He's back: A quick take on Steve Pearce's return to the Orioles

Steve Pearce is returning to the Orioles. They did not re-sign him over the winter when he hit free agency, but today they traded with Tampa Bay to bring him back to Baltimore. The Orioles gave up 21-year-old switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim, their fourth-round draft pick in 2013, who was playing at Single-A Frederick.

Pearce's return figures to be popular, from the clubhouse to the dugout to the fanbase. Fans seem to appreciate his all-out style of play and manager Buck Showalter appreciated Pearce for many reasons, including his "want to." He'll play anywhere or do anything the team wants any time. He's as much of a team player as there is.

Pearce recently spent time on the disabled list from June 21 to July 19 with a right hamstring strain. Since his return, he has hit just .233 (7-for-30) in nine games. But overall, his year has been very solid with the Rays.

In 60 games and 232 plate appearances, Pearce is batting .309 with 11 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 29 RBIs. Pearce has a .388 on-base percentage, a .520 slugging percentage and an OPS of .908. Those are similar numbers to his 2014 Orioles season when he hit for a .293 average with a .930 OPS.

This addition comes at a time when the O's offense can use a lift. The Orioles had their first losing month this July, going 12-14. During July, their team batting average was .235, the OPS was .664 and they scored 3.42 runs per game. Quite a difference from their scorching hot June when they hit .300 with an OPS of .888 and scored 6.6 runs per game.

Pearce hit just one homer in his 42 at-bats through April, but since then has hit nine homers in 162 at-bats, an average of one every 18 at-bats. Pearce is batting .333 with runners in scoring positon (15-for-45) for an Orioles team that has hit just .175 with RISP in the second half.

He has had just 53 at-bats this year against lefty pitching, but Pearce has raked against southpaws, batting .377 with an OPS of 1.212. Among players with 30 or more at-bats against left-handers in the American League, he ranks fourth in average and second in OPS.

Heim, considered one of if not the best defensive catcher on the O's farm, was batting .217 with seven homers, 30 RBIs and a .643 OPS for Frederick.

With Heim's departure, the Orioles have promoted 23-year-old catcher Yermin Mercedes from Single-A Delmarva to Frederick. While reports indicate Mercedes' defense needs work, he has had a big offensive year for Delmarva. In 91 games, he hit .353 with 14 homers, 60 RBIs, a .579 slugging percentage and .990 OPS. In July, Mercedes hit .375 with an OPS of 1.105 in 26 games. He ranks first in the South Atlantic League in batting and slugging, second in OBP and fourth in home runs.