Baltimore Orioles: Reviewing the Kim-Hellickson trade

At the trade deadline in 2017, the Baltimore Orioles attempted to fortify their starting rotation by trading an outfielder and cash for a pitcher.

Unfortunately, neither the Baltimore Orioles nor the Philadelphia Phillies benefitted much from the trade.

Jeremy Hellickson came to Birdland and did what the majority of the starting rotation did in 2017. His ERA climbed from 4.73 with the Phillies to 6.97 for the O’s. Needless-to-say, Baltimore was not a good fit for him.

Fortunately, Hellickson was just a short-term rental for the O’s and he is now in free agency. He has yet to sign with another team.

The Orioles traded cash and Hyun Soo Kim to acquire Hellickson. While Kim only spent 2016 and part of 2017 with the O’s, fans like his work both at the plate and in the outfield. But, like Hellickson, he did not pan out. Kim finished his time in the MLB with a slash of .273/.351/.368. He hit seven home runs and 36 RBIs.

Kim started his baseball career in Korea with the Doosan Bears. In 10 seasons, he hit a slash of .406/.488/.895.  He knocked in 142 home runs and hit 771 RBI. Simply dividing these numbers by 10 shows that he was much more successful in the Korean Baseball Organization than he was in the MLB.

Now, Kim is returning to Korea to play with the LG Twins in the Korean Baseball Organization. The announcement was made on December 21 via Yoo Jee-ho with Yonhap News Agency. Kim, always the gentleman, said of his time in the MLB:

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"“I learned so much during my time there, and the biggest lesson is that I realized the importance of routines. I thought I had built a solid routine myself, but it was nothing compared to what the big leaguers were doing.”"

His four-year deal with the Twins is valued at $10.7 million. He did comment that he would consider a return to the MLB if an opportunity arose.

Hellickson has not been as fortunate as Kim. He has not appeared as a rumored signing with any team. Despite his unfortunate performance with the O’s, he has a career ERA of 4.12. And, his agent just happens to be Scott Boras. So, the odds are good that he will land on a mound somewhere in the MLB, especially since he is just 30 years old.

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This odd trade did not go over well for either team and for either player. It is good to see that at least one player is getting back to the game with some dignity. If trades were graded, this one would certainly receive a D-.