After countless trade rumors involving numerous players, the Orioles finally made their first trade of the non-waiver trade deadline week when they sent left fielder Larry Bigbie to the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Eric Byrnes.
Byrnes started the season with Oakland, but was shipped to Colorado just two weeks ago. He hit .266 with seven homers and 24 RBIs with the Athletics before going to the National League and struggling mightily.
The Orioles really wanted more production from their outfield, because no regular outfielder on the team has an OPS over .730. That is before the acquisition of Byrnes, who has an OPS of .745.
Byrnes also added another aspect that the Orioles wanted; a bat that crushes lefty pitching. Byrnes bats .289 against lefties with a .903 OPS.
Bigbie was batting .248 on the year with a .688 OPS for the Orioles. There are rumors now that Bigbie may be sent to Boston, who needs an outfielder after Trot Nixon was injured, for a minor leaguer or two.
The non-waiver trade deadline is Sunday at 4 p.m.
OPINION:
Byrnes isn't the huge upgrade on offense that the Orioles needed among their outfielders, but he is an upgrade none the less. He is an exciting player who goes all-out on every play and will be fun to watch in Camden Yards.
The Orioles could really still use another solid bat in the outfield or a first baseman/designated hitter that can hit left-handed pitching well to platoon with Rafael Palmeiro. However, after being involved in seemingly every trade talk in the past week, there is now little news about potential trades involving the O's.
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