Just like in previous years under Dan Duquette, the Orioles were busy at the trade deadline with several moves to try and improve the ball club. These moves include sending pitcher Ariel Miranda to the Seattle Mariners in return for left handed starting pitcher Wade Miley along with sending catcher Jonah Heim to the Tampa Bay Rays for utility man Steve Pearce.

Orioles fans may remember Miley from his days with the Boston Red Sox in 2015 where he went 11-11 with a 4.46 ERA, 193.2 IP, 3.81 FIP and a 1.368 WHIP. Miley brings a left handed arm to a rotation that has not seen one for the entire season and was in desperate need of one.

For the Mariners this season, Miley has a 7-8 record with a 4.98 ERA, 112 IP, 4.75 FIP and a 1.348 WHIP. In the month of July, Miley has a 1-4 record but it was his best month of the season with a 3.45 ERA, 31.1 IP, and a 1.213 WHIP in five starts. Those are encouraging numbers, especially for a rotation in dire need of some relief.

As for the player the Orioles are trading away, Ariel Miranda, he is a 27 year old Cuban defector who made his Major League debut this season against the Mariners, surprisingly enough. I, personally, do not see Miranda helping the Orioles in a significant role in the near future so trading him away is not that big of a loss.

As for the trade in general, the Orioles need to try anything to help the rotation find some stability. If the answer is Wade Miley, then so be it. If the answer is not Wade Miley, then the trade is not too big of a loss until Miranda pulls a Jake Arrieta and wins the Cy Young in 4 years.

The other move the club made was reacquiring Steve Pearce after losing him in free agency to the Tampa Bay Rays. In return, the Orioles sent catcher Jonah Heim to Tampa.

I am a big fan of this trade. I have always been a big Steve Pearce fan and seeing him return to the Orioles makes me very happy.

As for the trade in general, I think it was a smart one to make. In 60 games this season, Pearce has a .309/.388/.520 slash line with 10 home runs, 29 RBI’s and a 2.1 WAR.

One of the big reasons for getting Pearce is his ability to hit left handed pitching. This season against lefties, Pearce has a .377/.476/.736 slash line with five home runs, 16 RBI’s and 39 total bases in 63 plate appearances.

In return, the Rays get Jonah Heim, a defensive first catcher who has spent all of this season in Frederick playing with the Keys. In 88 games, Heim has a .216/.300/.344 slash line with 7 home runs, and 30 RBI’s. I would have liked to see the kind of player Heim will develop into but I understand why an organization with a lot of catchers in the minor leagues makes this move.

It definitely makes a whole lot more sense for the Orioles to be buyers at the deadline this season compared to last season. Many fans, including myself, still argue that the Orioles should have been sellers at the deadline last season with how depleted the minor league system is but I see why they do not make those types of moves.

Overall, it was a very solid deadline for the Orioles in my opinion. Nothing too amazing happened but nothing horrendous happened, which I can always hope for.