The Orioles have acquired lefty Edgar Olmos from the Cubs, per a Baltimore announcement. Chicago will receive a player to be named later in the swap.
Olmos will join just-signed southpaw Zach Phillips in the mix to fill in for injured reliever Brian Matusz. Baltimore gave Phillips a 40-man spot, but will be able to hold onto Olmos without committing to him on the major league roster since he was previously outrighted by Chicago.
Baltimore has obviously been intrigued with Olmos before, as he was briefly a member of the organization before the Cubs claimed him off waivers. Soon to turn 26, the former third-round draft pick only has minimal major league experience but posted a 3.55 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 33 Triple-A innings last year.
Edgar J Olmos? That dude can act
Not really. But EDWARD J. Olmos can.
“Baltimore gave Johnson a 40-man spot”
Who the heck is Johnson?
Was about to say…
Dude, how do you not know Johnson?!
Johnson is excellent, too. Probably why I had him in mind when I wrote that.
Howard Johnson?
It’s gotta be an error cuz there’s no Johnson on the Orioles 40-man roster of list of Non-Roster Invitees
Johnson = Phillips
Jeff Todd = moron
Beats releasing him.
American Me is a classic. Didn’t know he played baseball too!
Cant wait to see who the PTBNL is. Probably some low level tupe guy
The upshot is, Theo Epstein has little reason to get a low-upside reliever from the South Atlantic League. It will probably turn to nothing, but I’d guess an 18-year old from the Dominican.
Scott Feldman = Jake Arietta and Pedro Strop, so I’m thinking Edgar Olmos = Dylan Bundy.
Johnson? Finish your story
Test
I ran the recently acquired Orioles, and came up with five options. I welcome slings and arrows from Orioles fans on these.
In trying to guess the five on the PTBNL list, I came up with Ofelky Peralta, Ryan Meisinger, Jaylen Ferguson, Jason Heinrich, and Gray Fenter. The last two are the only ones in the MLB.com top thirty, with Fenter at 20 and Heinrich at 29.
All five look to have enough upside for Epstein, and none are too vitally essential for the O’s future. How did I do?
Theo really doesn’t look for rape trades unless it is a trade to Billy Beane(Shark + Hammel for Russ+McKinney)….. Most of Theo’s trades after that have been questionable trades to clear payroll, while he does all his major acquisitions through signings that he is able to manipulate by gaining the players through his high closing rate % and assuring the potential FA that they will be a part of something special! I am sure Theo won’t get anything more important than a tax break or low level prospect, but he will also gain the trust of another American Lg team which will always be useful during trading times.
With the exception of the Trevor Gretzky trade, he gets guys with upside. As much depth as he has put together, he has little need to acquired anyone who doesn’t represent quality up the ladder. He also likes guys that give him time to develop them. The five I’ve listed (four from the 2015 draft, and one young international type) have that without much fanfare.
I think all five have the 1-in-10 chance of being MLB types. Otherwise, if the guys on the PTBNL list don’t represent, he’ll take cash.
Remember, he got two live bodies for Tony Campana, who was DFA’d to set up the trade.
I totally agree tim815! Excellent research and perspective! I was simply thinking of how Theo has been spreading the wealth lately and simply not looking for major returns if any. I looked at the Junior Lake trade last year and wondered why the Cubs would sacrifice him for a reliever that was barely clinging on to a job. I wrote an article and during the research I realized what he was doing. The guys he parts with basically are simply not going to be able to fulfill the spot on the roster where it maximizes their abilities during these rare new times of riches of talent. So his moves have been in the mindset of……(Hypothetical self conversation) ~ ” Junior Lake is not going to reach his ceiling with us, so if I deliver goodwill to team X, when I need someone, they will remember this and reward me with that player I need in the future or that drafted stud that I could not draft due to my position in the draft.” But, I do hope that one of these players you mentions comes this way!
nice get for the orioles. loved him in blade runner