O's making trade (O's acquire Thome)

[Crazysilver03]

You're right that he's a project, but he seems to have everything necessary to be an above average ML C. He may not make it at all, but you don't give up on a 19 y/o C prospect for Thome.......who gives us nothing that Reynolds doesn't.

Less K and no negative dWAR. :thumbsup1:

[weams]

There has been concern that Lino was not actually 19. That he might be his own brother. Like Miguel Tejada. I liked what I saw of him in Sarasota.

[MarylandAaron]

I don't like giving up Lino in this deal. That's too steep a price for a 3 month rental of a 40 yr old. I like Thome - but he shouldn't cost a top 10 prospect at this stage.

^ Totally agree with this. Thome's good, but doesn't exactly fit our needs. We already have too many DH types. And, our system is already so thin on positional guys with upside. Don't understand this trade at all.

[Malike]

That's certainly a reasonable opinion to hold..........but I'm sure you would say there is a decent chance he becomes an everyday player. Is that really worth the extra .5 win that Thome gives us?

I honestly feel at best, he is going to be a backup catcher.

[waroriole]

Less K and no negative dWAR. :thumbsup1:

Reynolds could give us an even dWAR if he just DH'd every game too.

[xian4]

From Dan Connolly

Here is Dan Duquette on why he acquired Jim Thome for minor leaguers C Gabriel Lino and P Kyle Simon: “Jim Thome is a real pro. And he specializes in hitting home runs and getting on base. He has done that consistently. Beyond that he is a terrific teammate, a steady presence and he is a veteran. He has been around the league and he has been in a pennant race and in the playoffs. I like all those things that he brings to our team. I think he gives us a little more depth to our lineup with the injuries to our left-handed hitters.”

[McLovin]

I would not have given up Billy Rowell for Thome. He does nothing for this team but force a crap defender like Betimit or Davis onto the field.

[OriolesFaithful]

You're right that he's a project, but he seems to have everything necessary to be an above average ML C. He may not make it at all, but you don't give up on a 19 y/o C prospect for Thome.......who gives us nothing that Reynolds doesn't.

If you look at the intangibles of a veteran presence and leadership than he offers a lot more than Reynolds in that regard.

[Sparkwinder]

Poor, poor, poor trade. All the goodwill that Duquette has built up with me is gone. The O's do not have the talent to compete this year. Adding another DH, 41-year-old DH to be clear, and giving up any sort of prospect, let alone 2 prospects, no matter how remote the chance is that they develop into MLB caliber player, is just idiocy. Instead of adding DHs, Duquette should be looking to unload our backstock of DHs and land a few longshot caliber prospects. The Orioles as a winning team is an illusion. They are going to finish under .500, and I don't think it will be particularly close. They had a perfect storm of events that led to them outplaying there talent level for 2 months. It was a fun run, but anyone with a clue has got to look at this team and say that they don't have a realistic chance to make the playoffs.

[McLovin]

This reminds me of the year Ron Kittle was our deadline acquisition.

[waroriole]

If you look at the intangibles of a veteran presence and leadership than he offers a lot more than Reynolds in that regard.

I understand what you're saying, I'm glad to have him on the team, but I just don't see where he fits in. Especially to the tune of losing Lino. The only way this is acceptable is if he isn't actually 19 (as weams suggested he may not be). Even then, I'm not wild about losing Simon for him either. If you have to give up anyone that you think has a chance at having a meaningful impact on the ML roster then you can't make this trade. If it's someone like Berken or Bergesen.....fine. But don't give up potential when you have so little.

[J.D.]

This reminds me of the year Ron Kittle was our deadline acquisition.

I sincerely doubt that this is going to be their only move, if for no other reason than they have a logjam of 1B/DH guys now. They can't keep Thome, Reynolds, Betemit, and Johnson around.

[J.D.]

I understand what you're saying, I'm glad to have him on the team, but I just don't see where he fits in. Especially to the tune of losing Lino. The only way this is acceptable is if he isn't actually 19 (as weams suggested he may not be). Even then, I'm not wild about losing Simon for him either. If you have to give up anyone that you think has a chance at having a meaningful impact on the ML roster then you can't make this trade. If it's someone like Berken or Bergesen.....fine. But don't give up potential when you have so little.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on Lino. I think, if he reaches his potential and things break right for him, he's a back-up catcher. Besides, I think this move is a set-up for another move.

[waroriole]

Looks like a wtf trade but Dan has spun gold out of trades everyone hated before.

The only one I can think of is the Hammel trade.......but he gave up Guthrie. I'd much rather have Lino than Guthrie.

[gfrank]

I think it's hard to be heart-broken about this. Neither Simon nor Lino really have a solid outlook, and there are a lot more things to be disappointed about in their numbers this year than there are reasons to be optimistic. I still don't like seeing us trade two prospects for a 41 year old DH with a .242 batting average, though. There's a limit to how useful a DH is going to be useful to a team like this, considering we already have three big sluggers who aren't really capable defenders and are now going to be pushed into the field with even more regularity.

Also, this is a sign that DD is in contender-mode, so if they don't have a meltdown you're probably going to see another trade take place at some point. Really afraid I'm going to wake up to something awful like a Jonathan Schoop and Mike Wright for Joe Saunders or Paul Maholm trade or something.