Baltimore Orioles: Re-Visiting Previous Deals Made On This Date

Will the Baltimore Orioles be active on the trade market today? July 30th has been a busy date in the past, bringing in a few notable names.

The 2019 MLB trade deadline is just hours away and outside of Sunday’s Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets shocker, the market has been fairly quiet thus far. With Wednesday’s 4 pm deadline quickly approaching, will we see a flurry of activity as teams attempt to strengthen their roster ahead of a playoff run? Since this year’s July 31st deadline is a now a hard deadline, stand by for at least one blockbuster move from a team willing to go all-in on 2019. Will the Baltimore Orioles find themselves active in the market?

Rumors have been sparse this year surrounding the Orioles. Mychal Givens‘ name has been thrown around and scouts from numerous teams have made the trek to Camden Yards to check-in on him. Teams are reportedly interested in Trey Mancini, but it doesn’t seem as if he will be moved easily. The Chicago Cubs were interested in Jonathan Villar, but nothing is likely to come of that. Lastly, guys like Dylan Bundy, Hanser Alberto, and Renato Nunez have been thrown around as potential trade chips, however, no substantiated rumors have emerged.

While we wait to see if Mike Elias jumps on any offers today, let’s look back at a few moves previously made on this date, July 30th.

2018- Baltimore Orioles trade RP Brad Brach to Atlanta Braves for international bonus money.

The Orioles seemed to have moved Brach at the right time. Across nearly five seasons with Baltimore, Brach recorded a 27-15 record and 2.99 ERA in 288 games out of the bullpen. He dominated the scene in 2016, winning 10 games and recording 92 strikeouts in 79 innings while earning a trip to the All-Star game. With Atlanta, Brach appeared in 27 games, going 1-2 with a 1.52 ERA before becoming a free agent. Now with the Chicago Cubs, Brach owns a 6.00 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 39 innings. His 10.2 K/9 IP rate is his highest mark since his 2016 All-Star season, but his astronomical 6.2 BB/9 IP has been a cause for concern as Chicago battles their way through a brutal NL Central.

2011- Baltimore Orioles trade RP Koji Uehara to Texas Rangers for 1B Chris Davis and RP Tommy Hunter.

Originally signed as an international free agent back in 2009 at the age of 34, Uehara made just 98 appearances over parts of three seasons with the Orioles, but his move to Texas brought back a young power-hitting first baseman who would become one of the more feared hitters in the game for around half a decade. Clearly, Chris Davis is nothing what he used to be as fans beg the Orioles to eat his contract and let him walk away, but before his downfall, Davis was a fan-favorite and an vital piece of a dominant and entertaining Orioles team.

Uehara pitched successfully through his age 42 season, earning an All-Star nod in 2014 and finishing seventh in Cy Young voting in 2013 after posting a 1.09 ERA and 101/9 K/BB ratio in 74 innings for the Red Sox. It’s not very often a team trades away an older reliever who then dominates for numerous seasons after, but looking back at this trade now, it turned out well for the Orioles (recent struggles of Davis aside).

2011- Baltimore Orioles trade IF Derrek Lee to Pittsburgh Pirates for IF Aaron Baker

Lee signed as a free agent before the 2011 season at the age of 35. He played in just 85 games, hitting .246 with a .302 OBP and 12 home runs before the Orioles shipped him off to Pittsburgh where he would finish the 2011 season and retire from the game after 15 illustrious seasons, a World Series ring with the Marlins, and multiple All-Star appearances and Gold Glove awards. Baker, a minor league first baseman, floated around the Orioles minor league system until 2013 before going the independent ball route to finish his career.

2009- Baltimore Orioles trade RP George Sherrill to Los Angeles Dodgers for IF Josh Bell and RP Steve Johnson

Originally a part of the 2008 trade that brought Adam Jones and Chris Tillman to Baltimore, the Orioles turned around and shipped off the 2008 All-Star relief pitcher to Los Angeles at the 2009 deadline. At the time of the deal, Sherrill owned a 2.40 ERA through 42 appearances, continuing his strong 2009 season by posting a 0.65 ERA in 30 games for the Dodgers after the trade. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Sherrill was never able to repeat his 2008 or 2009 seasons, pitching with the Dodgers, Braves, and Mariners over his final three seasons.

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As for the return, Johnson was a minor league pitcher at the time, eventually going to San Francisco in the 2009 Rule 5 draft. He was returned to Baltimore three months later after being removed from the 25-man roster. Johnson would eventually make his MLB debut in 2012 and make 21 appearances before electing free agency after the 2014 season. He signed again with the Orioles, then left again after 2015, only to return in 2017. Got it? Good. In the end, Johnson pitched just 76 innings in the big leagues, 59 of them with the Orioles (4.25 ERA/1.38 WHIP). Bell would go on to play in just 79 games for Baltimore, hitting .200 and striking out 78 times in 220 at-bats.

2005- Baltimore Orioles trade OF Larry Bigbie to Colorado Rockies for OF Eric Byrnes

A first-round pick in the 1999 draft, Bigbie is part of a long list of failed first-rounders for the Orioles, putting up just one decent season during his tenure in Birdland. His 2004 slash line of .280/.341/.427 with 39 extra-base hits, and 2.1 bWAR was a respectable performance, one he was never able to repeat. After the trade, Bigbie would play in just 40 games with the Rockies and Cardinals, failing to hit a single home run.

Byrnes would go on to hit .192 in 52 games with the Orioles before electing free agency and returning to his productive form with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Across his 11 year career, Byrnes hit .258 with 109 home runs, finishing 11th in MVP voting back in 2007 with his .286/.353/.460, 21 home run, 50 stolen base performance.

Next. Trey Mancini Trade Talks Heat Up. dark

Will the Orioles make a deal today? Stay tuned to find out!

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