It looks like the rebuilding plan is really in full motion now — this afternoon, Aubrey Huff got traded to the Tigers. Here’s the latest from Roch’s blog:
The Orioles have traded first baseman Aubrey Huff to the Detroit Tigers for Single-A pitcher Brett Jacobson, a 6 foot 6 reliever who was 1-3 with a 3.74 ERA in 35 games at Single-A Lakeland. He was drafted in the fourth round last year. More to come.
The Baltimore Sun has more on the deal and it looks like Luke Scott will be starting at first base tonight.
I’m not surprised that he was traded only for the fact that he’s going to be a free agent at the end of the season; furthermore, I don’t think he was going to be re-signed in Baltimore unless he accepted arbitration.Well, Huff has some value to a contender who needs a left handed bat, plus, he gets into the thick of a pennant chase and may find himself in the playoffs. The Orioles in making this trade are simply perhaps looking for more depth — especially arms.
The team could always offer him a contract in the offseason; however, at this point, the Orioles have to get younger and Huff’s numbers have really declined. MacPhail might as well have gotten some value from Huff if he could.
Although I didn’t care for some of Huff’s antics while he was in Baltimore, he was a solid bat in the lineup, and while his first season in town didn’t go as expected, he returned to his old form in 2008. He really seemed to mature over time, and sort of became a favorite amongst some fans for his free attitude.
