Orioles obtain Lough from Royals in exchange for Valencia

By Pete Kerzel

Orioles

December 18, 2013, 11:35am

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The Orioles today announced that they have acquired outfielder David Lough from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for infielder Danny Valancia. Lough, 27, batted .286/.311/.413 in 96 games for Kansas City in 2013, playing all three outfield positions. He finished 8th in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting, leading AL rookies in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) per both Baseball-Reference (2.7) and FanGraphs (2.4, tied with Tampa Bay's Wil Myers). Among all outfielders that played 500 or more innings in 2013, Lough ranked 9th overall with a +14.5 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR quantifies how many runs a player saved or allowed through their fielding skills, by combining the value of a player's throwing arm, range and errors). Lough also ranked 6th among all outfielders in UZR/150, posting a +27.3 (UZR prorated over 150 games). Originally selected by Kansas City in the 11th round of the 2007 First Year Player Draft out of Mercyhurst College, the left-handed hitter has batted .297/.349/.459 in seven minor league seasons in the Royals' organization. Valencia, 29, batted .304/.335/.553 in 170 plate appearances for the Orioles in 2013.