Orioles get Gerardo Parra from Brewers in deadline day deal
The Baltimore Orioles continue to hang around the playoff picture in the American League and they believe they’re good enough to stay in the mix that they’ve made a move on trade deadline day.
Outfielder Gerardo Parra is heading to Baltimore, with the Orioles sending pitching prospect Zach Davies to Milwaukee to get it done.
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Compared to what the Toronto Blue Jays have done this week adding Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, the Parra deal won’t bring the same level of excitement, but he definitely fits Baltimore’s needs. Both teams are six games back of the New York Yankees in the AL East standings and two games out of the second wild-card spot.
A two-time Gold Glove award winner, Parra is in the midst of a career offensive year, hitting .328/.369/.517 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs. Parra, 28, is a strong option to lead off and will absolutely solidify Baltimore’s outfield defense. The Orioles were getting very little production from their left fielders, so even though Parra is a free agent after this season, it’s a trade that helps them stay in contention. They were linked to Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes too, but odds are they were a little too costly for their taste.
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The potential rental didn’t come cheap though. Davies is a 22-year-old right-hander who has spent 2015 in Triple-A. Baseball America ranked him as No. 6 prospect in the Orioles’ system before the season and he has put up a 2.84 in 19 games, 18 of them starts, with the Norfolk Tides this year. With the Brewers in rebuilding mode, adding a young pitcher who projects to be a starter in the big leagues is a good get.
The Orioles think they’ve got a shot at making the postseason for the third time since 2012. At 51-50, they’ll have to play some pretty good ball to close the gap in the division and there are a few other teams currently on the outside looking in making wild-card runs.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
