The overhaul of the Baltimore Orioles continued yesterday as the team acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy and infielder Brendan Harris from the Minnesota Twins for minor-league relievers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. In the past week, the Orioles have filled in a few of their needs – a corner infielder with power, a shortstop and a bench player.
Here’s more information about the trade from the Baltimore Sun:
Hardy, 28, hit .268 with six homers and 38 RBIs in 101 games with the Twins last season. He is a career .263 hitter. His best season was in 2008, when he batted .283 with 24 homers and 74 RBIs in 146 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was a Brewers second-round draft pick in 2001.
Harris, 30, hit .157 with one homer and four RBIs in 43 games with the Twins in 2010. He is a career .260 hitter in parts of seven seasons. A former 2001 draft pick of the Chicago Cubs’, he has played third base, second base, shortstop and first base in the major leagues.
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Hoey, a 27-year-old right hander, had a combined 6-0 record with a 3.25 ERA in 42 outings between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He made 35 appearances for the Orioles during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, going 3-5 with an 8.13 ERA. He missed all of 2008 with a right shoulder injury. The Orioles drafted him in the 13th round in 2003. He was put back on the 40-man roster earlier this offseason.
Jacobson, 24, went 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 34 relief appearances for Single-A Frederick. He was dealt to the Orioles in August 2009 in the trade that sent Aubrey Huff to the Detroit Tigers.
According to reports, this deal should get done sometime today.
It’s too bad to lose some young arms; however, the Orioles needed the offensive help and depth in their lineup.
I’m not that in love with Hardy, but he’ll provide a lot more offense than Cesar Izturis probably could and he’s still relatively affordable. Let’s hope his bat could perhaps replicate the numbers he had with Milwaukee.
As for Harris, he should provide some depth on the bench.
The Orioles seemed to be in the works to acquire shortstop Jason Bartlett from the Rays on Tuesday on for Nolan Reimold and reliever Alfredo Simon. The deal was rightfully nixed by the Orioles because they felt that it was not prudent to give up on Nolan Reimold so soon after his nice 2009 season.
Bartlett ended up being traded to San Diego on Wednesday.
Also, the Orioles were (as expected) able to ink a deal with Koji Uehara late last night. It’s a risk worth taking despite his history in Baltimore; however, last season, he was perhaps their most reliable reliever and became the closer. He signed a contract for one year and has an option for another year. There may be more moves and signings today as the Rule 5 Draft is taking place.
Now, the Orioles still need to find a first baseman. With Carlos Pena signed by the Cubs and Kornerko going to back the White Sox, I would assume the Orioles’ eyes must be on Adam LaRoche. There are a few more first baseman left on the market such as Lyle Overbay, Jorge Cantu, Derrek Lee, Troy Glaus and a few others.
According to Roch on his blog, amazingly no offers were made to either Pena or Konerko.
Hopefully, they’ll get someone, but as time goes, I am thinking they’ll end up with a Lyle Overbay type, rather than the big bat fans want. Then again, there could be a creative trade made – but who knows.
Also, Scott Boras held court with the media yesterday and spoke about the Orioles. He spoke about the chances of Adrian Beltre coming to Baltimore and a few other items. No matter what you think of the man, he gets his job done and appeases his clients.
Finally, Carl Crawford found a new home – with the Boston Red Sox. Well, business is about to pick up in the American League East as Boston is seriously now the team to beat.
Crawfords’s deal is a $142 million, seven-year pact.
