Baltimore Orioles Hope Zach Britton Can Prove His Trade Value
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles activated All-Star closer Zach Britton from the disabled list yesterday in the hopes that he’ll prove a useful trade piece this year.
The Baltimore Orioles activated All-Star closer Zach Britton from the disabled list yesterday after he missing the entirety of the 2018 season so far with a ruptured Achilles he suffered during the winter.
Currently, the Baltimore Orioles have the worst record in baseball—it’s abundantly clear that they are nowhere near a competitor for the postseason—so the return of Britton means that the team can hopefully showcase a potential trade chip who was, at one point, arguably the best closer in baseball.
We’re not all that far-removed from the years of Britton’s dominance. In 2015, Britton saved 36 games and pitched to a 1.92 ERA with a 10.83 K/9. He showed even more dominance in 2016, making a decent Cy Young case saving 47 games with a 0.54 ERA and a 9.94 K/9.
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Last year, however, Britton wasn’t the same, pitching to a 2.89 ERA—which is still excellent—but dealing with a number of forearm and elbow problems that limited him to just 37.1 innings pitched.
Britton still has that All-Star stuff in him, perhaps he’ll never have quite the season he did in 2016 (that’s a pretty high bar to hold him to), but he still has the skill of an elite closer.
The thing is, the Baltimore Orioles really have no need of an elite closer, especially one that’s in the last year of his contract. What the Orioles need instead is a valuable trade chip, and come the MLB trade deadline, there are often few trade chips more valuable than a good closer.
The problem is, the Orioles need Britton to come out and show that he’s healthy. He’s done that fairly well in rehab so far this season (albeit in just 5.1 innings pitched), so if Zach Britton the elite closer can come out and remind the major leagues how good he is, the Orioles may have a valuable trade piece.
Britton was nearly dealt last year at the trade deadline—to the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers—but the deals fell through at the last minute.
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Britton will no doubt draw a sizeable amount of interest at this year’s trade deadline, and if he can come out and perform to the ability that made him one of the best relievers in baseball, Manny Machado might not be the only major trade piece the Baltimore Orioles have.