Baltimore Orioles: Jake Arrieta and Pitchers that Got Away

Oct 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher

(49) throws a pitch during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles have had the experience this past year of looking around baseball and seeing quite a handful of former O’s pitchers excelling in other places. On one hand, it is encouraging to see that talent from the farm system did indeed develop (in several of these cases), while also causing the inevitable sigh that says, “Just wish that would have happened here.”

The best trades are those that work out for both sides, while also giving players an opportunity to flourish in another place in a way that was never going to eventuate within the former franchise.

With some of the deals we will look back on today, it will look like the Orioles really got the worst of it. Though we could think back to some other transactions where the Birds got the best of it — where players developed in Baltimore beyond what was ever anticipated previously. The most obvious of these is the Rangers giving up Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter for Koji Uehara. You have to know that Texas fans and writers often eschew the day that trade went down. Uehara has been a great reliever, though he didn’t do it in Texas!

Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter often say that it is a good thing with a player flourishes in another place, as this means that franchise is happy with the product they got and will want to do business with you again. Of course, the skeptical fan can say that, yes, they’ll want to return to rape and pillage another time!

Here are three former Orioles pitchers that played well in other cities in 2015 …

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