The baseball trading deadline will soon be upon us and every team will have to decide if they are a buyer or a seller. For some teams this will be an easy decision. The Cubs, Red Sox, Brewers, and even the Rays are buyers this year while subpar teams like the Blue Jays, Indians, Mariners, and Padres may look to dump some pricey contracts.
We’ve already seen the first trade as Cleveland traded away their Cy Young award winner C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers for some top prospects. So what will the Orioles do? Well with a winning record, you could make the argument they could be buyers. However, this is the American League East and a winning record doesn’t mean squat. But this would be most foolish.
The truth of the matter is the Orioles, while an improved team, will not catch the Rays or Red Sox this year. The strength of the Orioles thus far has been their bullpen, but injuries to Albers, Loewen, Bierd, and Walker have taken their toll. Sherill has seen his early success wane and the only true sure thing in the bullpen now is the surprising Jim Johnson. With only two starters who can regularly pitch past six innings this beleaguered bullpen is going to get a severe workout and it won’t be pretty.
It’s been a nice run thus far, but it’s time to make some deals. We knew coming in this year that this would be a re-building franchise. With young players like Markakis, Jones, Scott, Johnson, and Guthrie the O’s have a good core, but hardly complete. Sure we have some talent in the minor leagues with phenom catcher Matt Weiters, first baseman Brandon Snyder, and pitchers Jake Arriata, Chris Tillman, Tim Bascom, and the surprising Bradley Bergesen, but only Weiters is a sure thing and none of the players are answers for our glaring holes in the infield.
The time to trade is now, and thanks to our hot start our players will actually be in demand. At the top of the list is Aubrey Huff. You could easily make the argument that Huff should be an All-Star this year. He’s on pace to bust 30 homeruns and top 100 rbis. That 280 average is pretty nice too. No one knows for sure if Huff can keep this up, so that’s why I think it’s time to part ways. I like the guy, but we need more young talent and getting Huff would require a team to make a significant sacrifice.
Number two on the list would be Brian Roberts. Like Huff, he’s having an All-Star year, but unlike Huff, he has stellar years every year. Roberts won’t go anywhere unless the O’s receive a package of elite prospects. MacPhail has shown he’s not hesitant to pull the trigger on such deals, and I’m sure there will be a contender itching for one of the best leadoff men in the game. The Cubs still would seem the most likely candidate, though I wonder if the Cardinals would take a shot at him. My bet is either Roberts or Huff is gone by August.
Who else may be on their way out? Probably nobody. The O’s would love to get prospects for Millar, Payton, or Mora but their performances this year aren’t going to wow many teams. There was talk earlier that the O’s would trade Sherrill given his success (and now All-Star status), but with the bullpen as banged up as it is, he’s not going anywhere.
Now the O’s will be buyers for one position: shortstop. They will likely make a deal by August but it won’t be for a superstar. It will be someone like Felipe Lopez, Juan Uribe, or David Eckstein and we won’t have to give up too much to get whoever it is. It will also be a short-term fix as the O’s will look to the offseason to find a better replacement.
The O’s gave us an exciting first half, and while it does show there is light at the end of the tunnel, the rebuilding process must go on.
