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The Baltimore Orioles were on the fence about trading for a big piece this trade deadline as they’re in a big group of teams competing for a Wild Card spot in the American League. They answered all questions about their willingness to pull the trigger on a deal when they landed outfielder Gerardo Parra from the Milwaukee Brewers.
Orioles have deal to acquire parra pending physicals
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 31, 2015
He’s putting together the best season of his career, but he’s still not enough to get them into the postseason. Think about the moves that other teams in the division and around the league have made while the Orioles stood pat.
The Toronto Blue Jays added Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, while the New York Yankees are primed to make a big move on the final day before the trade deadline. In addition, the Houston Astros added Scott Kazmir and Carlos Gomez. Simply adding Parra isn’t enough for Baltimore.
This season, Parra is batting .328 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs. His ability to put the ball in play will help the Orioles, but he’s not going to help as much in the power department as someone like Justin Upton would have.
Make no mistake about it, Baltimore’s outfield depth is much better with Parra in the fold. But their lineup just doesn’t compare to that of the Yankees and Blue Jays. With so many teams to compete against, it’s still going to be very difficult for the Orioles to reach the postseason.
With nine players becoming free agents this offseason, the trade for Parra was a risky one for the Orioles. They’re going for it in 2015, a season where it will be very hard to reach October baseball. If they were going to go for it, they had to do more than add Parra at the deadline.
