Baltimore Orioles: Orioles Top Ten Most Memorable Trade Deadline Moves Of The Decade (2010-2019)

#9. Orioles Trade 26 Year-Old Jonathan Schoop

The Trade: 

2018 marked several memorable trades as the Orioles shipped off several of their core group of players that helped the team have success earlier in the decade.

One of the deadline moves they made was trading than 26-year-old Jonathan Schoop to the Brewers for Jonathan Villar and two prospects.

After trading Manny Machado, not many believed the Orioles would trade their other starting middle infielder, especially in his age 26 season. Schoop was an all-star in 2017 for the Orioles and in 2018 hit 17 home runs for Baltimore in 85 games.

Instead of holding onto the slugger for the future the team shipped him to Milwaukee. While Schoop would go onto struggle with the Brewers, he did get the chance to reach the NLCS and come a game within the world series with the Brew Crew before signing with the Twins in the off-season.

As for the O’s, they added the veteran Villar to fill the void left by Machado and Schoop in the short-term. In addition they infield prospect Jean Carmona who is just 19 years old and now ranks as the Orioles 22nd best prospect. They also added Luis Ortiz who has made three MLB outings for the O’s and is currently in Triple-A ranking as the team’s 18th best prospect.

With Schoop going onto struggle with the Brewers, the O’s seemed to have made a smart decision with this move. What makes it memorable is that they let a player with a ton of upside go in the early part of the prime of his carer.

#8. 2012 Orioles Add Future Hall Of Famer Jim Thome

The Trade:

The 2012 Baltimore Orioles took the baseball world by surprise. After being a rebuilding club for over a decade, the team magically appeared from the basement of the AL East and emerged into a contender that would go on to win the first-ever AL Wild Card game.

In their only significant deadline move, they added a household name to their lineup. They flipped prospects Gabriel Lino and Kyle Simon to the Phillies in exchange for 2018 Baseball Hall Fame inductee Jim Thome.

Neither Lino or Simon would ever reach the majors while Thome finished his MLB carer as an Oriole as he slashed .257/.354/.396 with three home runs in 28 games during the team’s 2012 playoff push.

Though this move did not result in much production it signaled the Orioles transition from sellers to buyers for the first time in several years while also bringing in a future hall of famer to the Charm City.

#7. Orioles Continue To Tear Down By Getting Huge Haul From Braves (2018)

The Trade: 

The second 2018 trade to make the cut is the one that sent former Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman and reliever Darren O’Day to the Atlanta Braves for a large haul of prospects.

Once a top-ranked prospect Gausman never reached his full potential as an Oriole. In parts of six seasons with the O’s Gausman never posted an ERA below 3.61. While still young, the O’s took advantage and traded the then 27-year-old and packaged him with the sidearm reliever O’Day in exchange for four promising prospects.

Those prospects were catcher Brett Cumberland, infielder JC Encarnacion and pitchers Bruce Zimmermann and Evan Phillips.

Both Cumberland (23) and Encarnacion (13) rank among Baltimore’s top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline while Phillips has already made his MLB debut for the O’s.

While it’s too early to declare a winner this trade will go down as notable due to the large return Baltimore received as all four players have a chance to be future big leaguers. As for Gausman, he seems to be a simple case of needing a fresh start as he has begun to turn his carer around in Atlanta.

#6. Orioles Send One Of Their Best Relievers Of All-Time to Rival Yankees (2018)

The Trade: 

It’s safe to say Zack Britton was on his way to becoming a Baltimore Orioles legend. He took over the closer’s role in 2014 after spending the first three years as a starting pitcher. In that season he helped guide the Orioles to the AL East crown as he pitched to a 1.65 ERA and locked down 37 saves.

He followed that up with an all-star season in 2015 and then a historic 2016 that saw him named an all-star and convert on all 47 of his save opportunities with an ERA of 0.54.

Then came the dreaded injury bug. Britton pitched in just 38 games in 2017 as he suffered multiple forearm injuries. After the season he was diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

After missing much of the start to the season, he returned to the Baltimore bullpen and made just 16 appearances before being traded to the New York Yankees. In exchange for Britton, the O’s received three pitching prospects in former first-round pick Dillon Tate, Cody Carroll and Josh Rogers.

While Tate is still in the minors, both Carroll and Rogers, have made their MLB debuts. Neither have impressed, and Rogers just underwent Tommy John Surgery.

As for Britton, he finished his Oriole carer second in franchise history in saves and now will pitch against them in the AL East for at least three more years as he resigned with the Yankees last off-season.

Trading away one of the best relievers in franchise history is, of course, memorable especially when the trade was made with an arch-rival.

#5. Orioles Give Up On Future Star MLB Star Josh Hader (2013)

The Trade: 

The 2013 trade deadline was one to forget for the Baltimore Orioles. In the first of two ultimately disastrous trades, the Orioles gave up a future MLB star.

Baltimore sent pitching prospect Josh Hader and outfielder L.J. Hoes to the Astros in exchange for starting pitcher Bud Norris.

Norris struggled mightily outside of a strong 2014 as an Oriole and was quickly let go after posting an ERA north of seven in 2015.

While Hader would never be called up to Houston, he would turn into one of baseball’s dominant relievers a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Now 25, Hader has already twice been named an all-star and in 2018 was named the Trevor Hoffman 2018 national league reliever of the year.

Hader, a Maryland native, could have become a home town hero. Instead, he’s making Orioles fans think what if from afar.

#4. Orioles Get Andrew Miller To Help Win Quest For AL East Title (2014)

Trade One: 

The 2014 Orioles ran away with the American League Eastern division but knew if they wanted to make a deep postseason run they needed to add an arm to the bullpen.

They did exactly that as they traded pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez to the rival Boston Red Sox in exchange for southpaw Andrew Miller. This trade is one that certainly benefited the Orioles in the short term, but long-term is one the O’s may be kicking themselves over.

Miller helped guide the Orioles to the ALCS for the first time since 1997 by posting an outstanding 1.35 ERA in 23 relief outings while in the Charm City. However, he would walk after the season as he signed a free-agent contract with the New York Yankees.

As for Rodriguez he quickly developed into a member of the Red Sox starting rotation. He has made at least 20 starts for the Red Sox in every season since debuting in 2015 and outside of a rough 2016 has posted an ERA between 3.82-4.19.

Though Miller helped the Orioles make it to the ALCS, the team fell short of their world series title and lost wound up quickly losing moth Miller and Rodriguez who would go onto to pitch against them as division rivals. Thus, this trade remains memorable as it can be debated as either positive or negative from Baltimore’s perspective.

#3. Orioles Kick-Off Rebuild By Trading Manny Machado

The Trade:

The Orioles opened the 2018 season with plans to compete. They signed free-agent pitcher Alex Cobb to a four-year contract and did not sell any pieces in the off-season to indicate that a rebuild was coming. Part of the reason they did so was in hope to re-sign Manny Machado following the conclusion of the season.

It would not be meant to be however as the Orioles ended up as the worst team in baseball and Machado was traded to the Dodgers kicking off what is now a lengthy rebuild in the Charm City.

In exchange for Machado, the Orioles obtained prospects Rylan Bannon, Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Zach Pop and Breyvic Valera.

While Valera would be let go the rest of the Orioles haul is thought of as key pieces for future success. Diaz is ranked as Baltimore’s 4th best prospect, Kremer is ranked 9th, Pop 19th and Bannon 21st.

Though no winner can be declared until these prospects debut, this trade will always be remembered as the one that kicked off one of the biggest rebuilds in Orioles history.

#2. Orioles Trade For Chris Davis (2011)

The Trade: 

It isn’t too common to see trades consist of entirely major league talent now a day, but 2011 the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles made a deal that would completely alter both teams short-term future.

The Orioles shipped off respected bullpen arm Koji Uehara to the Rangers for slugger Chris Davis and flame thrower Tommy Hunter.

While Uehara would help the Rangers reach the World Series in 2011, he would only stay in Texas for two seasons as he later joined the Boston Red Sox and was on the mound when they won the world series in 2013.

As for Baltimore, they obtained two players that would help bring playoff baseball back to Camden Yards. Davis became one of baseball’s household names as he led the MLB in home runs with 53 and RBI’s with 138 in 2013 and again one the leagues home run crown in 2015 with 47. Davis was the most feared bat in the lineup in the Orioles 2012, 2014 and 2015 playoff appearances.

Hunter, was a pivotal piece to Baltimore’s bullpen for three seasons. No season of Hunter’s was better than 2014 when he posted a 2.97 ERA to help hand the ball to closer Zack Britton.

While Davis has struggled mightily since signing a long contract extension, the years following the trade were among the best in Orioles history which is why fans still love “Crush” even with his current woes.

This trade will surely go down as one the Orioles will never forget as it helped kick-off an unforgettable era of Orioles baseball.

#1. Orioles Trade Future Cy Young Award Winner Jake Arrieta (2013)

The Trade: 

As promised another 2013 trade makes the list and actually comes out on top. Jake Arrieta struggled mightily as a Oriole, and despite a high celling the Orioles decided to trade him along with reliever Pedro Strop to the Cubs.

In exchange, the Orioles received veteran starter Scott Feldman and journeyman catcher Steve Clevenger. Feldman would make just 15 starts in an Orioles uniform before departing for Houston in free agency. Clevenger would serve as the Orioles backup catcher for parts of three seasons and never played more than 35 games in a season.

While the Orioles failed to get much out of the trade, the Cubs got two pieces that helped guide them to their first world series championship in 108 years.

Arrieta became one of baseball’s best pitchers winning the Cy Young Award in 2015 and posting a 3.10 ERA in 2016 and earned two wins in the world series against the Indians. Strop served as the Cubs set-up man posting a 2.85 ERA and pitched two scoreless innings in the world series.

This trade will go down as one of the most lopsided in Orioles history, making it one that will never be forgotten by the Baltimore faithful.

What 10 trades are most memorable to you from the current decade? Post your rankings in the comments below.