The Submarine Leaves the Harbor, For Good

One of Baltimore's most reliable relievers departed the Harbor on Thursday. Chad Bradford was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later. The new player has yet to be named, but he is probably a young player that is in single or double-A.

He had pitched only 40 1/3 innings this year, but he had a very solid 2.45 ERA. He was more used by Dave Trembley as a player who could get those one or two outs. A ground ball pitcher that gave up only three home runs in two years.

Clearly this is a salary and age move. Bradford is 33, and probably still has plenty of years left due to his pitching style. Underhand throwing is a natural motion, and though submarine isn't underhand, it isn't as physically taxing. But, Bradford like many current Oriole roster players aren't going to be part of the future. Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says that the Birds will save 4.5 million in salary in all from the rest of Bradford's contract, which expires in 2009.

That said, I am going to be interested in who this player is, because the Orioles have not shown a ton of interest in dumping salary like this. The bullpen has a few issues right now, and though Bradford almost never goes beyond one inning per appearance, he was a constant in the pen for the last two seasons. If the Orioles were really trying to dump salary, they have have tried to trade Aubrey Huff and his eight million a year (it wouldn't have been good if they did trade him with his production right now). And, giving him to a division rival? Normally that never happens. But, this is all about getting the team younger, and Andy MacPhail probably didn't give up Bradford lightly.

Good luck to you Chad, you did fine for the Birds. Have fun in the Tampa sun.

(Windsor better get back from vacation soon. I have a bunch of leftover torpedoes and the Harbor's submarine is gone. I need to know what to do with them.)

(Photo credit: MLB)

Orioles Strategy: Trade Deadline

As the July 31st trade deadline approaches, the Orioles may be big players in the market for prospects. They have already made one deal, trading Mike McCoy for Juan Castro, a Triple-A shortstop. But, the Orioles are going for the long term. So, what are the Orioles needs, and will they move anyone to fill them?

Keep a few things in mind. The only teams that will trade for Major League roster players are teams that competing for a playoff run and not in the AL East division. This will limit options, but teams will still seek players to fill-in needs. Also, if the Orioles make too many moves, then big name free agents won't believe the Orioles will win in the near future; Mark Teixeira comes to mind. If the Orioles don't make any moves, then the value for current players may go down and the Orioles possible prospects would not be as talented. This happened with Miguel Tejada. It isn't an easy process for anyone to deal with.

Orioles primary needs- shortstop, first baseman
Secondary- third base, left field, starting pitching

(Note: All stats are as of July 18th and according to Yahoo Sports)


Will B-Rob stay in B-more?
Tale of the Tape: .292, 49 extra base hits (7 HR), 27/36 SB
Salary: $6.3 million
Brian Roberts is probably the most wanted player on the O's. A very consistent player the last few years, the 30-year-old second baseman is a solid leadoff hitter. History has shown that Peter Angelos is very protective of Roberts. The Cubs had shown interest before the beginning of the season, but there would have to be a big deal for the face of the franchise to be traded.

By George, is he leaving?
Tale of the Tape: 2-4, 3.98 ERA, 40.2 IP, 29 SV
Salary: $980,000
The 31-year-old George Sherrill has been quite the surprise for the O's. Southpaw relievers are prized since there a few of them in the majors. No contender would want Sherrill as a closer, so they won't trade talent equal to a closer's worth. Likely by this season's end, he'll have never pitched more innings in a season. The counter: there is no telling whether Chris Ray would be ready next year or if Baltimore could replace Sherrill with another lefty.

Will the O's huff, puff, get "blow your house" down deal?
Tale of the Tape: .289, 19 HR, 61 RBI
Salary: $8 million
Aubrey Huff has become the Orioles best power hitter. The 31-year-old is mainly a DH but can play third or first base. Though he's had two decent years with the Birds, he hasn't shown power like this the last few years; no telling if he'll be consistent. The Orioles probably wouldn't get much from a trade with Huff except a dump of salary, which isn't a huge deal to Angelos right now.

Will the submarine launch from the harbor?
Tale of the Tape: 3-3, 2.62 ERA, 34.1 IP, 11 K
Salary: $3,666,667
Chad Bradford is a solid short relief pitcher: a righty submariner who forces many ground balls. The 34-year-old has only given up a 4+ ERA one season since 2001. He normally can't go longer than an inning during an outing. Like Sherill, Bradford's value is limited due to the fact that he wouldn't be a closer to a contender, but his services could be useful to team with bullpen needs.

Is it Millar Time for someone?

Tale of the Tape: .239, 12 HR, 47 RBI

Salary: $3.8 million

Kevin Millar wouldn't get traded for his potential numbers or for the future (he's 36). But Millar is the undesputed leader of the clubhouse, and a few teams might want his presence to help morale of a team. He is in a contract year and isn't part of the Orioles future. But, the fact that the Birds wouldn't get much for him and that he's such a great teammate might keep him here.

I believe at least one of the above will be traded before the deadline, but Andy MacPhail will not make a deal unless he believes it is very helpful to the future of the franchise.

(Photo credits: Major League Baseball)

Filling the Void

The loss of Matt Albers has left a void in the O's bullpen that's becoming more and more evident. With the young birds' rotation is still trying to find it's way, there needs to be an arm (or arms) capable of shutting down the sixth and/or seventh innings in order to get to JJ and The Sherriff at the back end. So with the recent shuffling of the bullpen, let's whittle down the candidates for his replacement. This is excluding the back end (JJ, Sherrill), pitchers in rehab or DL (Randor Bierd, Jamie Walker), and Ryan Bukvich (if he hasn't been DFA'd by the time this post is made).

-Dennis Sarfate - Next to Loewen and Jim Johnson, Sarfate has the best natural arm in this pen. Sarfate hits 95-98 mph with relative ease with his fastball and has an excellent hard slider. However, Sarfate has a history of wildness (34 walks in 37.2 ip) and thus can be susceptible to the big inning.
-Fernando Cabrera - We haven't seen much of Fernando, and there is most likely a reason. Certainly Trembley will look to give him more opportunities, as both of his appearances have been scoreless this season. However, his reputation of wildness preceeds him and its unlikely that he'll settle into the lockdown middle relief this team is seeking.
-Chad Bradford - Safest guy to lock down the seventh. Balls aren't going to leave the yard with Bradford, and he's not going to get psyched out like some of the younger pitchers. Bradford is a stabilizer, which is exactly what you want. However, he's too valuable situationally to have him etched in to a specific inning. Far better to save the submariner for when you need him -- be it in the sixth, seventh, or eighth.
-Adam Loewen - Certainly has all the tools, the competitiveness, and the ability to go multiple innings without tiring. However, Loewen has had a roller coaster season from injury to poor performance. He has the gifts and the competitiveness, but he's not eased in enough to be relied on here and now.
-Lance Cormier - Probably the most deserving pitcher to get the Albers role. Like Albers Cormier is a former starter who has found exponentially more success coming out of the pen. In his past nine appearances he has pitched 15.2 innings and only allowed 3 earned runs, two of which coming at Wrigley when he was thrust into replacing Albers in the first inning. Of those nine appearances, six were of at least two innings.

Right now smart money is on Lance Cormier, who's been one of the many pleasant suprises this year for the Orioles. And get well soon, Matt.