Baltimore Orioles: Implications for A.L. East of David Price Trade
Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter
Nelson Cruz
(23) heads home after hitting a two-run home run off of Detroit Tigers starting pitcher
David Price
(14) during the sixth inning in game three of the 2014 ALDS baseball playoff game at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
What are the implications for the Baltimore Orioles and the A.L. East in reference to today’s reported trade of David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays for three top prospects?
Here are some initial thoughts.
You can’t say that it does not make the Blue Jays a better team. And they need the pitching very desperately. David Price puts up huge numbers of innings with a quality ERA. Last year it was 248.1 innings and 3.26. So far this year, it is 146 and 2.53 (with a record of 9-4).
After Price went from the Rays to the Tigers at this time last year, he was 4-4 with an ERA of 3.59 in 11 games. Good, but not totally awesome. And of course the Orioles did beat him in the playoffs against the Tigers, as they did the one time they faced him earlier in the season with Tampa Bay.
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This also has the immediate benefit of the O’s not having to face him in this weekend’s series. He would have likely been their opponent on Sunday.
The Orioles have seven games remaining with the Jays. There will be three in Toronto in early September, and four at Camden Yards in the final week of the season before the last three games against New York.
The Orioles are going to need some help from other A.L. East teams in running down the Yankees. This could be a piece of that assistance. Amazingly, the Jays and Yanks still have 13 games to play against each other – seven in New York and six in Toronto.
Here are Price’s career splits against the American League East …
| Team | Starts | W/L | ERA |
| Baltimore | 18 | 7-4 | 2.73 |
| New York | 26 | 10-7 | 4.41 |
| Boston | 23 | 11-6 | 3.08 |
| Tampa Bay | 2 | 0-2 | 3.21 |
| Toronto | 21 | 16-2 | 2.41 |
Look at that record against the Blue Jays! 16-2! No wonder they wanted to get him! One-sixth of all his career victories have been against them. The next highest are Boston and New York.
I love it also that the Jays are giving up prospects according to reports, including their #1-rated in Daniel Norris. This is good for the future.
But what about the Orioles? What are they doing?
Not much … I hope. As I’ve said before – knowing it is not popular or a majority feeling – I’m good to go with what we have. This is a team that can win and was put together to win this year. It is sad that some of the better pieces have not lived up to potential, but I don’t fault Duquette for that.
The pitching is really coming around, and it is more than remotely possible that a number of position players, including corner outfielders, can catch fire through the end of the season. A team needs to do what the Royals did last year, and that is to go into the playoffs playing their best baseball of the season. I don’t think a single acquisition is going to make a big difference for this being a reality.
And if this doesn’t happen, we’ll just rebuild again; and the pieces will be there to make a good start at that effort without having seen them traded away right now.