Baltimore Orioles: Trade rumors move to starting pitchers

Over the past few days, the Baltimore Orioles trade rumors have centered on their relievers, especially Zach Britton and Brad Brach.

Today, a pair of Baltimore Orioles starting pitchers have become part of the trade deadline rumor mill.

According to Jeff Todd with MLB Trade Rumors, the Colorado Rockies have looked into acquiring Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy.

If a retool or a rebuild is going to be a reality, something has to give. With a weak starting rotation, it would make sense to move a few pieces to make room for new arms. According to Todd’s post, the Rockies have arms available in their farm system:

"“[T]he team does also possess an impressive collection of talent on the farm system. Given the team’s array of controlled talent in the majors, perhaps there’ll be some added willingness to move a prospect or two.”"

Gausman’s numbers

Gausman’s last start was against the Chicago Cubs and it did not go well. He only threw three innings and gave up four home runs and a total of eight runs. The Orioles did come back to tie up the game before the Cubs got the go-ahead run in the ninth to win it. Gausman’s ERA of 6.39 is nothing to brag about, but his career ERA of 4.41 could be what draws interest from teams looking for a pitcher with a 95 mph fastball.

Gausman could also be enticing to other teams because he is under team control until 2021. The Orioles have him signed through 2017, but he won’t even reach arbitration until 2018.

Bundy’s season numbers

Bundy is another story. He has had a much better season than the other pitchers in the rotation. But, he, like the other arms in Birdland, has had a penchant for giving up home runs. In fact, since April, he has had only two games without any home runs. Taking April out of his statistics, Bundy has an ERA of 5.50, with April factored in, he has a 4.43. Either way, Bundy has the best numbers of any O’s starters.

He is appealing to teams in contention for the same reason that Gausman is. He is young and has one more year of team control than Gausman has. Bundy also has about 300 fewer innings on his arm when compared to Gausman.

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If they leave?

Both young pitchers are valuable and could net a few minor league players. But, if they were to be traded, the Orioles pitching rotation would most likely weaken even more. (Some say that it is already one of the weakest rotations in the history of baseball). The O’s would be left with Ubaldo Jimenez, Wade Miley, and Chris Tillman. This means the O’s would need to acquire two arms in the trade or turn to its farm system.

If the farm system is it, then the two who would most likely see time in the big city are Jayson Aquino and Chris Lee. Aquino is the better of the two with 13 starts and an ERA of 4.58. But, Lee has the most innings (82) and starts (18) with an ERA of 6.21. The O’s could also call up Mike Wright who has one complete game and an ERA 4.19 in 10 starts. Wright has already had two complete seasons in the Baltimore rotation and has a career 5.85 ERA. He would fit right in if he were called up now.

Next: Three Orioles who could make a difference in the second half

If Gausman and Bundy are traded for prospects, the 2017 season could get even uglier. Get ready.