A look at the trade (part 3)

After the disappointment to Oriole fans that was the 2013 season, it was up to management to address the deficiencies. Three of the players Dan Duquette traded for in 2013 (pitchers Scott Feldman and Francisco Rodriguez as well as outfielder Mike Morse) departed at season’s end for greener pastures, so he had some holes to fill from within or elsewhere. Fortunately, this was the point that some of the young prospects were beginning to develop so needs weren’t as great. We start with a trade that’s a clear win for Duquette.

  • Trade 18 (November 25, 2013) – Orioles trade minor league pitcher Devin Jones to San Diego Padres for pitcher Brad Brach.

Devin Jones was a high draft pick in Andy McPhail’s final draft (2011) and one of the last dealt away by Duquette. All San Diego got out of him was 9 minor league appearances before an injury ended his season. The Orioles actually got him back as a minor league free agent a year later but Jones voluntarily retired just days after joining Frederick. On the other side, Brach has blossomed into an elite setup man, made the All-Star team in 2016, and has contributed a composite 5.1 WAR in three seasons (including 2.6 this year.) Clear win for Baltimore.

  • Trade 19 (December 2, 2013) – Orioles trade pitcher Jim Johnson to Oakland Athletics for infielder Jemile Weeks and a player named later. Minor league catcher David Freitas was added December 12.

This was truly a contract move to free up some money, although it turned out well for Baltimore. Johnson was a complete bust for Oakland, garnering a (-1.3) WAR before being released that August. He similarly failed that season for Detroit and the next for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but has somehow been a serviceable closer this season for the woeful Atlanta Braves. Weeks managed to put up a 0.1 WAR in three games with Baltimore before being traded to Boston later in the 2014 season (Trade 26.) The return for that later trade (Kelly Johnson) wiped out Weeks’s 0.1 WAR back to zero for scoring this deal but there is still one minor league player involved on Baltimore’s side, as you will see. Freitas spent two seasons between Bowie and Norfolk before moving on to the Cubs organization. Slight win for Baltimore, with a bit of potential for more.

  • Trade 20 (December 18, 2013) – Orioles trade infielder Danny Valencia to Kansas City Royals for outfielder David Lough.

Valencia was only on the Royals through the trading deadline, posting up a composite 0.0 WAR in 36 games and netting the Royals two players (Liam Hendriks and Eric Kratz) in a trade with Toronto that actually lost (-0.2) WAR between the two in their time with Kansas City. However, Hendriks went back to Toronto a year later in a trade involving minor leaguer Santiago Nessy, who eventually was waived. So the total balance for the Royals in all this dealing was a (-0.2) WAR, which makes the total 1.6 WAR Lough put up in two seasons with the Orioles look fabulous. Lough signed later as a free agent with the Phillies. On a side note, Liam Hendriks was an Oriole for a brief period himself, picked up on waivers from the Cubs days after the Valencia trade and lost to the Blue Jays just as spring training started. Clear win for Baltimore.

  • Trade 21 (March 24, 2014) – Orioles trade infielder Alex Gonzalez to Detroit Tigers for infielder Steve Lombardozzi.

This was a trade made out of desperation by Detroit, who had seen their starting shortstop Jose Iglesias go down with a serious injury in spring training. The longtime veteran Gonzalez, who the Orioles picked up as a free agent, wasn’t the answer as he put up a (-0.5) WAR in just nine games with the Tigers before being released. However, that (-0.5) WAR was the same Lombardozzi put up in 20 Oriole games, spending the bulk of the season in the minors before Pittsburgh purchased his contract for 2015, his last big league stop. Since then Steve spent time in independent league baseball as well as Washington’s AAA team. A push.

  • Trade 22 (April 7, 2014) – Orioles trade minor league infielder Torsten Boss to Cleveland Indians for minor league pitcher Preston Guilmet.

Boss was an infielder who had just played for Delmarva the season before (and was the second Duquette draft selection to be dealt away from the 2012 draft), but in splitting time between two Cleveland Class A teams he hit poorly and was let go at season’s end. Guillmet made 10 appearances for Baltimore with a (-0.1) WAR before going on to Pittsburgh the next season. It’s almost a push but Guilmet did help the Oriole bullpen. Slight win for Baltimore.

  • Trade 23 (May 24, 2014) – Orioles trade pitcher Troy Patton to San Diego Padres for catcher Nick Hundley.

The struggling Patton, who had been a fairly effective reliever for several seasons but was demoted to AAA to start 2014 before being recalled, only lasted seven appearances with San Diego (with an 0.1 WAR) before injury claimed him. He signed with the Royals organization the next season and Marlins for 2016, but was let go before the season started. Conversely, Hundley was the best backup catcher Duquette acquired in several tries, making it to 50 games for the Orioles and at least compiling an 0.0 WAR before signing with the Colorado Rockies for 2015, where he remains and has played well. A push.

  • Trade 24 (July 31, 2014) – Orioles trade minor league pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to Boston Red Sox for pitcher Andrew Miller.

Every time Boston plays the Orioles, the Baltimore faithful wail and gnash their teeth about this deal. Although injuries have taken a bit of a toll on Rodriguez, since his 2015 promotion he has provided Boston a 2.9 WAR. (He was also another minor leaguer signed during the McPhail years, in 2010.) As we all know, Miller was a rental player for 2014, and was effective enough in Baltimore’s stretch run to receive an 0.9 WAR in the short time he was here. A more recent deal involving Miller may invoke similar future heartburn for Cleveland fans, as the Yankee team that signed him away from the Orioles got four Cleveland Indian minor leaguers in return for Andrew this season. But the Rodriguez deal could break Oriole hearts for another decade. Clear loss for Baltimore.

  • Trade 25 (August 30, 2014) – Orioles trade minor league pitchers Mark Blackmar and Miguel Chalas to Chicago White Sox for outfielder Alejandro De Aza.

Another deadline deal for postseason rosters, the Orioles went to shore up their outfield. Since the minor league season was about over, Blackmar didn’t make his White Sox organizational debut until 2015, lasting one season in their system before retreating to independent league baseball long enough to secure a deal with the Washington organization, where he ended the 2016 season. Chalas pitched at AAA for the White Sox in 2015, but missed the whole 2016 season with an injury. Once again, both were acquired originally under Andy McPhail. De Aza spent the rest of the 2014 season and part of 2015 with Baltimore, playing well in the 2014 postseason but only compiling an 0.2 WAR before leaving in another trade made with Boston (Trade 29) a year later for minor league pitcher Joe Gunkel. Most likely this will eventually pan out in the Orioles’ favor. Slight win for Baltimore, but could eventually go either way.

  • Trade 26 (August 30, 2014) – Orioles trade minor league infielders Ivan De Jesus and Jemile Weeks to Boston Red Sox for minor league infielder Michael Almanzar and infielder Kelly Johnson.

Weeks was one of the players acquired from Oakland for Jim Johnson (Trade 19) but didn’t make the Orioles out of spring training, so both he and De Jesus (minor league players with a little MLB experience) were spare parts that Boston could perhaps find a place for – in parts of two seasons there Weeks accrued the same 0.1 WAR it took him 3 games with Baltimore to get; meanwhile De Jesus was involved in a trade with Boston for the third time as he was traded from Los Angeles in the Carl Crawford deal and to Pittsburgh a few months later in the Joel Hanrahan trade. This time De Jesus never played a game with Boston as he was allowed to become a free agent – the Reds signed him and he’s become an everyday infielder for them. Weeks also got back to the majors eventually with San Diego after two seasons back and forth between the Red Sox and AAA. Baltimore had acquired Almanzar once before, selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft from Boston but forced to return him after sheltering him as long as possible from an early-season injury. He’s become a Norfolk mainstay since the trade but has yet to play a big league game. The veteran Johnson had a (-0.1) WAR for Baltimore in 19 games before leaving via free agency. In the two seasons since he has been signed as a free agent twice by Atlanta and traded twice from the Braves to the Mets mid-season. A push, but could eventually be a Baltimore win.

That was the last trade Duquette made in 2014, beginning an eerily quiet period for him. Granted, he could rest on his laurels after the Orioles’ most successful season in a generation. Aside from the Rodriguez trade, his 2014 deals were generally favorable to the team. It was a trend they hoped would continue for the team in 2015.

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