Looking back at the trades, the impact on the roster and today's game
By Roch Kubatko
Got anyone you want to trade? Give the Orioles a call before it's too late.
Husband, wife, kids, that weird uncle who makes you uncomfortable during the holidays?
I'll repeat that you can't judge a trade that involves minor leaguers for a few years. We have no idea how pitchers Miguel Chalas and Mark Blackmar are going to pan out, but the Orioles deemed them expendable. In the meantime, they get outfielder Alejandro De Aza, who provides immediate help with his left-handed bat and his defense.
De Aza is better in left field than Nelson Cruz and Delmon Young, and he's expected to hit better than David Lough. In that regard, we're talking about upgrades. The trick, and manager Buck Showalter welcomes it, is giving Cruz and Young steady at-bats while working De Aza into the mix. Those guys earned it.
Imagine when Steve Pearce comes back from his strained abdominal muscle.
Thank goodness for the expanded roster.
De Aza is 8-for-76 (.105) against left-handed pitching. Showalter will know when to work him in the lineup and when to sit him for later.
The Orioles have one opening on their 40-man roster with De Aza coming aboard and Kelly Johnson replacing Jemile Weeks. Manny Machado can be transferred to the 60-day disabled list, so we're eventually talking about two spots.
Left-hander Joe Saunders may fill one of them. Outfielder Quintin Berry could fill the other. It's all speculation at this point.
I'm wondering how many starts Johnson gets at third base. Again, what happens when Pearce returns? Does Chris Davis go back to third? Is Johnson going to get some turns at second base, where Jonathan Schoop has been starting every night?
Showalter won't have a shortage of pinch-hitters next month. He can go crazy.
The Johnson trade deserves high marks. No offense to Weeks and Ivan DeJesus Jr., but they weren't in the Orioles' plans. They weren't coming up in September and they weren't going to be part of the 2015 club.
Duquette really wants to keep Michael Almanzar in the organization, and now it's much easier with the Rule 5 status eliminated.
How can anyone slam this trade?
Johnson can become a free agent following the season. He may be a rental. Who cares?
Duquette wanted more left-handed hitters. Well, he's got plenty of them now, if you include switch-hitting Jimmy Paredes.
Wei-Yin Chen is back from Sarasota and ready to make his 26th start of the season today and his 14th at Camden Yards.
Chen didn't look tan and I'm not sure if he's rested, but he's definitely ready.
If you were lining up the playoff rotation - there's that word again - do you go Chris Tillman, Chen, Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez? Do you flip-flop Norris and Gonzalez? Do you include Kevin Gausman and bump someone else?
Do you wait to find out whether the Orioles trade for a starter today before the deadline?
I'm not expecting it to happen, but hey, why not throw it out there? I already mentioned a weird uncle.
Chen has gone 6-2 with a 3.66 ERA at home this season. He's 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three career starts against the Twins, allowing five earned runs in 17 innings.
Chen took the loss in his lone start this year, allowing two earned runs (three total) in five innings on May 3 in Minnesota.
Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier are 4-for-8 vs. Chen. Dozier has a home run. Trevor Plouffe is 3-for-8 with two doubles.
The current Twins are batting a combined .386 (17-for-44) against Chen.
Twins starter Ricky Nolasco is 5-9 with a 5.62 ERA in 21 starts in the first year of his four-year, $49 million deal. He's 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in four career starts against the Orioles, and 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts at Camden Yards.
The current Orioles are batting .177 (11-for-62) against Nolasco. Nick Markakis is 1-for-14. Cruz is 2-for-4 with a double and home run.
Going back to Tillman's outing last night, he's now allowed three earned runs or fewer in 16 consecutive starts since June 10, the longest streak by an Orioles starter since Tom Phoebus (16) from Sept. 23, 1969 to July 19, 1970. He's 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA in six starts this month.
Here's a leftover quote from Showalter on Tillman allowing only one run in five innings despite littering the bases with Twins.
"I look at outings like that and I go, 'He gave up one run.' I don't know if he could have done that two years ago, got through that. That was a challenge for him," Showalter said. "I'm not saying a struggle. A struggle you give up a lot more runs. He made key pitches when he had to, and all that stuff, but there are times when I step away from games like tonight when I'm as proud of that type of outing and keeping us engaged as you are when they're pretty much flawless."
Tillman called it "a grind for sure."
"I kind of knew it was going to be a grind from the get-go," he said. "Got to work through some hitters and some tough situations. Fortunately, we were able to get out of most of it, and hats off to Nicky (Hundley) for hanging with me there. It wasn't easy.
"It's part of the game. You're going to have those ones where you've got to battle all the way through and tonight was one of those nights."
De Aza is better in left field than Nelson Cruz and Delmon Young, and he's expected to hit better than David Lough. In that regard, we're talking about upgrades. The trick, and manager Buck Showalter welcomes it, is giving Cruz and Young steady at-bats while working De Aza into the mix. Those guys earned it.
Imagine when Steve Pearce comes back from his strained abdominal muscle.
Thank goodness for the expanded roster.
De Aza is 8-for-76 (.105) against left-handed pitching. Showalter will know when to work him in the lineup and when to sit him for later.
The Orioles have one opening on their 40-man roster with De Aza coming aboard and Kelly Johnson replacing Jemile Weeks. Manny Machado can be transferred to the 60-day disabled list, so we're eventually talking about two spots.
Left-hander Joe Saunders may fill one of them. Outfielder Quintin Berry could fill the other. It's all speculation at this point.
I'm wondering how many starts Johnson gets at third base. Again, what happens when Pearce returns? Does Chris Davis go back to third? Is Johnson going to get some turns at second base, where Jonathan Schoop has been starting every night?
Showalter won't have a shortage of pinch-hitters next month. He can go crazy.
The Johnson trade deserves high marks. No offense to Weeks and Ivan DeJesus Jr., but they weren't in the Orioles' plans. They weren't coming up in September and they weren't going to be part of the 2015 club.
Duquette really wants to keep Michael Almanzar in the organization, and now it's much easier with the Rule 5 status eliminated.
How can anyone slam this trade?
Johnson can become a free agent following the season. He may be a rental. Who cares?
Duquette wanted more left-handed hitters. Well, he's got plenty of them now, if you include switch-hitting Jimmy Paredes.
Wei-Yin Chen is back from Sarasota and ready to make his 26th start of the season today and his 14th at Camden Yards.
Chen didn't look tan and I'm not sure if he's rested, but he's definitely ready.
If you were lining up the playoff rotation - there's that word again - do you go Chris Tillman, Chen, Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez? Do you flip-flop Norris and Gonzalez? Do you include Kevin Gausman and bump someone else?
Do you wait to find out whether the Orioles trade for a starter today before the deadline?
I'm not expecting it to happen, but hey, why not throw it out there? I already mentioned a weird uncle.
Chen has gone 6-2 with a 3.66 ERA at home this season. He's 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three career starts against the Twins, allowing five earned runs in 17 innings.
Chen took the loss in his lone start this year, allowing two earned runs (three total) in five innings on May 3 in Minnesota.
Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier are 4-for-8 vs. Chen. Dozier has a home run. Trevor Plouffe is 3-for-8 with two doubles.
The current Twins are batting a combined .386 (17-for-44) against Chen.
Twins starter Ricky Nolasco is 5-9 with a 5.62 ERA in 21 starts in the first year of his four-year, $49 million deal. He's 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in four career starts against the Orioles, and 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts at Camden Yards.
The current Orioles are batting .177 (11-for-62) against Nolasco. Nick Markakis is 1-for-14. Cruz is 2-for-4 with a double and home run.
Going back to Tillman's outing last night, he's now allowed three earned runs or fewer in 16 consecutive starts since June 10, the longest streak by an Orioles starter since Tom Phoebus (16) from Sept. 23, 1969 to July 19, 1970. He's 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA in six starts this month.
Here's a leftover quote from Showalter on Tillman allowing only one run in five innings despite littering the bases with Twins.
"I look at outings like that and I go, 'He gave up one run.' I don't know if he could have done that two years ago, got through that. That was a challenge for him," Showalter said. "I'm not saying a struggle. A struggle you give up a lot more runs. He made key pitches when he had to, and all that stuff, but there are times when I step away from games like tonight when I'm as proud of that type of outing and keeping us engaged as you are when they're pretty much flawless."
Tillman called it "a grind for sure."
"I kind of knew it was going to be a grind from the get-go," he said. "Got to work through some hitters and some tough situations. Fortunately, we were able to get out of most of it, and hats off to Nicky (Hundley) for hanging with me there. It wasn't easy.
"It's part of the game. You're going to have those ones where you've got to battle all the way through and tonight was one of those nights."
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