The rest of the story...
The Orioles acquired reliever Cla Meredith from the Padres for infielder Oscar Salazar.
Meredith is 4-2 with a 4.17 ERA, 13 walks and 20 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings. Opponents are batting .324 against him.
Meredith, 26, is a submarine-stylist who was described by Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations, as a "poor man's Chad Bradford."
"He gets a lot of ground balls and can pitch every other day," MacPhail said. "The ground ball ratio becomes more important later in the summer in our ballpark."
MacPhail also wanted to give the bullpen a different look, rather than having so many similar-type pitchers.
Meredith appeared in 153 games with the Padres during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He set the franchise's rookie record with 28 consecutive scoreless appearances in 2006.
Meredith has an option remaining, but the Orioles aren't expected to use it. My guess is Kam Mickolio gets sent down tomorrow to make room for David Hernandez.
The Padres have liked Salazar for a while, but their interest increased after Edgar Gonzalez was hit in the head by a Jason Hammel fastball Saturday night. Gonzalez remains hospitalized.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
I checked like ten minutes ago and Cla Merediths Wikipedia already said he plays for the Orioles. Wow Wikipedia gets updated fast.
I don't like this trade.....
Roch,
This is a terrible trade. I hope Meredith was acquired so we can package him with another player in a future trade.
"Poor Man's?" The only poor man today is MacPhail playing the role as a "Poor Man's GM"
OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH GOOD FOR YOUUUUUUUU
So basically we got a new Daniel Cabrera ("13 walks and 20 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings") to pitch middle relief?
Looks like a blown trade to me...Stupid move!!
Much better numbers than Banks and at least it wasn't a PTBNL and or cash. He does seem to give up a lot of inherited runners. Thanks for the suspense Roch. I'm late for part time job but it's flexible hours.
"A poor man's Chad Bradford" doesn't exactly strike me as a compliment...
Okay - good deal. If he is as effective as Bradford, I'm okay with this. Good luck in San Diego, Oscar - we'll miss you!
Roch,
Do you see Meredith being traded again before the deadline...I could be wrong, but I remember seeing his name mentioned in past years for deadline deals?
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I really don't know. They've only had him for a few hours. But it's certainly a possibility. Always depends on what else is out there. - Roch
Great!!!!!! I'd much rather have a poor mans Chad Bradford than a guy who can flat out rake!
Still don't know why they didn't give Pie away to a team like the Nats. Who wants a slice of pie filled with "insert something bad here"
Chad Bradford wasn't that good a poor mans version does not excite me when we are giving up a guy that was hitting .400 , a right handed specialist is a dumb role to have. Guys shouldn't be in the majors if they can't get people out.
The league is batting .324 against him....ouch. I guess I expected a little better in return.
Sounds good to me:
26 yo pitching depth.
Essentially he is an one inning pitcher who gives up a lot of hits. Last 3 yrs batters have hit .296, .290, .326 (this yr). He has blown 16 saves and earned zero. Salazar really had close to zero trade value and this proves it.
I'm guessing once the batters get use to him in the AL he won't be around for long.
Regarding Wigginton's playing time. It should mostly come at the expense of Huff and/or Mora and leave the OF and Scott alone and playing most everyday, except for the occasional rest or slumps.
Poor Kam, what does he need to do to get an actual chance in the bigs!
That is a steal. To get a player that will be on the 25 man roster for a player that would have been DFA tomorrow.
It will also continue to give young arms time to mature.
uh, yawn. A little-used corner infielded for a horrible RP.
Hey Roch, you know when Trembly's patience with Hill and Berken will finally go away? Seriously, did either of those two pull some clubhouse prank on the old manager and Trembly is just getting his revenge by running them out to their bloody, bloody ends? It's just not right watching these guys suffer like this.
The Padre fan on your blog said he hoped it was meredith. Because he cant get anyone out with men on base. With a.324 opponents batting average sounds about right. What a great deal. Can we get salazar back? oh no!
I killed some time waiting for the news and saw that Meredith might be one of the only usable parts from the Padres roster. Still- a POOR MAN'S Bradford??? Talk about a backhanded compliment- or straight up insult. We did give away Bradford to save some coin, right? To be fair to MacPhail, I think this is a solid but unspectacular move if they were bent on releasing Salazar.
I promise not to over-react to the loss of a solid bench player, but the guy could have been an excellent role player. He will have to play in the field in the NL which should be fun. Our team does need to get faster and more athletic-- too many Scott/Huff/Wigginton/Reimold/Mora/Wieters station-to-station guys so maybe we can get quicker. Oh well, Oscar, best of luck on the left coast! Great move for him.
Keep dealing Andy! Work yet to be done...
I will follow Salazar like I follow Garabito, Howie Clark, Jose Bautista ect. guys with some skill that really didnt get a shot here for whatever reason.
So Cla Meredeth - not a bad pull. Hes got one option remaining, thats good just in case. How many more years is he under our control?
Thanks
I think we're all missing the point here. What kind of name is Cla?
He's not old (26), he keeps the ball in the ballpark, and not that long ago he was incredibly effective. His groundball style should play well with our defense. Good luck to Oscar in SD. I agree that Kam Kam goes back to Norfolk. Not because he is bad, but the Orioles have surprising depth in their bullpen. Think about what we have out there now (Sherrill, Johnson, Baez, Bass, Hendricksen, Albers, Mickolio, and now Meredith), plus Ray, Sarfate, Miller, and McCrory at Norfolk. It's nice to see that this season won't be a repeat of the last two, where we were signing Mexican League free agents to fill rotation slots because of all the injuries. Now, if someone gets hurt we have an actual talented live arm to replace him with.
Well...something is better than nothing. Too bad Salazar couldn't play defense. He was a good guy to have around.
Lets give Cla a chance. His numbers aren't great but he has had success in the past. Hopefully a change of scenery does him good. On the bright side, he is only 26, Chad Bradford is 34, so if Cla puts it together we esentially have a Chad Bradford 8 years younger. That could be a heck of a deal.
roch- is there a chance of a other trade this week ???
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There's always a chance. - Roch
These comments are funny. What do you expect to get for a player that could get picked up on waivers tomorrow. How about some common sense here.
I'm not quite sure what most of you are looking for, I'm surprised that they picked up a player who has been in the big leagues for Salazar. He was a good spare part without a position. If the O's use this kid for a batter or two at a time and not innings at a time it will be fine. His stats aren't any worse than some of the pitchers we have trotted out there and contrary to some opinions Chad Bradford was and still is an effective relief pitcher. You aren't going to get any stud prospects for Salazar no matter how much we like him. He is Terry Crowley/Benny Ayala, a good pinch hitter who doesn't play everyday and the O's actually got something for him, that's fine.
Roch, This means that one of George Sherill of Danys Baez is gone very soon...What do you think?
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I think Meredith provides a little insurance just in case, especially for Baez, since they're both righties. - Roch
Hmmm. Thumbs down.
Its not quite a blockbuster. We gave up a 31 year old bench player for a guy who let's inherited runners score. At leat Cla has an upside at 26. Let's wait to see the trolls angle on the trade. "Oscar would have been a critical piece in a playoff run"
Johnny, it's not Trembley's patience that matters, it is MacPhail's. His patience with Berken will last for another week or two, at which time Tillman will come up and Berken can get some much needed development at AAA.
I honestly think that Hill can be saved, but the Orioles will need to tell Wieters/Zaun to call 70% fastballs. Hill falls in love with his curve, hitters sit on it and can hit it when they look for it. It also makes his other non-fastball pitches hittable because they are the same speed. His last start against Toronto, when he threw predominantly fastballs, turned out pretty good.
UHHHHH. I'd rather have Salazar for a cpl more days then this guy! The man is pitchin in the NL West in the best pitchers park around and gettin lit up.
Salazar is and will be a .300 hitter with 15-25 homers a season and he could have been our first base or DH next season!
Let's actually give the guy a chance to pitch before we judge the trade. Can we please stop saying that Salazar can rake too. The guy had 31 AB's. That's hardly enough to say if he's a ML hitter.
Folks - to get this guy rather than nothing for Salazar (who surely would've been claimed) is the best we could hope for with the roster crunch. The roster crunch is unavoidable during a transition such as the O's are embarking on. And at a time when Baez and Bass seem to be hitting a wall it gives an experienced option.
a poor man's chad bradford. i don't remember bradford being such a top tier talent. and this guy's record and era in a pitcher friendly park is terrible. i like 90% of what macphail does but i can't figure this one out.
This is not one of Andy's better deals. What do we need with another right handed middle reliever that can't get anyone out. I would have thought we could have gotten more than that for Salazar. I thought the whole reason for trading Salazar was to clear a roster spot. Very disappointing. I was hoping for Adrain Gonzalas. Guess that was a little to much to ask.
I would much rather have Oscar. Hate this trade. It makes no sense.
ok let me try to brake this down for all the bird brains.
1st off Salazar was not going to be part of the o's plans anyway in a year or two so right there alone gives you one clue why the trade was made.
2nd this team needs more bullpen help then hitting..
3rd i was reading the o's would like to trade baez and he is the most likely to get traded, well if so then this deal helps.
This is the worst trade of the year Oscar will become an everyday player and make us look like fool's while we get a Chad Bradford..this sucks.I rather try to sneak through waiver's and see what happens. Felix Pie must be doing some extra work on the side for the O's what the hell is going on.
I like it. We got a young, major league pitcher for a 31 year old career minor leaguer. What did people expect?
Stupid move. They only made the deal so they wouldn't lose Oscar on waivers. This guy will be gone by the end of the year. How is that different than losing him on waivers?
Roch,
then what was the point of trading Salazar?
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A position player had to go. He's out of options. He probably would have been claimed on waivers. - Roch
They could have gotten rid of Wiggy, they could've gotten rid of Pie. No, instead they got rid of our actually good utility guy for a horrible relief pitcher that couldn't pitch his way out of a paper sack. Great going MACFAIL!!!
Come on O's fans, stop over reacting as if we just traded Nolan or something. Oscar's a 30 something backup player with no position who was playing in Italy a couple years ago. He's had a few timely hits this year but we will most likely never hear of him again
I don't know much about Cla Meredith, but it sounds like a one-sided deal and the Padres win! Is Cla Meredith synonymous with Jamie Walker? Bradford always made me nervous when he pitched and it looks like we're going to be nervous with Meredith pitching with that 3.1 opp ERA.
This hardly seems fair to the O's, but great for Salazar and the Padres. The O's should have gotten cash or another player for Salazar as his numbers seem so much better than Meredith all things considered. Initially, I am kind of disappointed, but we'll just have to wait and see.
On the surface, it's hard to understand the rationale for Salazar being the odd man out. The Orioles continue to face a steady stream of left-handed pitching including Andy Petite tomorrow in NY. Salazar is a right-handed bat who could not play for a week and still pinch hit successfully when called upon. He also could play multiple infield positions. So he goes and Pie stays even though Pie doesn't play hardly at all, has demonstrated that he can not hit consistently, has been a defensive liability, made poor decisions, and is left-handed. I'm not one of the conspiracy people on this board, but it's hard not to draw the conclusion that Pie stays so the organization doesn't have to admit they blew it when they traded for him and handed him the starting LF job during spring training without him having to win the position by beating out the competition.
What am I missing here?
salazar traded to sandiego
You heard what we think of this trade, what do you think of this Roch? I kinda would have liked seeing Banks thrown in there too and sent to Double AA Bowie. ERA's for bullpen guys can be miss leading but everyone else says this guy sucks. I'd say F because I really liked Salazar I would have liked to see him play at first next year and Wiggy and/or Huff play at third.
your turn Roch rate the deal
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I'll write up something in an entry tomorrow, but it's not like you're going to get a lot for Salazar, who's out of options and largely unproven at this level. I love his bat, but it's mostly played in the minors. I wanted him to get a chance here, but that just wasn't going to happen. - Roch
I guess not a bad trade for a spare 31 year career minor leaguer. He was basically a Wigginton clone except he is even worse than Wigginton on defense. I like them trading the older, less athletic player rather than Pie. He would never start here as bad as he was on defense and Luke has a stranglehold on DH. I wouldn't think Merdith will be around long, thinking he will be trade bait. Kam won't be down long, he will be back when Cla is dealt or Sherill is traded.
I hope the people suggesting they get Adrian Gonzalez for Salazar were kidding?? I hope nobody would be deluded into thinking they would trade their all star for a career minor leaguer.
With sherrill or baez gone in the next couple weeks mickolio is getting another option wasted. No wonder pie is out of options, must be the cub way. Only a matter of time before him and hernandez are out of options
Kevin said:
I think we're all missing the point here. What kind of name is Cla?
Youre exactly right Kevin! You see striaght to the point of things.
this day gets better orioles won and got a great move. celebration
With sherrill or baez gone in the next couple weeks mickolio is getting another option wasted. No wonder pie is out of options, must be the cub way. Only a matter of time before him and hernandez are out of options
Cla is short for Claiborne, which is his middle name.
Will someone please stop this insanity? Are you kidding me? What a stupid, ridiculous, ignorant, boneheaded, mind-numbing, head-shaking, jaw-dropping- in-disbelief-trade. UN-FRICKIN-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I sweat I'm gonna take the pipe soon.
What a stupid move. Give away a good hitter for a pitcher who can't even get hitters out in the National League. This is not how you make a team better, considering we need a third or first baseman and improved offense, not another lousy pitcher.
At least Andino is still up. Whew! Couldn't survive without that potent bat.
I see he was born in Richmond and went to VCU. Any idea if he was an O's fan growing up?
Thanks Roch, and keep up the great work!
I don't usually respond to other commenters, but "JPA" have you seen Reimold run? This guy is not a station to station type player! He is pretty fast and I think Trembley is finally starting to use him as more of a base stealer. No harm done, just thought I would do Reimold some justice.
A guy that can play multiple positions and can roll out of bed and get a hit gets traded for what? A one inning submarine style guy who might be a 1 inning pitcher or better yet a "left handed specialist". Doesn't exactly sound like a great move but lets see. I'm not sure whether to say yuck or yawn. I guess Yawn would be the best option.
I wasn't a fan of Chad Bradford. The off handed remark from the GM does not give me the "warm and fuzzy" feeling about the move.
I was a fan of Oscar. Its a shame he is all the way on the West coast where likely I will never catch any of his games again. Good luck Oscar!
Roch, you said "The Padres have liked Salazar for a while, but their interest increased after Edgar Gonzalez was hit in the head by a Jason Hammel fastball Saturday night."
Its ADRIAN Gonzalez ... :)
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Did Adrian get hit, too? Because Edgar, their second baseman, was hit in the head Saturday. - Roch
having one option remaining that means we can send him up and down as many times as we want this year right, or is it just once?
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A player only uses up one option per year. - Roch
I'm fine with this trade. A roster move had to be made and at least we got something in exchange for Salazar. Meredith came up through a very strong Red Sox system and is a potential closer/set up...not a bad guy to have. He'll come in handy if we deal Sherrill.
Kudos to you Roch. YET AGAIN you broke news waaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of Schmuck.
I like alot of macphail's moves but the way he wastes options I don't understand.If I was the GM (which I'm not)Berken would go down tomorrow, giving a few more days to size interest in other trades. It would also help because Hill's pitching Tuesday and we will need that extra guy in the bullpen that day.
This guy was pretty good a couple of yrs ago when they brought him up. Could be the same facing a new league... DAM* YOU, INTER-LEAGUE PLAY!!!
People are crazy, a young reliever for a 31 year old utility man that has never proven he's capable of holding down a starting job at any position and everyone on here calls it a dumb move?
I thought I saw a comment that oscar can "flat out rake"...
Unreal, another great move by Andy!!!!
Yikes, I was one of the people that came on and said we shouldn't expect much because salazar is not a solid all around player, but I'm even disappointed with this trade. Hope it works out in the long run, but someone should tell Andy that he shouldn't refer to any player he's aquired as a "poor mans" anything cause that translates to "bum" for most of us. We've had enough poor mans type players, we don't need more of them that's for sure. Still like Andy, still not that impressed with Oscar as a player, still don't like this trade much at all.
Have to disagree with you JPA about your assessment of Wiggington's and Reimold's as station-to-station on the base paths. Granted both are bigger men, but they both have decent speed. They just don't look like it. Neither is going to steal 20 bases though.
Roch - how is 'Cla' pronounced anyhow?
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"Clay" - Roch
Ben, get it straight. EDGAR gonzalez got beaned in the head. not adrian.
Also, mickolio will not be wasting another option when he gets optioned to norfolk, nor did hernandez. you can be optioned as many times as you want within a year.
As for the trade, its all right. not amazing but i'll take it. considering salazar wouldve been claimed off waivers tomorrow and he wouldve left for nothing, the fact that we got anything for him is a plus. its unfortunate that he had to go, but the fact of the matter is that he was the odd man out and at least we got something for him. t
he feedback from the fans wouldve been a whole lot worse if tomorrow someone claimed him off waivers and we lost him for nothing.
We have to remember, that this team is getting younger. There are a TON of players like Salazar. Good for him as he may end up thriving in the NL. Good for us since in the worst we get a cheap reliever who still has an option, and at best he becomes a solid one-inning bridge to JJ/George. OR, as some have suggested, packaged in another trade. The O's have relievers. Contenders want relievers. Contenders have prospects.
The real question? What is San Diego thinking? They need to get younger, not older. I guess they could use offense in that ballpark, but pitching wins championships.
HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE TRADE. JUST HORRIBLE. It doesn't even deal with who gets sent down. Now Mickolio who has pitched well is forced down, and we get "a poor man's Bradford" who was traded for a PTBNL who was never named.
Man, oh man, I'm upset6. Oscar was one of the main guys hitting lefties. He's been a hitting machine and we trade him for a guy who most likely own't even make the team next year?
What was AM thinking? I'd rather have just sent Mickolio down and kept Oscar. This is simply INSANE,
I'm not a McPhail basher, but I would suggest for his own sake that he not bring up Chad Bradford too often. As I recall, McPhail secured a whopping $20,000 for him and all Bradford's done since is throw in 78 games to a 2.10 ERA.
Maybe he'll get $10,000 for this guy in a few weeks.
Best of luck to Salazar.
Yeah, I don't get why everyone is so against this trade. We traded a 31 year old player who doesn't have a position on this team (other than as a backup and pinch hitter) for a 26 year old reliever with pretty decent stats. Maybe Salazar can "rake", but he's not going to unseat Luke Scott, and defensively he's not even adequate. I think Salazar can hit a little bit, which is why he had some value. To get a pretty major cog in the Padres bullpen is a GOOD thing. When you build a bullpen, you want to be able to give the team various looks, so that the opposition doesn't see all righthanded pitchers throwing overhand at 92 mph. Ideally, you want to have a lefty or two, a good closer, someone that throws hard, and a couple of long guys. Meredith, throwing submarine style, is going to be another look for the bullpen. Bradford has had a pretty solid major league career. To get that kind of guy for a 31 year old pinch hitter? Yeah, I'll take that.
I also hope that MacPhail will trade Baez for a couple of prospects (or Sherrill, or BOTH), as well as Huff and Mora.
Say it's a belated April Fools joke Roch. I liked Oscar, I waited so long for him to be called up. He can hit and we trade him when the team needs a player like Salazar. I'll keep checking the box scores to see how he and Tony Gwynn are doing.
The only upside for getting Cla is that he's from Richmond. Him and Mark Hendrickson (York, PA) are the nearest hometown heroes. Anything to get a few more people in the seats from Virginia.
I love how people are acting like this is the end of the world. look at it for what it is:
a career minor leaguer was traded for a mediocre reliever. SO WHAT? this isnt going to make or break either of these last place teams' seasons!
"HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE TRADE. JUST HORRIBLE"...GET A GRIP!!! this isnt a horrible trade! its a "yawn" trade. this has little to no implication on the future of this team.
was salazar part of the future? no. is meredith going to be part of the future? probably not. so why whine about this trade? the loss of salazar costs us, what? 1 win for the rest of the year? who cares? at least we got SOMETHING for him! its better than losing him thru waivers which was the alternative.
some of you knee-jerk reactionists (doug,OriAl, nate, mike, gwill, matt, max from miami) need to get a grip.
yea - seriously. don't lose your head on this trade people. easy there. give the guy 10 games in relief to see how he works out here.
roch - were you in chicago? the sat game was heartbreaking. but, i came up with my own mastercard bit:
ticket to the o's sox game: $40
3 miller genuine drafts: $21
seeing 32,000 chisox fans scared s**tless in the 9th: priceless.
though the game was lost, it was a hell of a spirited effort.
go o's.
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I wasn't there, but watched the rally on TV. $21 for three beers. That always stings. - Roch
that's price
THIS SUCKS BIG TIME!
WHY OSCAR!!!!
why couldn't it be Pie!!! UGGHHHH
we are not happy :(
but it will not stop us from going to games
Folks we traded Oscar Salazar for gosh sakes. Not Adam Jones. Salazar is a 31 yr old career minor league player who gave us a few nice moments off the bench. let's not loose our heads. This guy really has no position, and to a team that's trying to build towards something, he offers little. Get over it! If Meredith can be brought in to attempt to induce ground balls, then it plays in our favor. He's 26. Maybe he takes it up a notch, and maybe he doesn't. This deal is nothing to fret over.
And dealing Pie instead would make no sense unless we get something of value back. Pie is 24, Salazar 31. Oscar has no position, and Pie is our back up CF. Do the math people. It's baseball, and you need defense up the middle!
Even if Cla is short for Claiborne, it still doesn't make any sense. He ought to see if Danys Baez would be willing to swap him a 'y' for an 'i'. Baez should be amenable, since he uses his middle name as his last name...
Really? We should have kept Oscar because "...I like him!" or "He's a great guy!" Really? If the Orioles had superfluous payroll (and more than the allotted 25 spots), sure, we could just have a roster of "nice guys" that we all "like" but that isn't how baseball WORKS, y'all. Okay maybe not ALL y'ALL, but those of y'all that are crying that we lost a 31yr old bench player who proved he could hit AAA pitching. In Columbus, Tony Graffinino is insanely jealous of that fact alone.
I suppose no matter how many times it's pointed out on here that he was OUT OF OPTIONS (which meant we would lose him on waivers, for those of you not paying attention) there are still going to be "Oh, but I like Oscar. I hate this trade. It sucks." Why? Because we got something for nothing? Gahhh!
Did y'all expect Peavy in return? Really?
And if I have to post later tonight with a definition of "superfluous"...
(I'm working on eliminating the "y'all" from my vernacular. You're welcome.)
Are you some of you people really this dense? Meredith is basically a JJ/Bradford type pitcher who gets a lot of groundballs, he just pitched in front of a godawful defensive team in SD.
I hope Oscar does well out there, and that Meredith becomes a quality pitcher in Baltimore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31g0YE61PLQ
Well, the post below is now obsolete, since I got sidetracked while writing it, but I hate to see it go to waste. Scroll freely.
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In the discussion about who leaves to make room for Hernandez, lots of people don’t seem to get two issues:
1) Hernandez is a starting pitcher, but he’s a fifth starter, so the player he replaces has to be a player who doesn’t have to be replaced in turn. Players are crucial if they play lots of positions or if they’re the only capable backup at a crucial position. Sending down your backup shortstop doesn’t solve the roster problem because you have to call up another shortstop. Even Cal Ripken had a backup, although no one ever met him.
2) Players with no remaining options can’t be demoted without exposing them to waivers. The Orioles have lots of these because good teams tend to generate them and bad teams have a higher tolerance for their low risk and high potential reward. That the O’s are now in a position where they have to jettison them rather than accumulating them is a sign of progress.
Two of the people listed as possible candidates play crucial backup positions AND are out of options, making them very unlikely choices:
• Pie: I have no idea how Pie’s name emerged in this discussion. Yes, we’ve got Gathright in Norfolk, but that doesn’t solve the roster problem. His trend has been upward and losing him for nothing makes no sense.
• Andino: He’s the backup shortstop AND he’s out of options AND right now there’s no good candidate to replace him even though he’s a TERRIBLE hitter, which people here don’t seem to fully appreciate. I’ve tried comparing him (very unfavorably) to Mark Belanger (career OPS+ 68), which apparently hasn’t done the trick. Let’s try another: Andino (43) is worse than Brandon Fahey (53). That one work for anybody? Now, might Andino improve? Sure, he’s young and it’s hard to imagine him getting much worse. Would I bet on it? No.
Two of the other candidates are starting pitchers, which only addresses the roster problem very temporarily:
• Berken: I personally think he needs to go down soon. You don’t want to create any more Penn/Olson/Lizes. He looks overmatched and his trend has been downward. You only gain two days, but I think he needs to be sent down anyway, so that’s better than nothing.
• Hill: Rich is out of options, and it’s too late to save him from emotional scars, so I think they move Berken first. But Hill’s been so bad you have to wonder if anyone would bother picking him up off waivers at this point. The O’s have suffered through this much of him they may just bite the bullet and keep him till rosters expand on the off chance they can fix something in the off-season. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him sent through waivers, though. Someone posted recently that he’s been almost Eaton-esque bad, so here’s their comparison:
Hill: 7.22 ERA, 63 ERA+, 1.80 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9
Eaton: 8.56 ERA, 53 ERA+, 1.83 WHIP, 4.2 BB/9
There are other pitchers who’ve been as execrable as these two, but it’s an exclusive club. What’s more, Rich is getting worse as the year goes on. At this point his numbers are much worse than they were last year, when Lou sent him packing for a box of doorknobs. And he faces the Yankees next. Anyone feeling hopeful? Me neither.
Which leaves:
• Salazar. Out of options, but has NO POSITION. Plus he turned 31 last month. If Andy can get something for him rather than just losing him to waivers he should get GM of the week. Nobody wants to lose Oscar, and we all wish him well, but his days as an O are numbered, and I’m guessing tomorrow that number reaches zero.
Funny. If you read the comments about this deal on mlbtraderumors.com, all the Padres fans are moaning about how Salazar was not enough to get in return for Meredith. We acquired a serviceable reliever for a player who was 24 hours away from being DFAd, and someone who will make it easier to deal Baez next week.
Methinks that when fans of both teams are pissed that they didn't get enough in return for what they traded away, it's a fair deal.
Am I the only one pumped for Cla? I've been following him for a few years and he's awesome. Stats don't prove anything. You see a guy in the stands wearing a Meredith jersey, it'll prolly be me!
............................. although I will say this. Salazar was NOT the guy to give up him though. Salazar should have stayed.
It looks like O's fans have gotten too accustomed to rooting for a lousy team. Yeah...Oscar is a likable guy who has had some big hits, but anybody thinking that he would be a great starting first-baseman for us this year or next is out of their mind.
Meredith might not be anything special, but he will at least provide more pitching depth, which is the key to success in the Majors. At just age 26, he has some decent experience and not terrible results. His salary is low and he may help this club.
I wasn't expecting a Major League player for Salazar, so I see no problem with this deal at all. Good luck to Oscar, and I hope Meredith pitches great here in Baltimore!
Just more fuel for Brummie. I am an Oscar fan, so I am hurt by this. AM is losing my respect. There was a place for Oscar on the team. DT didn't know how to use him. But, what else is new? The dude doesn't use many of the other players correctly either.
This deal was one marginal guy for another. Why is everyone so excited? This was Salazar for God's sake? Man,oh man, oh man.
Ok Roch let me know if you agree with this. Oscar was going to be gone one way or the other. I watch the Rockies play the padres this weekend. The Padres right now have a lot of starters on the DL. The defense behind this kid was poor. So in my mind this is a good deal. He'll have some success because of the range of our defense behind him. What do you think?
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Sounds good to me. A ground ball pitcher needs a good defense behind him. - Roch
First, I would like to wish Oscar Salazar the best of luck. Looks like he will actually get the opportunity to see if he can play in the big leagues. Secondly, I didn't realize that we just traded the second coming of Albert Pujols. Some of the comments here are incredible. Duke of York and Doug, I hope you guys don't have a coronary over this trade. I'm reading stuff like he's an everyday player, he's a hitting machine, he's a .300 hitter with 25 homers, and he was one of our main guys hitting lefthanded pitchers.
REALLY? I wish all of that were true, but it wasn't happening with the Orioles and Dave Trembley. I don't know exactly when he was brought up this year, but he has 31 total at bats this season. That's not even one per day he's spent in an Orioles uniform. Dave Trembley, genius that he is(sarcasm), would not play the man. I said here a week ago, just before he batted cleanup and hit a homerun last Sunday, that he should be starting against all left-handers. What did that get him . . . . zero at bats this weekend, and two lefties started.
You people who are berating this trade should have spent half that energy voicing your opinion the last couple weeks as to why he wasn't in the lineup. I was hoping we would see him pinch hit for Cesar in the late innings after his return. You know seeing how we had a legit replacement(Andino). So how many times did that actually happen? One.
The fact is, no one here knows how this trade is going to work out. I hope that Oscar does secure a regular job with the Padres and I hope Cla Meredith does well for the Orioles. Here are the facts up to this point.
Oscar Salazar has over 4,000 minor league at bats. The Padres are his 8th organization, only two of which he has seen major league time with. He has 133 career at bats in the majors. Only 31 this season. He is 31 years old, has no real position, and has basically been a career minor leaguer.
Cla Meredith is 26 years old. He has a minor league option remaining and has two more years of service before he becomes a free agent. He has pitched in 236 major league games. That's alot of experience for a young guy. He pitched in a combined 153 games in the previous two seasons. He is 14-12 in his career with a 3.49 era. That's pretty good. His numbers, especially his whip and inherited runners who have scored this year is not that good. Maybe a change of scenery will help.
My initial impression of the deal was positive. We were going to lose Oscar, people. He had no role or future with the Orioles, simply because he wasn't being used. We acquired a serviceable relief pitcher in return. That's the incredible thing about this deal. Way To Go Andy!
The other aspect of this trade is it safely allows us to trade Baez. It may just be the beginning of manuevering by our GM.
Cla Meredith's first name is Olise. It's true. You can look it up.
I don't like the trade at all. I pulled for Salazar to get a chance. At AAA Norfolk this year he batted .372 over approximately 200 at bats with 10 hrs. That average led the International league by 30 points when he was called up. He was the best hitter at Norfolk last year with an over .300 average. In brief stints last year and this year with the O's he hit great, hit with power, and had a lot of clutch hits. With the O's lack of hitting, especially against left handers, Salazar could have been very valuable if used more.
From what I understand Salazar plays solid at first base. If the Orioles trade Huff this year or lose him next year Salazar could have been a first base option. I know stats at triple AAA doesn't mean a player will play that way at the major league level but whenever Salazar has been given a chance with the O's he hit great. This trade looks like a give away. Players that lead AAA in hitting don't grow on trees. I wish Oscar well.
lftyg33, thanks for showing me I'm not the only 1 out there with a clue. It really frustrates me that I root for the same team as a lot of these other posters. Has to be frustrating to Roch to put up with some of this garbage day after day. A 31 y.o. career minor leaguer, foreign leaguer at that, can really rake. Give me a freakin break
Bobby and Jeff from the Cornhusker state- I agree that Reimold is much more athletic than the group I lumped him in with and it was probably unfair given he can run a bit. However, have you seen him cover ground in the OF. Not setting any land-speed records any time soon.
THis trade is a minor deal for spare parts. Glad to see Guthrie have a very nice game. THe guy may give up bombs but he doesn't give away games- he makes the other teams hit. THis has not always been the case.
I heard the ChiSox broadcasters indicating he may be dealt. They said he becomes extremely valuable as a backend guy for a contender. I totally agree. Roch- odds on that?
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They were just speculating. There's a chance, of course, but there's nothing concrete to it. - Roch
It's a good thing no one here in the classroom decided to over react like a hall-of-famer just got traded away.
Well, we certainly answered the question of whether Oscar would have cleared waivers again.
Cla's ERA+ (park adjusted) this year was 90, just under the ML average of 100. His career ERA+ is 113. That tells me we got a potentially useful part for a part we weren't using, although I agree that Andy's comment was less than tactful. Certainly looks better than nothing. Looks like Andy gets that GM of the week award I referred to.
Godspeed to you and your family, Oscar.
Rock, I must have misread your story, did we just deal weiters? Whats all the fuss about? I can't wait for the outrage once we deal Pie, people will take to the streets! I have to laugh.
All I can say is I expected much more from AM. At the very least Salazar should have been given a fair chance or a proper audition to determine his true value to the team as opposed to carrying dead weight that is either inconsistent or not very good. Poor talent evaluation. See Ty Wiggington.
I'm not a big fan of this trade, I thought we could have gotten more, but I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over it. I think the worst part is senting Mickilio down to make room for "Cla" (what was he to lazy to use the "y"?)
I still think the Padres should have thrown in Adrian Gonzales or Peavey to sweeten the deal(yes Joel I'm just kidding or maybe I'm not!). Where is Bill Bavasi when you need him?
Can someone explain to Nate how the options work. I think his head is about to explode! You only use one option a year Nate, no matter how many times they go back and forth.
Oh well, here's to hoping the O's can get at least one game in the evil empire! Two would be even better, but let's not get ahead of our selfs.
Go Orioles!
Adam, I was watching the NFL draft and was on Wikipedia at the same time a few years back. Once someone was drafted, I would got to there page and it said they were on that team in less than 3 seconds so they are fast. I hope this goes the O's way. Since the Padres play out west I have no idea who Cla Meredith. But I know the Padres are getting a verstile infielder who is a good bat of the bench.
Phatty said:
Roch, Do you see Meredith being traded again before the deadline...I could be wrong, but I remember seeing his name mentioned in past years for deadline deals?-
Yeah, I heard that the O's had a hugh 5 for 1 deal ready to go, but the other team backed out at the last minute because we couldn't throw in a right handed middle reliever with a 4.50 ERA and a .326 OBA. Damn! Well we won't let that happen again.
That's former Portland Beaver Cla Meredith to you.
hey lftyg33 have you been watching the o's this year? yes oscar isnt apart of the future and his glove is weak but the dude can hit! he was a great clutch bat off the bench that we just gave away. with just about everyone in our line up struggling to hit the ball we give away a guy that should be in our line up right now. great so we got felix here for how long? how many o's fans wanna see him here over sweet lou? andy you failed with this one!
Gotta love the english language. where "sucks at more than one position" translates to "versatile".
Pat Santarone could rake too but I would have traded him for a decent reliever.
Trembley wasn't going to give Oscar playing time anyway,he's always going to defer to the vets. Good luck to te O-Man.Cal is decent value for what we traded,maybe he can surprise the AL for a while.
WAY TO WORK THE PHONES ANDREW!
One retread for another. Yawn......
This will not change anything. We are still a 65-70 win team. Andrew is making moves for the sake of making moves.
WTG MACFAIL!
People, USE YOUR BRAINS.
We would have had to send down Oscar to make room for Hernandez. He was out of options, so we would have had to send him through waivers. He would 100% have been claimed off of waivers. So what would you rather, everyone, getting NOTHING in return for losing someone or getting a 26 year old pitcher? I'd rather the latter.
On the other hand, Roch, how on EARTH do you pronounce his name? Do you know? Is it CLAY or CLAH?
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Clay. - Roch
Roch,
Great trade. Most fans loved Oscar Salazar's attitude and effort, but he isn't Roy Hobbs at the end of the day. Guy is 31 and can't field. He's going to be on the downside of his career and has no role on the team. Another serviceable reliever who we can send down if necessary is a better deal than trading Oscar for cash or flat out cutting him.
I like it. Now I just hope we get the big trades done for Sherrill, Baez and Huff. We move those 3 and we'll continue to restock the farm system.
What bugs me the most are the following statements?
1. Reason 1 - We had to trade a bench player? No we didn't. We've four guys on the bench. Now three. One of the Oscar's biggest assets was his ability to hit late in game situations. We've lost that. Who comes off the bench to hit late? Pie..please. Zaun...he's hot now, but not a big pinch hitter. Andino...please. This is simply one of the worst trades ever. Why? Because it invests on a guy with PAST success rather than PRESENT success. Cla was a good releif pitcher. He sucks now. Why? Ask Chris Ray. He was great a few years ago. You're not getting that back. Neither will Cla.
2. You're trading a 31 year old for a 25 year old. Will someone stop this craziness. You're trading a 31 year old who is hitting for a better OBP than anyone on the team. A guy who obviously has a few good years left if we want to win late inning games, My guess is Salazar will have a longer MLB career left than Cla Meredith does. Not everyone on the team has to be 25 and declining. Pie is young too with PAST success and does not contribute to this team iother than being AM's golden boy. You can tell Trembley has no confidence in him. I only wish Pie was a singles machine. He's an out machine.
3. He's got less than a 4.50 ERA. Two things. national league aND San Diego's park. NL opponents are hitting .322 against this guy. What in the world are his numbers going to be against the AL East? Another right handed arm? I prefer Bass to this guy and we trade our best bench hitter for a declining mop up guy for the lowly Padres?
Frankly, I think AM pulled the panic button with ths guy and got nothing back. I'd have preferred bringing up Miller to this guy if you wanted bullpen help. What in the world was AM thinking?
Got to be one of the worst trades ever in terms of value for value. not big names of course but a horrible horrible trade for the O's.
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They had 5 players on the bench. Now it's 4 - Wigginton, Pie, Andino and Zaun. - Roch
El Duce said:
Poor Kam, what does he need to do to get an actual chance in the bigs!
"He has to have no options remaining in order to get a chance with the Orioles. So, we'll see him for good when he's 27 and has wasted all his talent in the minors."
I am not going to waste my time talking about the inept decisions which Andrew has made, when he finally does make a decision.
I think this trade portrays him for who he really is...LOL
Pie is still here, we get a "different look" in the bullpen with a guy who is going to get killed in the AL, and a good versitale utility man with pop is now gone.
WAY TO GO ANDREW
When did Salazar become Albert Puljos? Typical Baltimore fans over-valuing marginal talent. Meredith throws ground balls and is 26. Get a grip people.
Probably the same people who think we could get a first round draft pick for Troy Smith.
We traded a 31-year old guy we signed as a minor league free agent. He hit very well at AAA, but so have many other comparable age guys in other farm systems. He wasn't better than Wigginton, nor Scott. He has cleared waivers multiple times in the past. In a sense, MacPhail was a motivated seller since other GMs knew he'd have to do something. And yet he still got a potentially useful reliever in return. In truth, it's a fair trade for both teams.
Lots of detractors will be shocked when next year we sign another minor league free agent who turns out to be much like Salazar.
Talkinf\g to a couple White Sox fans. Evidently Meredith was White Sox properity before being dealt to San Diego. They are saying the Orioles got a deal. They couldnt believe we got this pitcher for Salazar. I guess we will see who is right........
Not really surprised. I remember MacPhail talking about (it coulda been w/ you Roch) in order to have an effective bullpen you need a combination of all things. Lefty's, power guys, SUBMARINE guys, guys w/ good change ups.... etc.
Folks may be a little perturbed w/ this, but let's see how it plays out. The Andino-Penn trade seems like it has worked in our favor. I'm thinking that this was a guy MacPhail has been targeting for a little while.
All they got was a mop-up guy who can eat innings in 7-1 blow-outs.We got rid of an excellent pinch hitter and role player who was hitting .545 off of left-handers.
They'll regret this one.
You guys are crazy. There is a reason why Oscar is a career minor leaguer. He is not a complete ball player. Somebody tell me exactly where on this club he was going to play? If he was on this team next year I would be upset. A team that is trying to contend that runs Oscar friggin Salazar onto the field is a joke. Mora and Wigginton are both much better ballplayers...ie, they both have had extesive major league careers. I want to win baby!
Go O's!!!
This was a necessary trade and a smart one at that. Trembley almost always pulls our young starters out an inning too soon so as not to risk ruining their tender young developing arms/psyches (Whether he does it by choice or on orders from above is debatable, I admit). But between that and the insistence on using the designated 7th, 8th and 9th inning pitchers no matter how well the current pitcher is doing, the bullpen is on their usual pace to be burned out by August, setting up the annual late season swoon. So the O's could really use an additional reliever, especially one with an unusual armslot who has proven he can handle 70+ appearances per season.
Salazar's age and career to date have been beat to death here already, but there are a few more things to consider. If you had to make a choice, would you:
1. Trade Wigginton, a decent hitter who can adequately play multiple positions in order to make room for Salazar, who hits well off of the bench but hasn't proven that he can adequately play any position other than DH.
2. Trade Andino for a bag of balls and pray that Wiggington can play SS when Izturis needs a break or goes on the DL again.
3. Trade Pie for a bag of balls and use Scott as the backup OF, requiring the O's to play musical chairs with Jones and Markakis when either of them needs a break or gets hurt, since Luke can only (barely) play LF.
4. Trade Mora, more than likely at a loss since he can refuse a trade. The teams he would be willing to go to (a competitive team that's as close to his home in MD as possible) either don't need him, won't want to pay him what he's presently earning, or don't have/aren't willing to let go of any player of value to the O's for him.
5. Trade Huff, a good hitter (especially in the 2nd half) who can adequately play 1st and 3rd and replace him with Salazar, a defensive liability who hasn't been able to stay up in the bigs long enough to prove he can hit ML pitching as a everyday starter.
6. Trade Salazar for Meredith.
Wow. I'm going to play devil's advocate for a moment. Let us suppose, for giggles, that half the bloggers are right; meaning, that Salazar should have been an everyday player, he's a great hitter, and the O's blew it on this one.
Counterpoints:
1) Just exactly whose spot was he going to take?
A) Aubrey Huff, our regular 1B (the only position that Salazar wasn't totally inept at)
B) Luke Scott, our regular DH (who, BTW, leads the team in HRs)
C) Melvin Mora, our regular 3B (oh, BTW, Salazar is a worse defensive 3B than Mora, Wigginton, and Huff; his career minor league fielding percentage at 3B was .887 in over 200 Games)
2) If we didn't see the HOF potential that you saw, then we weren't alone. He was released/traded by the A's, Tigers, Mets, Royals, Angels, and Indians before we signed him as a free agent out of the Mexican League.
People... get a grip. Playing Salazar everyday was not going to make our team a contender. Getting Meredith won't either, but it might make moving Baez easier, which might net us some future help and/or free up a bullpen spot for Mickolio, Sarfate, Miller, McCrory, Ray, or someone else who CAN help us be better. Besides, the Orioles don't pinch hit anyway, so he had no use. We faced seven straight lefthanders, and eight out of nine (I think). Salazar got NO starts. You want to know why? If they played him too much it would expose him for the flawed hitter he is.
~~Talkinf\g to a couple White Sox fans. Evidently Meredith was White Sox properity before being dealt to San Diego. They are saying the Orioles got a deal. They couldnt believe we got this pitcher for Salazar. I guess we will see who is right........~~
Your friends are color blind. He was traded from the RED Sox to SD as part of a trade for Mirabelli. Never played for CWS.