The Orioles completed the trade of Gregg Zaun to the Tampa Bay Rays by receiving 1B John “Rhyne” Hughes as the Player To Be Named Later.
Grade: C+
So we completed the trade with Tampa Bay by getting another first baseman for Norfolk to go along with Brandon Snyder and Michael Aubrey. This tells me Aubrey Huff will most likely not be coming back next year and Snyder, Hughes, and Aubrey will battle it out in Spring Training. I could see Hughes winning that battle. Snyder could get some more seasoning at AAA. This year, Hughes has split his season between AA and AAA. In AA he hit .252/.340/.500 with 11 doubles and 15 homeruns. In AAA he hit .313/.361/.533 with 22 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 homeruns. He strikes out alot, but hes got alot of power. He reminds me of a slightly lower tier, first baseman version of Nolan Reimold. Reimold is 26 as a rookie this year, Hughes will turn 26 in September, and they have similar progressions through the minor league system. I like the trade, but its not a homerun.
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