Baltimore Orioles: For those wanting to buy, be careful what you wish for
By Nate Wardle
The Baltimore Orioles are set to restart their season, and the next two weeks will go a long way in impacting not only the 2017 season but future seasons as well.
Many Baltimore Orioles fans are a little antsy as MLB trade rumors begin to swirl.
Some are hoping the team falls flat on its face over this period, in hopes that management trades from their strong bullpen, among other pieces, to help provide future starters, something needed desperately by the Orioles.
Others are still hoping for rebounds from Kevin Gausman, Chris Tillman, to see more real Ubaldo Jimenez and a run at a playoff spot.
Most would admit this team isn’t built to win the World Series, but once you get into the playoffs, it’s a new season.
By the way, in case you care, I am firmly on the sell side of things, hoping the Orioles make moves to build for the future.
No matter what your perspective in 2017, the Orioles have frequently been buyers at the trade deadline. In doing that, they have sacrificed starting pitching at each turn.
As detailed in a piece by the Baltimore Sun, let’s look over some of these trades in a basic sense, focusing on the starting pitching traded away.
2013 – Orioles sent Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to Chicago Cubs for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger
Note – This trade effectively became Arrieta and Strop for Feldman, a few years of Clevenger and Mark Trumbo.
Even with the above note, this doesn’t look good for the Orioles. But, they had to do it. 2013 was hoping to repeat their playoff run from the year before, and they needed experienced pitching for the stretch. Arrieta just wasn’t getting it done in Baltimore. In 2012, he went from Opening Day starter to 3-9 with a 6.20 ERA.
In 2013, he was 1-2 in five starts with a 7.23 ERA and a WHIP of 1.775.
Everyone realized the talent Arrieta had, but it wasn’t happening with the Orioles. Of course, the very next year he would start to blossom into the Cy Young pitcher he became in 2015.