News
Trade leaves O's with opening at first
Scott, trio of prospects being evaluated by organization
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
08/17/09 8:00 PM ET
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles continued their process of self discovery on Monday, when they traded veteran Aubrey Huff to the Tigers in exchange for pitching prospect Brett Jacobson. Huff's departure will allow Baltimore to test Luke Scott at first base and may also hasten the arrival of first basemen Brandon Snyder and Rhyne Hughes.Andy MacPhail, Baltimore's president of baseball operations, chose not to lay out his immediate promotion schedule on Monday, but he did say the Orioles look forward to gauging what they have within their system.
"That's one of the things that we'll find out over the next six weeks," said MacPhail. "Really, a lot of this stuff is not rocket science. The way you find out is you let them play, and the answers become self-evident. Not just to us, but to everybody -- the fans, the media, our coaching staff, the players. That's one of the beauties of this deal. You're going to find out more. You may not like what you find out, but at least you're going to know."
Baltimore was forced to play a man short Monday, and MacPhail said Snyder likely wouldn't be the team's first promotion. The Orioles probably will choose between Hughes and Michael Aubrey, who are regarded as closer to being ready. In any case, it allows the organization to solve a potential logjam at Triple-A Norfolk.
More importantly, MacPhail said the deal helps the Orioles add another potential high-impact arm to their organizational stockpile and may help some players at the big league level carve out more playing time. Scott, Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie stand to be the primary beneficiaries of Huff's extraction from the lineup.
"The Tigers have, in our view, plenty of good arms and relievers that are attractive. We were talking to them about an area surplus," said MacPhail. "It also has the benefit of being able to see Luke Scott over at first base. ... We'll get Felix Pie more involved in the outfield as a result of this. Regretfully, we are where we are in the standings, but for six weeks we find out more about our club. We get to add a young player to our inventory that we had interest in, and we get Aubrey in a competitive situation. It's just one of those things that made sense to all parties."
Baltimore manager Dave Trembley chose to steer clear of making any long-range predictions, preferring instead to dwell on the here and now. And in his mind, that means Scott at first base.
"That's the lineup tonight. This thing has just happened," he said on Monday. "I got here very early this morning, and at 1:30 this afternoon, I was called and [MacPhail] said, 'I'll call you back in an hour because something might happen.' So I really haven't had a chance to think about what I'm going to do after today. The possibility is that Luke Scott could play some first base [and Ty] Wigginton could play some first base. [MacPhail] has already told me the possibility of bringing somebody up from Triple-A, because we're playing a player short tonight. So we'll have to go from there."
The Orioles already were pondering life without Huff, largely because the veteran was set to be a free agent this winter. Huff's declining productivity made it likely he would be classified as a Type B free agent, which would net Baltimore a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the Draft if he was offered arbitration and declined.
More to the point, Huff's season may have fostered an atmosphere in which he was likely to accept arbitration and come back to the Orioles with a raise. And, at this point, the club preferred to go in a different direction. If the Orioles choose -- and if their prospects aren't ready -- they still can add a veteran bat at first base this winter.
"It's going to be a position where we look outside," said MacPhail. "How hard we look outside is going to be dependent upon the performances of Brandon Snyder, Rhyne Hughes and Michael Aubrey -- what we think we have internally. But it will be an area we'll definitely give some attention to in the offseason. Whether we choose to use our resources there or put them somewhere else is yet to be determined, but it's an area where we've already had our scouts out looking and trying to ascertain what might be available and what makes sense."
Both Hughes and Aubrey are regarded as potential stopgaps until Snyder finishes his Minor League apprenticeship. Snyder, a first-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, started the season at Double-A Bowie and batted .343 with 10 home runs in 58 games, but he's struggled to a .271 average and two home runs in his first 53 games for Norfolk.
Now, the Orioles have an opening at first base and the means to fill the slot until Snyder is ready. MacPhail said he's consulted with his player development people and will promote Snyder whenever he is deemed ready. That could mean a September call up, but more likely it means a promotion at some point next season.
"I don't want to introduce any player if I don't think there is sufficient at-bats and I think it's going to expose him sooner than he should be exposed," said MacPhail, speaking specifically of Snyder. "The pitching this year, they're probably up here before I would prefer. But circumstances were such where we just didn't have as many alternatives as we would have liked. This is a position where I hope we have alternatives."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
