Baltimore Orioles: Jake Arrieta and Pitchers that Got Away
Sep 23, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Zach Davies (27) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Zach Davies – Milwaukee
A year after the Rodriguez deal, the Orioles were doing the same in getting another two-month rental in Gerardo Parra from the Brewers.
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Milwaukee gave Davies a chance to try out the Big Leagues, and in his brief sample size of six starts he seems to like it. He was 3-2 with a 3.71 ERA and WHIP of 1.206. There is much more to be written on Davies, but he appears to be a fellow who has understood what needs to be done to excel, and has done it.
You have to love a story like Davies. He was just a 26th-round draftee in 2011 out of high school and is only 160 pounds at 6-0. At this moment in time, he is yet to reach age 23. Davies was pitching well for the Norfolk Tides at the time of his trade, with a 5-6 record and ERA of 2.84 in 18 starts.
The Return for Davies – Gerardo Parra was having a career year in Milwaukee … that is, until he got to Baltimore. He was hitting .328 in 100 games. And at first, he looked like a great late-season acquisition. But it all faded away and in 55 games he only hit .237 for the Orioles. I see no reason for a free agent retention of this player, except at a bargain price.
Final Thoughts – We could look around MLB at a few others who got away, like perhaps Liam Hendriks. The Australian was lost to the Cubs on a waiver claim. He later went to the Jays, to the Royals, and then back to the Jays. In 2015 he was 5-0 in Toronto with a 2.92 ERA in 64.2 innings.
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So at a time when the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff is in some disarray, have these moves been foolish in retrospect? That could be argued, though at the moment in time that each was made, there was certainly no expectation that those pitchers being given up would do Arrieta-like performances.
It is all what makes baseball such an intriguing, and maddening, sport.