Baltimore Orioles: Ten Trades We Wish Were April Fools’ Jokes

We can’t have a list of bad trades the Baltimore Orioles have made without having Jake Arrieta on the list.

At the time of this trade, the Baltimore Orioles had to move Jake Arrieta. He went 3-9 with a 6.20 ERA in 2012 and posted a 7.23 ERA in five starts the following year before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. We are all well aware of what happened after the deal.

Arrieta would pitch for five seasons in Chicago, going 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA and a Cy Young Award in 2015. In his four seasons as an Oriole, Arrieta was worth 0.1 bWAR. Since leaving, he has been worth 23 wins above replacement.

The July 2013 deal involved the Baltimore Orioles sending Arrieta and relief pitcher Pedro Strop to Chicago for starting pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger. Strop has been phenomenal since leaving Baltimore, posting an ERA under 3.00 in all six seasons.

The same can’t be said about the return the Orioles received. Feldman went 5-6 with a 4.27 ERA in his half a season before electing free agency after the 2013 season. Clevenger played in just 69 games for Baltimore.

Feldman was a groundball pitcher who appeared to be a good fit in Baltimore, while Arrieta and Strop were both wild pitchers with no results to show on the mound. I don’t think anyone could have imagined both pitchers turning out the careers they have, up to this point, however, the trade symbolized one of the biggest deficiencies of the Baltimore Orioles, their inability to develop young pitchers.