Zreibec: Orioles close to trading Koji to RANGERS

[ccbird]

Kills me to agree with Trea but I do. Not a lot of upside here. I guess you argue that Davis still has potential but IMO he likely ends up a AAAA guy. Hunter is likely to be at the back of the rotation for a few years. There is no doubt in my mind that Koji had enough value to get us a lower level higher upside propect.

[Cakes2Kakes]

A couple of things I'm hearing from Texas chatter. They seem to think that Davis was pretty good defensively, and they attribute a lot of his problems to getting sat down whenever he slumped a little.

They said a lot of good things about Hunter as well, saying his recent struggles were due to recovering from his injury, and that he is back to topping 95 on the radar gun.

I think Hunter could very well be our new Guthrie type surprise pickup, and that a Guthrie deal may be in the works.

[allstar1579]

I'm going to pull up this post when we see Baltimore spend another $5-$7 million per year, over 2 years, in free agency on a relief arm.

Yes, then you know I would be sulking, but I was hoping the trickle down effect of adding Hunter means that RP arm would be an internal add. I guess I should add that as an asterisk to how much I like the deal. If they go out and sign another aging overpriced RP instead of investing internationally I might have to jump off of something very tall.

[SteveO]

I think Andy has been a horrible GM but am gonna give kudos to him on this trade. For a 36 y.o reliever who has zero chance of being part of the team when the Orioles are finally competitive Andy managed to get a guy who can be a competent #4 starter and in Davis a guy who at worst provides you some depth at 1B/DH has some pop in his bat and some upside to him. Both these guys are young enough to be part of a rebuilding project but also contribute immediately ....thats pretty darn good haul for Koji...

[The Rick]

Hunters career high innings at all levels is 128. Il'l be shocked if he became a valuable starter for us. Spot starter I guess, but those arent too valuable.

I hear you on this, I'm concerned here too, but I guess I'm just hoping he can get and stay healthy for a few years. I guess we'll see.

[baltfan]

For those saying Davis is a bad defender, that is the opposite of his reputation. See below.

Smoak was the team’s everyday first baseman at the time, which made the Rangers even more reluctant to part with him. But they sounded confident about the young left-handed hitter who was next in line, Chris Davis.

Davis is regarded as an excellent defender. But he didn’t hit. He batted just .189 over his next 15 games. So the Rangers dipped back into their farm system once more.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Rangers-have-their-own-unexpected-hero-in-rookie-Mitch-Moreland-103010

[e16bball]

I just really like it in the context that Koji was pretty terrible last year, he had a great year this year and got us two players that could hit or miss, but for a RP not in our long term plans, and off of payroll next year, I'm good with it.

In what world was Koji "pretty terrible" last year?

[BaysoxFan39]

Hunter and Dempsey putting the huge organizational "spin" on the Koji trade. Listening to them you would think we just picked up Bob Gibson and Frank Robinson for an old man with a broken leg. Hail Andy McPhail!! Hail Andy McPhail!! :rofl:

[MrOrange82]

Hunter and Dempsey putting the huge organizational "spin" on the Koji trade. Listening to them you would think we just picked up Bob Gibson and Frank Robinson for an old man with a broken leg. Hail Andy McPhail!! Hail Andy McPhail!! :rofl:

All it'd take from Dempsey is a wink to take him from metaphorically salivating to literally preparing a candlelit dinner for himself and Mr. Davis.

[Frobby]

I just really like it in the context that Koji was pretty terrible last year, he had a great year this year and got us two players that could hit or miss, but for a RP not in our long term plans, and off of payroll next year, I'm good with it.

What are your standards for "terrible?" Koji had a 2.86 ERA last year and a WHIP of 0.96. The only negative thing you can say about Koji is that he missed about 60 games with injuries -- but none in the second half of the season, and none this year.

Koji is a fantastic relief pitcher, and one of the most enjoyable pitchers to watch I have ever seen. I will miss him terribly.

Now, that said, Chris Davis is a solid 25-year old reclamation project, and Tommy Hunter is a 24-year old starting pitcher who may help us. Both these guys fill needs that we have. Hunter's under team control for 4 seasons after this one, Davis for 3 years. Seems like a reasonable return for Koji.

[PrivateO]

I was a Davis fan a couple of years ago like when the Orioles were not contending. He would have been a perfect fit and the Orioles could have given him a full season to see what he had.

If he does terrible as a starter, I'd expect the Orioles to still land Fielder in the offseason if they want to win next season.

Davis could still be a solid player off the bench.

Hunter I think is the key component of the deal though. If he can be a decent #3-#4 starter, the O's can use that money to sign a player like Fielder instead of going after a mid-rotation arm.

Despite what you think, we're still not contending.

As an aside, it's pretty interesting that some people are saying Davis is the key to this trade, while others are saying Hunter is.

[The Rick]

Despite what you think, we're still not contending.

As an aside, it's pretty interesting that some people are saying Davis is the key to this trade, while others are saying Hunter is.

They both have great upside and great risk. That said, I'm more intrigued by Hunter personally. I think if he can get himself healthy for a while that he could be a very solid starter for us.

[weams]

Despite what you think, we're still not contending.

As an aside, it's pretty interesting that some people are saying Davis is the key to this trade, while others are saying Hunter is.

And we are still not signing Prince Fielder.

[PrivateO]

Britt Ghiroli on MASN2 now talking about the trade.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Hunters career high innings at all levels is 128. Il'l be shocked if he became a valuable starter for us. Spot starter I guess, but those arent too valuable.

That's a very poor way to look at it.

Total innings:

2007 (drafted) - 17.2

2008 - 174

2009 - 183

2010 - 154 2/3

2011 - 46