The Orioles have made a pair of trades, according to a team announcement. They’ve acquired right-hander Matt Wotherspoon from the Yankees and left-hander Jason Wheeler from the Dodgers, surrendering international signing bonus slots for both players. Wotherspoon and Wheeler will report to Triple-A Norfolk.
Trading international money for players is nothing new for the Orioles, who took that route before Sunday to acquire the likes of Damien Magnifico, Paul Fry and Alex Katz earlier this season. Their aversion to spending on the international market has led to criticism from Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who laid into O’s ownership back in April for their “antiquated” approach.
The 25-year-old Wotherspoon has mostly served as a reliever in the minors since the Yankees chose him in the 34th round of the 2014 draft. He debuted at the Triple-A level last season and has been quite effective since, having logged a 2.10 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 34 1/3 innings.
Unlike Wotherspoon, Wheeler comes with major league experience. An eighth-rounder of the Twins in 2011, the 26-year-old made his debut earlier this season with Minnesota. He fared poorly over three innings, though, yielding three earned runs on six hits and four walks, with no strikeouts. The Twins then traded him to the Dodgers on June 2, but Los Angeles designated him for assignment on June 18. Wheeler pitched exclusively with their Triple-A affiliate, recording a 10.38 ERA over 8 2/3 innings. Overall, Wheeler owns a 4.74 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 281 Triple-A frames and 51 appearances (48 starts).
The Dodgers and Yankees both began Sunday, the opening of the 2017-18 international signing period, with $4.75MM available. LA is unable to sign anyone for more than $300K, however, while New York ate into its total by agreeing to deals with Venezuelan outfielder Everson Pereira and shortstop Roberto Chirinos for a combined $2.4MM. The Yankees are also likely to sign Dominican shortstop Ronny Rojas in August for a projected $1.05MM.
The orioles just hate the international signings.
It is getting kind of annoying. These guys probably aren’t even going to come up, and we are dumping more and more international money. You wonder why our system is so bad.
I mean, they’re not going to spend it so why not? It doesn’t sound like they want to pay the staff that’s needed to scout internationally.
It really is amazing that Angelos is so against it. Why could he possibly be so much against trying to build his farm system this way? It’s so weird
Who the heck is Ben Badler? And why do we care what he has to say about the Orioles who have been a fairly successful organization? Is there any evidence to suggest that picking from the international draft is any more successful than what we got from the Yankees and elsewhere?
What does Baseball America know about prospects the last 35 years? Oh, wait
He’s someone who knows more about international prospects/international free agency than just about anyone.
As your username suggests, you’re clearly stuck in the 80s when the international market wasn’t nearly as integral to a team as it is now.
wait they have something up for wheeler???
I can’t wait until Angelos croaks.
Jesus I don’t agree with his decision not to sign international prospects either but that’s a little far man
Its just a game realgone2. You want the man dead? What is wrong with you?
I guess I deserved the sarcastic remark. I get it. I really do.
The last few times the Orioles have been mentioned in an article in association with the international market; it seems to be followed by how badly Ben Badler thinks the O’s are screwing up. I guess that’s my criticism. Why do the writers of this site consistently cite something Ben Badler said several months ago? It’s just weird. That’s all.
“Why do the writers of this site consistently cite something Ben Badler said several months ago?”
Because it continues to be relevant.
Thanks Connor. It sure is relevant. But I’d be curious to know if there are any other opinions out there that are relevant that would go a step further in explaining the team’s side of the issue. Dan Connolly wrote a recent article on the subject. It’s pretty good. He even references the Baseball America article.
The Dodgers must be ready to sign a bunch of players if they are adding money to their pool while being capped at $300k on any player. They already could have signed 16 players at their $300k max without adding anything. They must be planning to bring in 20-25 guys, if not more.
Or they could package some of the pool money in larger deal to upgrade their roster.
Or could’ve been a case of getting the best deal for someone they would’ve let go anyways . . . I know one thing for certain. I don’t know!
Nah. Not stuck in the 80″s. Just a user name that I thought was fun. You made quite an assumption from a user name.
And I do realize the importance of the international market. I just got a little annoyed when the same quote was cited on a few occasions. Even a couple of people on this message thread seemed to have questions about why the Orioles do or don’t participate in the international market. There are better articles out there than this one to answer these questions. That’s all. No need for the backhanded jab.