Baltimore Orioles: Jonathan Villar Sent To Miami Marlins At The Deadline

Jonathan Villar has a new home in Miami, while the Baltimore Orioles tendered contracts to everyone else by Monday’s deadline.

The wait is finally over. It came right up to the deadline, but the Baltimore Orioles have traded infielder Jonathan Villar to the Miami Marlins in exchange for minor league LHP Easton Lucas. While it doesn’t soften the blow that much, it means the Orioles aren’t letting Villar just walk away after his career year in 2019.

In addition to sending Villar to Miami, the Orioles have tendered contracts to the remaining five arbitration-eligible players, including RHP Dylan Bundy, RHP Miguel Castro, RHP Mychal Givens, IF/OF Trey Mancini, and IF Hanser Alberto.

LHP Richard Bleier received a new deal worth $915,000 earlier on Monday, allowing Bleier to avoid arbitration this winter.

After a career-year with the Baltimore Orioles that saw Villar hit 24 home runs, swipe 40 bags, and lead the team with 4.0 Wins Above Replacement, the Orioles elected to request waivers for Villar last Wednesday, immediately before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The move left Villar open to be claimed by any of the other 29 franchises in the league, but no one was willing to take on his projected $10 million+ salary for 2020. Without a claim by 1 PM on Monday, the Orioles had the opportunity to negotiate a new deal with Villar, but it became clear that Baltimore was ready to move on from the 28-year-old switch-hitter.

That they did. Just minutes before the 8 PM deadline to non-tender arbitration-eligible players, the Orioles brought in LHP Easton Lucas for Villar. Lucas, a 23-year-old lefty out of Pepperdine University, was a 14th-round pick of the Miami Marlins in the 2019 MLB draft.

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Other than one appearance in the Gulf Coast League, Lucas spent his rookie season in short-season ball with the Batavia Muckdogs. In 12 appearances (nine starts), Lucas went 0-2 with a 3.98 ERA (3.15 FIP), 1.11 WHIP, and a .222 average against. He struck out more than 31% of opponents and walked just 7%.

A former Cape Cod League All-Star, Lucas struck out 71 hitters in 76 innings of work in his first season as a full-time starter for Pepperdine in 2019. He walked just 16. His high strikeout numbers and low walk totals are similar to many pitchers selected by Mike Elias and the Orioles in the 2019 MLB draft.

From Baseball America, ‘“A 6-foot-4, 180-pound lefthander, Lucas showed a solid four-pitch mix this season but didn’t have the results scouts expected given his stuff. Lucas throws an 88-92 mph fastball, an above-average slider and also has an average curveball and changeup.

A tall lefty who joins a growing list of intriguing prospects in the Baltimore Orioles farm system is certainly better than nothing. It doesn’t change the fact that Jonathan Villar should be in the Orioles lineup next season, but it’s an unfortunate side effect of a business decision for Mike Elias.

We wish Villar tons of success in Miami and welcome Easton Lucas to the organization. Likely ticketed to begin 2020 with the Delmarva Shorebirds, I’m excited to head down and watch him live for the first time.

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