouldn't make it past the second pick had he gone back into the pool.
"It feels very good to get a young, talented kid in the organization," said Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie. "It was an interesting process, that's for sure."
Orioles officials would not reveal the financial terms of the deal, but Loewen apparently signed a major league contract and was put on the 40-man roster.
He will likely start his professional career at either short-season Single-A Aberdeen or Rookie-level Bluefield. Those teams begin their seasons in June.
"Jim and Mike [Flanagan] were just outstanding," Orioles scouting director Tony DeMacio said after the negotiations ended. "They just did a tremendous job in this process. And it's a credit to the two area scouts that worked with Adam over the last couple years, John Gillette and David Jennings."
Last year, Loewen's adviser, Michael Moye, told the Orioles that Loewen would not sign for less than $3.9 million, and the team said it would not offer more than $2.5 million.
In recent days, Orioles officials indicated that the gap was narrowing.
Several factors were at work.
Tampa Bay has the first overall pick again, and while the Devil Rays are leaning toward picking a position player, the Milwaukee Brewers were interested in Loewen at No. 2. Had Loewen gone back into the draft, he might have had his future controlled by commissioner Bud Selig's old team.
