On Wednesday, the Baltimore Orioles made a move to bolster their pitching staff. In a trade with the New York Mets, the Orioles acquired right-handed pitcher Logan Verrett from New York in exchange for cash considerations. The deal is official, but the amount of money Baltimore sent to the Mets has not been announced.
The Orioles have acquired RHP Logan Verrett from the New York Mets in exchange for cash considerations.
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) November 30, 2016
Mets Trade Logan Verrett to Orioles
Thanks to the trade, Verrett, 26, is actually reuniting with the Orioles. Baltimore selected him with one of their Rule 5 draft picks two years ago. Verrett has spent two seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with New York. However, he did also pitch nine innings for the Texas Rangers in 2015 before joining the Mets.
Verrett owns a career 4.65 ERA in 139.1 innings pitched. Last season, he appeared in 35 games (12 starts) for the Mets, over which he accumulated a 5.20 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts. He was far more effective out of the bullpen than he was as a starter. In 31.2 relief innings, he posted a 2.84 ERA. He showed great promise over his first nine games, two of which were starts, but faded as the season wore on.
The Orioles likely value Verrett for his versatility. Though best used as a reliever, he can also work as a spot starter. Baltimore had a great offense last season, but was undone too often by its pitching staff behind ace Chris Tillman. Verrett can challenge some of the incumbent starters for a rotation spot in Spring Training. More competition is never a bad thing. Even if he doesn’t win a spot, he at the very least provides depth in case of injury and should be useful out of the ‘pen. This is a very low-risk move for Baltimore in a weak pitching market.
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