Orioles, Phillies Swap Minor Leaguers

The Orioles have acquired minor league right-hander Julio Rodriguez from the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Ronnie Welty, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).

Rodriguez, who turned 21 in August, pitched to a 4.23 ERA with a 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 134 innings for the Phillies' Double-A affiliate last season. He did not rank among Baseball America's Top 30 Phillies prospects, nor did he appear on MLB.com's list of Top 20 Phillies prospects.

The 25-year-old Welty has some experience at all three outfield positions but played right field exclusively in 2012. Last season, he batted .333/.373/.662 with 13 homers in 229 plate appearances across four levels. However, a great deal of those plate appearances came in Rookie ball and Class-A (both levels) as he rehabbed from an injury. In 37 games for Double-A Bowie, he batted .286/.303/.564. Like Rodriguez, he did not appear on his team's respective Top 30 and Top 20 prospects.