The Orioles announced that they have re-acquired outfielder L.J. Hoes in a trade with the Astros and designated first baseman Andy Wilkins for assignment in order to clear room on the 40-man roster.
Hoes, who will turn 26 years of age in March, was initially acquired by the Astros alongside lefty Josh Hader in the 2013 trade that send right-hander Bud Norris to Baltimore. He picked up 333 plate appearances with Houston over the parts of three seasons he spent in the organization, batting a collective .240/.292/.332 with four homers and seven stolen bases.
A right-handed batter, Hoes has had good success at the upper levels of the minor leagues, including a .299/.388/.399 batting line in parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level. He typically has more success against left-handed pitching and will give Baltimore some much-needed outfield depth. The Orioles cycled through an alarming number of corner outfield options in 2015 as Adam Jones held down the fort in center field, so he’ll present GM Dan Duquette and skipper Buck Showalter with a possible platoon option in the event that a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder is acquired.
As for Wilkins, the 27-year-old has bounced around the league quite a bit since making his big league debut with the White Sox in 2014. The former fifth-rounder hit just .140/.178/.186 in a minuscule sample of 45 plate appearances with the South Siders in ’14. This season, he was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays, who would eventually trade him to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The Dodgers lost Wilkins to the Orioles on waivers in early September, and he’ll again be in search of a new club now that he’s been designated by Baltimore. Wilkins launched 30 homers in Triple-A in 2014 and has a career .272/.324/.490 line at that level.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that Hoes was traded back to Baltimore (Twitter link). Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com tweeted that the Astros would receive cash considerations.
Today seems to be a good day for trades and such
Shuffling of the cards as the dust settles on the 40 man limits.
O’s Re-Acquire Hoes
Hoes go crawling back to the Orioles.
And Alex Avila just signed too.. quite the day, MLB.
Good deal. Glad we got something for him. Good luck LJ. Sad that you never succeeded. I always wanted an Astros jersey with Hoes on the back.
Its for cash. You didn’t really get anything for him.
Exactly!!!!
Cash is better than nothing they’d get for DAing him and some other team claiming him or them releasing.
Something is better than nothing.
Is it confirmed for cash? same with Lowrie?
Whats up with people going back to their old organizations?
Great player
O’s before Hoes
Money, Cash, Hoes
Good deal