Earlier this morning, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Baltimore Orioles have traded outfielder Alejandro De Aza to the division rival Boston Red Sox.
Source: #Orioles trade Alejandro De Aza to #RedSox. De Aza was designated for assignment last week.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 3, 2015
So far in 2015, De Aza is slashing .214/.277/.359 with 3 home runs, 7 RBI’s and a -0.1 WAR. The 31 year old outfielder came over in a trade from the Chicago White Sox to Baltimore on August 30th of last season. Right before Spring Training, De Aza lost his arbitration case against the Orioles, resulting in him earning $5 million this season, a salary the Red Sox will pick up in the trade.
Hearing #orioles getting cash in return for de aza
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) June 3, 2015
With cash coming back for De Aza, it frees the Orioles from his bad contract and gives them extra money to possibly throw towards another player’s salary whether it be a free agent signing or someone acquired in a trade before the deadline.
A crowded outfield, poor performance and room for change, it makes sense why the Orioles would DFA Alejandro De Aza and ultimately trade him: a player that has speed but poor base running skills and sub par defense while also struggling at the plate. If things had not taken a turn for the worse, De Aza was possibly looking at an everyday starting job while leading off in the lineup.
