The Orioles are in the thick of the hunt for a postseason berth and are looking to shore up their starting rotation. Yesterday we learned that they were "going hard" after Zack Greinke, and today Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com (on Twitter) reports they've contacted the Astros about Wandy Rodriguez. Kubatko says GM Dan Duquette is talking to a lot of teams at the moment.
Rodriguez, 33, is one of a number of players Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is reportedly prepared to move. Carlos Lee was just traded to the Marlins and Brett Myers could be of interest to clubs in need of bullpen help. Wandy is no stranger to the trade rumor circuit and has pitched to a 3.54 ERA with his lowest strikeout rate (5.8 K/9) since his rookie year this season. He's owed approximately $5MM for the rest of 2012 and $13MM for 2014. His $13MM club option for 2014 becomes a player option if traded.
Baltimore got seven innings of one-run ball out of Miguel Gonzalez last night, but Brian Matusz was just demoted to Triple-A and Jake Arrieta owns a 6.13 ERA through 18 starts. The O's are 5.5 games back in the AL East but currently hold a 1.5 game lead on a wildcard spot. Adding a third reliable starter to Wei-Yin Chen and Jason Hammel figures to be Duquette's top priority leading up to the deadline.
Get it done Luhnow!
I’m sorry, but that’s not really an upgrade to their staff. I applaud the O’s attempt to stay in the post season hunt and not play just to reach .500, but no!
Wandy does not translate into an AL East starter, especially in Camden Yard.
I wonder what Bill Lee does every time he sees a LH junk baller with nothing but a good curve who can’t break a pane of glass with his FB make 13m a season, when Lee was making less than 100k?
Think I know.. It’s what got him into trouble with the old Commish Bowie Kuhn a time ur two 🙂
I’ll take Spaceman over Wandy everytime.
FB up o 92 MPH, solid change, two-seam he’s been getting a ton of GBs with and one of the best curves in the Majors today…junk baller?
his average fastball velocity is 89 and half of his pitches are off-speed. career pitch values:
fastball: -28
change: -30
curve: +54
Can’t argue with the results though.
nope. just have to be concerned with how they’ll translate against al east lineups
People never believe us when we mention that, or until one ends up in the AL East and get hammered and then they forget (conveniently) until the next Wandy staggers along.
It’s not really even the East. AL period in some cases.
Edit:
And at Rabbitov.. What is up with Arrieta? I watched his start on opening day and he was dominant, then have seen 2-3 starts since and he is throwing BP???
For him its actually pretty simple to identify, but hard to fix. Its two-fold:
1) He has command issues and to fix his command mid game he slows down and throws meat right down the middle and gets hammered.2) He is just flat inconsistent. For example I will use a hypothetical: he may throw 100 pitches in a game, and 90 of those pitches will be absolutely filthy, but the ten that aren’t are typically huge mistakes. That really bears down on someone. (9/10 is hyperbole but I am just trying to get the point across).
He has to learn to minimize his mistakes and repeat his motion better to improve command. His breaking stuff has looked at times downright great. In my opinion, his future is in the bullpen, and he could really excel there. Its time to abandon him as a starter.
Shame for someone who can look so good, then so bad all of a sudden to have that happen.
This is his 3rd try (season).. Maybe it is and if they can get him ready by sending him down soon and groomed as a potential setup guy, he would be ready by next year if all went well.
His type of “stuff” would definitely play up well in that role.
Most people value him as a consistent #3 starter in the AL. He is an inning eater also. Also remember, he already pitches in a hitters park.
it’s homer-friendly, but pretty neutral overall. camden is even more homer-friendly in addition to being an overall better hitters’ park
quality #3 sounded reasonable to me before the last year and a half. he might still hang as a #3, but he could also get lit up. for his salary & acquisition cost, that’s quite a bit of risk
prefer my trade i have been proposing for 2 months to san diego. a 5 player package by the orioles for 3b chase headley and sp edinson volquez. would require a package of maybe machado, avery, reynolds, andino and bobby bundy or similiar. you could also have players involved such as gregg, nick delmonico, jason esposito, hoey, matusz, tillman, arrieta, jonathan schoop. any of these guys in combo, however san diego prefers to get it done. headley still is under contract for 1.5 yrs, is 28 yrs. old and would allow us to free up 3b, where we are strong in the minors with machado, delmonico and esposito who are all regarded as major league starters. in volquez you get a #1 starter who is 28 yrs. old and under contract for 2.5 yrs. both players make under 4 million apiece, so it is cost effective as well. it takes care of the problem at 3b long term, adds a # starter to go with hammel, chen, and whomever else that you don’t deal to fill out the rotation, wether that be tillman, britton, matusz, arietta, gonzalez.
I was thrilled to hear about the O’s pursuit of Greinke but Wandy is below his own line these days. Leave the poor guy be. Admittedly, Hammel seems to regain life with the move to the AL East, but I really wonder how much help Wandy will be.
If they want to keep Machado, Bundy(I understand these guy), Britton ,they should just pursue Wandy, not Greinke.
Whether Duquette is really after Wandy or not, how great is it that the O’s are players this year as potential buyers and not sellers?! No doubt they need SP and DD seems to be turning over rocks and kicking tires to make it happen.
agree. give him crap if he makes a bad trade, but give him credit for making contact and having these conversations. he’d be bad at his job if he didn’t
What happened to “going hard” after Greinke? Brewers GM laugh and hang up the phone when Duquette said Machado and Bundy were off the table?
Exactly! Haha
Just because they have interest in Wandy Rodriguez and a host of other pitchers doesn’t mean they’re still not going hard for Greinke.
I think the real laugh would be to give away 6 years of Bundy for a 2 month rental of Greinke, no?
And in trade talks, showing a willingness to pursue other alternatives is common …
Jake Arrieta was also demoted to AAA.
Guess the Orioles will have scouts in Houston today then. Both Grienke and Wandy pitch there today. Wandy might cost less then the other guys and would be under control longer then Grienke would.
It might cost Matsuz though. I am not sure how far his stock has fallen to the Orioles Brass. I know he use to be rated very highly. Are there any other chips the Astros might want that the Orioles might be willing to move? Obviously I was not thinking Machado or Bundy
Wandy is going to cost someone 26m over 2013-14. Nobody in their right mind (if Wandy is) with his skill set at the age of 35 in 2014 is going to decline that 13m option that turns into a player option if he is traded.
Houston is going to have to eat virtually every dime of that salary to move him and then hope for about the same prospect package they got in exchange for Lee in return.
They will eat the salary, but they will get more than they did for Lee. The Rockies were willing to do Alex White and Tim Wheeler for Wandy last year
That would kind of make sense *if* they pay a big portion of his salary and find some way to void that player option/Houston pay it also. I have said before can see him doing OK in the NL just fine, just not the AL and certainly not in the AL East.
13m is still a lot at his age, but if they can get Houston to pay a big chunk? He’s worth something to a NL team, just like he was for Houston.
I say trade Wandy for Jake Arrieta and a top 30 prospect in the organization and it’s a win win.
arietta sucks. thats not happening in a million years.
I’d ant more than Wandy for Arrieta and a top 30 prospect.
Hahaha the Astros are bad, not stupid. Jeff Lunhow knows how to value players. You guys have 2 untouchables and shoop. Shoop is a big trade piece for the Orioles. Watch for him for go in a trade for a pitcher
O’s are looking real desperate here. You aren’t making the playoffs guys.
The Orioles are desperate because they are looking to make a trade to bolster their team? Really? I guess there are a lot of desperate teams out there.
And as bad as the Orioles have been this year, the fact they are in a playoff spot right now says a lot. If they get someone to catch the ball, Reynolds starts to hit HRs like he can(he had two walks and a RS last night, but that’s not what they need out of him), and fix those holes in the rotation, they have as much chance as anyone to make the post-season.
That’s funny cause right now if the season ended they would. technically they have a chance.
I didn’t say they didn’t have a chance, i said they aren’t making it. They aren’t winning the division and the Wildcard probably won’t be there’s either. I’m not trying to diss, i’m just saying this is what i think. I think it’s a likely scenario.. They aren’t making the playoffs. They are desperate, and they want to but they ultimately won’t.
A decent third baseman who can field and another quality starter makes them a true contender, especially with the extra wild card spot on the table.
Add those two players and hope that Chris Tillman can consistently throw the kind of stuff he was throwing the other night, and the second wild card spot is theirs to lose.
They are just in contact with him right now, let me know once they start to “go hard” on him.
Wandy is consistent. I will give him that much. He is a .500 pitcher, decent ERA and WHIP. To be honest, I never really saw him pitch. I still am thinking, I would rather see Colon and Liriano in an O’s uniform. As for the O’s going hard after Greinke, well if you’re not going to trade Machado or Bundy for him. I sincerely doubt the Brewers have much interest in anything else that we have in the stable.
Liriano would be the best bet to stop the Yankees in my opinion. Yeah, he had six walks last night against the Rangers, but he buckled down each and every time he got into some trouble and pretty much shut down the Rangers.
Come Duquette, when are you going to call the Twins and A’s and play “Lets Make a Deal?”!!!
The Astros will eat a lot of salary for Wandy. As far as Liriano and Colon being better options….I’m not sure how much you are willing to win if those are the guys youre going after. Dempster and Wandy are the best 2 guys available for the price you’ll have to pay. Wandy is a lefty
I am not sure about that (Dempster and Wandy are the best 2 guys available for the price you’ll have to pay).
As for me, I will stick with what I typed earlier.
fantastic rationale. wandy has a disgusting curve that the AL hasn’t seen much of. He’s a .500 pitcher cause his teams are terrible. also, pitches in very friendly hitters park.
The problem with the O’s is no free agent wants to sign with them that is a big impact. There record of losing for so long is a warning. They are a fringe October team with a lot of luck right now. They will have to overpay and going the trade route is the only way to pick up bigger names.
Grenke will cost them their farm. Wandy will cost them 1 piece and maybe 2 fringe prospects. That will not hurt so bad. They could even sweetin the deal by having houston put Myers in there and then the deal might cost a little more, but then they really have a way to October this year and next.
normally i would agree but right now i think a lot of pending free agents may see the O’s as a chance to have a few years of success. Boston can’t seem to right the ship, TB is lacking on offense, and Toronto lost 3/5 of their starting rotation. With Bundy on his way and a solid trade deadline pick up I could see the O’s being able to land a free agent they may not have been able to in prior years.
Possible… not probable. BIG free agents will steer clear of teams with no big free agents. Besides Adam Jones and Wieter, there is no stars. These two are still cheap. Remember there is a state tax as well and teh cost of living. They would have to shell out so much money to even get someone to the table.
They have to prove that they are willing to overpay to get it done to the fans and players. Baltimore is a baseball town that doesn’t believe. The games are still empty of fans. A win for the O’s this year would be just to get to October. Anything that offers post season would be a big boost. Plus the young pitching needs the growing lesson. For some reason the young pitching isn’t putting it together.
Also, the farm is not that good beyond the first 2 picks. You won’t get Greinke without one of those, nor Dempster.
It is cheaper in the long run to pay Wandy and maybe get Houston to add something to the deal like money or another piece than to lose to many parts in the minors.
( Brewers GM laugh and hang up the phone when Duquette said Machado and Bundy were off the table?)
He’s can’t laugh at the O’s GM because they don’t know if they are still in the race or not .If I was the GM of the O’s I would move on ! I would like to see O’s go after Jeremy Guthrie they know what they are getting there and he’s can be the 3rd or 4th starter .
I’m glad you’re not the O’s GM.
I was a huge fan of Guthrie and I would still rather see the O’s pick up the just released Chris Ray then bring Guthrie back. Chit, i think i would take Jamie Moyer over Guthrie.
I would rather see the O’s get Dempster then Wandy. Probably cost the same in prospects but much cheaper financially. Love to get Greinke, Marcum, or Hamels instead.
You guys are ridiculously underrating this guy. He has been incredibly consistent over the last 5 years. His highest era was a 3.60 since 2007. He would certainly help any playoff team.
I mean, the dude’s got a 3.82 FIP. I don’t get this whole “Wandy is just a innings eater” mentality. He’s a durable, good pitcher. The only difference in value between him and Garza is their age and the amount they’re owed, and the Astros have shown that they will eat plenty of cash in a trade. Houston should expect a nice prospect back for him, especially if they swallow the contract.
He is more than an innings eater for sure. Wandy is a class guy and the city here loves him, would hate to see him go but it’s for the best. Once the guy has run support he’s a beast, it’s when he has to work out of a jam or feel like he has to keep the game close b/c of no run support- is when he gets in trouble.
To me, the key for the Orioles is that Wandy Rodriguez is an innings-eater—what the Orioles need. Now, there may be worries about whether Rodriguez can handle the AL East.
As for Brian Matusz—I have to wonder if he is going to be a non-tender candidate if he falls into Super-2 status. If he’s kept in AAA for the rest of the year, he may miss the cutoff for Super-2 status.
It works both ways. Wandy doesn’t know the hitters and hitters don’t know him…should be a wash, he’ll do well. – Astro Fan
As a Stros fan, would rather they trade Wandy to Toronto than Baltimore……Toronto has better prospects.
He is more than an innings eater for sure. Wandy is a class guy and the city here loves him, would hate to see him go but it’s for the best. Once the guy has run support he’s a beast, it’s when he has to work out of a jam or feel like he has to keep the game close b/c of no run support- is when he gets in trouble.