With the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline 8 days away, the Orioles are definitely in ‘sell mode’. We have no chance at the playoffs and we have a few veterans that could help a contending team down the stretch. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Andy MacPhail has said he would like to avoid the late season collapses that have marred recent seasons, but I would look for us to make at least two trades before all is said and done. Heres a look at who I think has a chance of being dealt by next Friday at 4 pm.

RHP Danys Baez: The Colorado Rockies are apparently very interested in acquiring Baez to help their bullpen down the stretch. I can see us working out a deal with them or another team looking for bullpen help. I don’t think it would take much to take Baez off of our hands. He won’t net us draft picks if he signs with another team in the offseason and we have plenty of options to replace him when hes gone (Chris Ray, Dennis Sarfate, Kem Mickolio, Jim Miller, etc.). Baez has a pretty hefty salary for a middle reliever so we might have to pitch in some money in any deal.
Chances of being traded: 10 (out of 10)

LHP George Sherrill: After some early season struggles, Sherrill has really found his groove closing games for the O’s. He has a 2.52 ERA and 20 saves while striking out almost a batter an inning, plus he is under team control for two more years. He is dominant against lefties. His trade value is very high and there are a bunch of teams that are interested in him, with the Los Angeles Angels at the top of the heap. I could see us getting a potential third baseman of the future and a solid pitching prospect for Sherrill. In fact, I don’t see us settling for any less since hes under our control for a couple more years and his value should remain high entering the off-season and next year. Jim Johnson could step into the closers role if Sherrill is dealt.
Chances of being traded: 8

1B Aubrey Huff: In my opinion, I think the Orioles should have traded Huff either at last years trade deadline or the off-season. All signs pointed to a drop off from last year. Huff has had a very disappointing season, hes back to 2007 levels. That said, he is a notorious second half hitter and a team might be willing to take a chance on him. San Francisco and the New York Mets could be potential destinations for Aubrey. MacPhail might prefer to hold on to him and offer him arbitration in the off-season, but he might not be a type A free agent unless he starts hitting like last year. If he accepted arbitration a one year $8-10 million dollar deal wouldn’t be bad, but I’d rather take a decent prospect for him and play Ty Wiggington at first base until Brandon Snyder is ready to take over.
Chances of being traded: 6

LF/DH Luke Scott: Scott is having a tremendous season and I’m sure he could help out a team looking for some offensive help down the stretch. Luke has even been hitting left handed pitching this year, proving to be an everyday player. I wouldn’t give him up easily, but if some team wants to overpay for him I would strike while the iron is hot. Scott is a very streaky hitter and our outfield is set with Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Nolan Reimold. The average O’s fan might not like it, but trading Scott while his value is highest would make a good Miguel Tejada trade even better.
Chances of being traded: 4

RHP Jeremy Guthrie: Guthrie has struggled so far this year, but he should still be able to collect a good bounty if last year’s Joe Blanton trade is any indicator. He has proven to be an innings eater at the least, or a number 2/3 starter if he bounces back to ’07/’08 levels. I don’t see us trading him at the deadline unless we’re really overwhelmed, but I think theres a good chance hes moved in the off-season. Our pitching prospects are finally at the cusp of being major league ready and we’ll need to make room for them somehow, might as well be with our most valuable starting pitcher. But I think Koji Uehara’s injury and Rich Hill’s struggles have put an end to any serious thought of trading Guthrie before the deadline.
Chances of being traded: 2

3B Melvin Mora: This might be wishful thinking but who knows, maybe some team with issues at third base will look at Mora’s second half resurgence last year and take a chance on him. Any Mora deal would most likely have to include the Orioles picking up the rest of this years salary. Mora has looked old and has seemingly lost any semblance of the power he once showed. Maybe an infamous Player To Be Named Later trade. Most likely the Orioles will just let Mora play out the season, decline his 2010 option, go our separate ways, and induct him into the Orioles Hall of Fame in a few years.
Chances of being traded: 1

1B/3B Ty Wiggington: Wiggington started off the season ice cold, but has returned to more of his career norms lately. He could be a useful bat off the bench for a National League team in need of some pop or help against lefties. Wiggington has limited range but is fairly sure handed with balls hit in his immediate vicinity. He can play all over the field and hes signed to a cheap deal through 2010. Those last two might be a reason why the Orioles keep him around. He could replace either Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff, or even Luke Scott  next season if we don’t acquire any long term options in other trades. At worst he does what hes doing now, a good bat on the bench and someone to plug into the lineup against lefties.
Chances of being traded: 3

The Orioles traded INF Oscar Salazar to the San Diego Padres yesterday for RHP Cla Meredith, a relief pitcher.

Grade: C+

We had to do something to make room for David Hernandez, who will be recalled to pitch tonight’s game in New York. We had to get rid of a position player since we’ve been playing a starting pitcher short. It made sense to trade Salazar for something rather than lose him for nothing trying to pass him through waivers. Meredith is a submarine type pitcher who gets alot of ground balls. Hes 26 years old, so almost like a younger version of Chad Bradford. Meredith has pitched 36.2 innings so far this year giving up 47 hits (but only 1 HR), 13 walks, and striking out 20 batters to the tune of a 4.17 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. He was unhittable as a rookie in 2006 when batters only hit .170 off him. In the past 3 years its been closer to .300. His lifetime ERA is 3.49. He’ll be a nice guy to have if we trade Danys Baez and/or George Sherrill, he’ll be under our control for 2 more years after 2009, and he has an option remaining. Look for Kam Mickolio to be optioned later today to make room for Hernandez on the active roster, but he’ll be back.

The Orioles have traded for Cleveland Indians minor leaguer 1B Michael Aubrey for a player to be named later.

Grade: C

Aubrey was the 11th overall selection in the 2003 draft. Injuries derailed his ascent to the big leagues. Hes healthy now, but not the prospect he once was. I’m thinking this trade was just to give some help to our minor league teams and act as insurance in case we trade Aubrey Huff and/or lose Oscar Salazar to waivers. Aubrey was batting .292/.322/.448 at AAA Columbus with 16 doubles, a triple, 5 homeruns, and 29 RBIs. As for the player to be named later, I’m assuming it’ll end up being a non-prospect at a position of need for one of the Indians farm teams or cash. Its a no lose deal that probably won’t have much of an impact on the major league club.

The Orioles returned rule 5 pick Adam Donachie back to the Royals after they couldn’t reach a deal to keep him in the farm system. But the Orioles did manage to trade for a catcher for minor league depth.

The Orioles traded 28 year old outfielder, and Orioles minor league player of the year, Cory Keylor to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for 37 year old catcher Alberto Castillo. The Orioles will most likely place Castillo in AAA Norfolk. I grade this trade a C because it basically has no bearings on the Orioles for this or any future season. Keylor was an organizational player that had a good year last year. No harm done.

Outfielder Jay Payton strained his hamstring and is going to miss between 1 to 3 weeks of playing time. Payton will most likely either be on the DL or not available for opening day. He had a great spring training and would have been the starting center fielder on Monday. Its not a really bad injury and he shouldn’t miss too much time.

The Orioles traded right handed pitcher Rodrigo Lopez to the Colorado Rockies for minor league relievers Jim Miller and Jason Burch.

Burch: 3-4, 4.95 ERA, 63.2 IP, 1.41 WHIP, 7.35 K/9

Miller: 0-3, 3.86 ERA, 12 saves, 44.1 IP, 1.44 WHIP, 8.32 K/9

Grade: C+

Well we finally decided to pull the trigger on a Rodrigo Lopez trade. We decided on a deal with the Rockies for two right handed relief pitchers. Out of the two, Miller has the most upside. He’s had high strikeout numbers throughout his minor league career and was named the Rockies minor league pitcher of the year in 2005. Burch has also had good strikeout numbers. Both are 24 years old, neither listed in Colorado’s top 20 prospects. But the Orioles do get rid of a pitcher coming off an 18 loss, near 6 ERA season who was going to be paid an estimated $4 million to keep as a long reliever most likely. If either one of these new pitchers can give us some production at some point, then the trade will be effective. Now we can wait for Spring Training to start because I don’t see the O’s making any more moves this off-season. Rodrigo finishes his Baltimore Oriole career at 60-58. Good luck in Colorado Roddy, you’re gonna need it.

The Orioles drafted right handed pitcher Alfredo Simon from the Rangers organization, then traded him to the Phillies for their Rule 5 selection. That being catcher Adam Donachie who played in the Royals organization last year. Also among the process, the Orioles lost 1B/DH Josh Phelps to the New York Yankees in the draft.

Grade: F

Its really not acceptable that we lost Josh Phelps in the Rule 5 draft. Not that Phelps is anything special, or was he even guaranteed to start the season with the big league club, but he was more valuable to the O’s than alot of players on the 40 man roster were. All we had to do was place Adam Stern on waivers and put Phelps on the 40 man roster and it would have been impossible to lose him. I don’t think its the end of the world, but it really pisses me off that we made a smart move to sign him to a minor league deal, only to lose him to the Yankees in the Rule 5. As for the other stuff in the draft, it really has no significance. We did the favor for the Phillies since they did one for us last year with Chris Gomez in the same draft.

The Orioles acquired utility player Freddie Bynum from the Cubs for a player to be named later.

Bynum: .257/.308/.456, 5 doubles, 5 triples, 4 homeruns, 12 RBI, 8 stolen bases

Grade: C

I’m curious as to who the player to be named later will be, but I doubt it’ll be anyone of any real significance. I would say Adam Stern if I had to guess at this point. I guess the Front Office is thinking that Bynum can take over Chris Gomez’ role. Gomez had a hot ending to his year and will most likely sign elsewhere. Not a bad trade unless the PTBNL is shocking, Bynum is 26 and he has some pop in his bat to go along with his speed. Helps the bench which is always a weak point for recent Oriole squads.

Update: The player to be named later turned out to be minor league pitcher Kevin Hart. Nothing special, my grade will stay the same.

The Orioles trade 23 year old right handed relief pitcher Chris Britton to the New York Yankees for 30 year old right handed starting pitcher Jaret Wright and 4 million dollars.

Wright: 11-7, 4.49 ERA, 140.1 IP, 1.52 WHIP, 5.39 K/9

Cost: 1 year/$3 million

Grade: C-

The Orioles traded their second best reliever and weakened their biggest weakness. They traded for Jaret Wright, whose contract the Yankees were going to buy out and make him a free agent. The Orioles decided to trade for him instead because they figured he would cost more if they tried to sign him on the market. At first look this is a bad deal. But after hearing all sides, its not all bad. Jim Duquette said you trade a reliever for a starter every time, Wright gives us someone to put at the back end of the rotation or in the bullpen, and its just the start of the plan and there are more moves on the way. With that said, I like the deal a little more. This allows us to trade one or both of Kris Benson and Rodrigo Lopez and gives us more versatility in what we can do. That is all the judgment I can make for now, until more moves (or lack thereof) are made.

Jeff Conine was traded to the Phillidelphia Phillies today for a PTBNL.

Grade: B+

It doesn’t matter who we get back really, just the fact that we got rid of Conine’s salary for next year is great. We had to kick in some cash, but that doesn’t really matter to me either. I have no idea what we’re going to get in return, but its probably a mid-level prospect. Either an outfielder or a relief pitcher I would hazzard to guess. Good deal, now lets get rid of Russ Ortiz and I’ll be happy.

The Orioles traded catcher Javy Lopez to the Boston Red Sox for minor league outfielder Adam Stern.

Grade: C+

I’m very glad to see we got rid of Javy. I would have settled for just getting rid of him for nothing, so getting anything in return is fine with me. Adam Stern is a 26 year old center fielder who has struggled this year in AAA Pawtucket. His stat line for the season is .260/.299/.393. He has 8 homeruns and 34 RBI. He also has 21 stolen bases in 28 attempts. Seems like he could be organizational filler or an adequate reserve outfielder at some point. Javy gets a chance to go to a competing team and get his playing time. Good riddence as far as I’m concerned. Lets move on and trade some more of our worthless garbage.