Andrew Stetka: Orioles should look to deal strength for depth

There's a good debate going on throughout the baseball world right now about Orioles closer Zach Britton. Some believe he should get consideration for the Cy Young Award at season's end. Others don't think that honor should go to relief pitchers who don't accumulate as many innings as starters during the season. The argument is really about value. There's no real question that Britton, who has given up a staggering three earned runs all season, carries a lot of value. That value is seen by other teams as well.

That's why the Orioles should make every effort to trade Britton as soon as possible.

This might seem like a radical idea to some, but the Orioles find themselves with a lack of organizational depth. Trading away one of their best assets wouldn't totally solve this issue, but it could be a start. After seeing what the Yankees were able to do in dealing both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman just before the trade deadline last month, the Orioles could get a haul of prospects in return for Britton. There's no doubt that he's proven himself as a valuable asset at the back end of a bullpen. Obviously, the Orioles shouldn't just look to get rid of Britton. They'd need to get fair market value. Trading Britton for the sake of trading him wouldn't make sense, so the deal has to.

The closer's role is perhaps one of the more volatile in baseball. Does the name Jim Johnson ring a bell? In no way am I predicting that Britton is the next candidate for a massive slide like Johnson, but pitchers typically don't stick around in the closer's spot for years at an elite level. Players like Mariano Rivera are the exception, not the rule. Britton has had a nice run, and very well may be at his peak when it comes to the results he receives as a closer. The Orioles should strike while the iron is hot.

It's hard to think about a team that is still technically in contention trading away one of their better players. But we also aren't talking about trading Britton now. He'd obviously have to pass through waivers at this point of the season, which is virtually impossible. Britton will be arbitration eligible this offseason and that salary is obviously going up. But even though he's likely to push that number above the $10 million mark, there are teams out there that would be willing to pay that while giving something up as well. He offers great value in terms of contract as well as talent to a team with a need.

Replacing Britton, while not a simple task, would be very possible. The Orioles have a number of in-house options already on the roster that could take the role. Darren O'Day has proven to be a great set-up man and is already being paid a healthy sum to pitch out of the bullpen. Despite some recent struggles, Brad Brach has emerged as a great weapon this season, as proven by his first All-Star bid. Something tells me Mike Wright would make a decent candidate to slide to the back end of the bullpen as well. He has an arm that can ramp it up in short spurts, something that is typically valued in the closer's role.

No matter what the Orioles ultimately decide to do, it's important that they find a way to stock up the farm system. They rank as one of the worst in all of baseball, and it was proven by the lack of talent they were able to go out and acquire last month. Trading Britton isn't the only option, but it may prove to be the best one.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.