Baltimore Orioles: Additions and Subtractions Improve Team
Jul 31, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles newly acquired outfielder Gerardo Parra (18) sits on the bench during the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
It was a busy day for Baltimore Orioles Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette. Though some may criticize him for not getting a deal done with the Phillies to bring Ben Revere to the O’s (instead of seeing him go to the Jays), it is difficult to not see that the team is better today than it was yesterday.
Addition – Gerardo Parra – Traded midday for minor league pitcher Zach Davies, we wrote more extensively about this earlier. There is no doubt that he has been and most certainly will be better than anyone the Orioles have run out to left field this year. He has the best batting average in all of baseball since the beginning of May.
MASN’s broadcast caught some great pictures of him arriving in the dugout in the second inning and systematically greeting player after player. It was a good look. I’ll bet Buck even says “I like the look in his eye.” He has the immediate appearance of a good team guy.
Again, alone he will not make the WHOLE difference, but this is an upgrade for sure. He is a rental, but as Duquette said when interviewed on the broadcast last night, “Who knows, maybe we can keep him in the future too.”
Addition – Junior Lake – Received from the Cubs in a trade for Tommy Hunter. He will go to Norfolk. You gotta like the name, if nothing else!
Lake, an outfielder, is only age 25. In 64 games in 2013 for the Cubs, he looked like the real deal by hitting .284 with an OBP of .332. He has not been able to replicate that since then. Lake is a .299 career hitter in AAA.
Several have compared him to a current Orioles player, as Duquette said, “He’s a player very similar to Jimmy Paredes … but hasn’t had a chance to establish himself.”
He does not look like an All-Star in the making – having only moderate power – but it was something in return for Hunter who will be a free agent after the season.
Addition – Mychal Givens – Called up from AA to fill the spot vacated by Hunter.
Reports are that everyone was asking about getting Givens in a trade. He has been a strikeout machine at Bowie. The converted, side-arming former infielder picked up the win last night in his second MLB game. He did not look overpowered at all!
Addition – Mike Wright – Called up from AAA as a presumptive long reliever upon the DFA of Bud Norris.
Wright made some earlier starts for the Orioles this season and looks at this point to be the frontrunner for a fifth slot next year in the rotation.
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Wright was a perfect 8-0 this season at Norfolk with a 2.41 ERA and WHIP of 1.085. What else does he need to prove there?
His availability was also asked about over and over by negotiating GMs. Along with Givens, these are players who can help the team now, give the roster some “options,” and give the O’s a look at guys who could be major pieces in the coming years.
Subtraction – Tommy Hunter – Probably the best one-liner guy in the clubhouse, he was already missed in the bullpen last night when Darren O’Day totally muffed catching Adam Jones’ three-run homer.
Hunter has been a nice piece for the Orioles since coming to them in the Chris Davis / Koji Uehara deal with Texas. He’s no closer – we know that. But he was, for the most part, an effective big-league reliever. But Tommy could give up some home runs and is not quite an elite bullpen arm, even with his high-90s velocity.
Again, this was a chance to get something for him in light of his free agency, and along the way it was a bit of a salary dump to help pay for the Parra acquisition and the dollars on the books for such as Norris.
I’m not sure Hunter is the best for Wrigley Field, but Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop have given the Cubs confidence in trading with the Orioles.
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Subtraction – Bud Norris – This is simply sad, sad, sad; but it had to happen. After a great 2014, it never worked out this year. But what a great year and what a really good guy is Norris. Just love the competitor. Full honesty, his talent is marginal, and for success he has to be finely-tuned and approaching a flawless pitch-to-pitch performance. Miguel Gonzalez is similar. The only really stellar season that Norris had was last year. As I’ve written in the past, I had the same illness as a college pitcher and was worthless until the next year – it looked and felt good enough soon after recovering, but the results were like what Norris has seen happen. Maybe he’ll pick up with someone in the future and contribute again.
Subtraction – Chris Parmalee – Designated for Assignment
It just didn’t work out. He had the good AAA season and a quick start with the O’s. I don’t blame Duquette for taking a flier on this guy. Perhaps this is another example of someone who cannot be successful in a platooning situation. Or perhaps he is just a 4A player. It is too bad it did not work out. With the loss of Davis pending after this season, Parmelee was certainly a very slick fielder at first base.
Subtraction – Zach Davies – Traded to the Brewers for Gerardo Parra
Again, check back to yesterday’s analysis for details. He certainly looks to be on the cusp of becoming a big league starter. Davies is a smart pitcher. We will remember him as originally one of our own as we watch what becomes of him with the Brewers.
Parra did not get into the Friday night game to show us what that will look like at the top of the order, but it should be good along with Manny Machado.
Of course, none of these improvements will make any real difference if Orioles starters continue to only get 10 outs before getting knocked out of the game, as has happened the past two evenings.