Last night the Baltimore Orioles traded starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for reliever Matt Lindstrom and starter Jason Hammel. Despite going 9-17 in 2011 for Baltimore, Guthrie pitched quite well. He struck out almost two men for every one that he walked and pitched a total of 208 innings. Playing in Baltimore clearly has something to do with how many games he wins considering he only got 3.88 runs in support per 9 innings.
It’s pretty obvious why the Orioles would do this. They knew that after the season Guthrie would be a free agent and Baltimore would not be on his wish list. Instead of having Guthrie for one more season, a season in which they probably won’t be making a trip to the playoffs, they decided to deal him for two pitchers who can help them win in the future as well as today. Matt Lindstrom will be an excellent addition to the back end of the Orioles bullpen and could even see a few save chances thrown his way if he proves he can pitch the way he has in the past. Jason Hammel will be a lock in the Oriole’s rotation after being demoted to the Rockies bullpen last season due to lackluster performances.
I think that this is a really good deal for both of the teams involved. Jeremy Guthrie has a chance to pitch in an easier division and essentially has a “try-out” to land a deal for next year. He should get better run support and will be able to showcase what he can really do for a contending team. The Orioles have two pitchers that should add something to their pitching depth this year and win them at least a few more games than last year.
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