The Orioles traded 1B Aubrey Huff to the Detroit Tigers for RHP Brett Jacobson. 1B Michael Aubrey will be recalled from AAA Norfolk to replace him.
Grade: B -
I knew we should’ve traded Huff either last year at the trade deadline or over the offseason. He had a career year last year and his production has dropped significantly this season. I knew Huff’s future as an Oriole wasn’t looking bright when we traded Gregg Zaun to the Rays for 1B John “Rhyne” Hughes. We must’ve figured Huff was going to be a type B free agent, opposed to a type A and/or that he was going to accept arbitration if we offered it. He wouldn’t be worth a one year deal at around $10 million if he played like he has this year.
In Brett Jacobson we’re getting the Tiger’s 10th rated prospect coming into the 2009 season by Baseball America. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2008 draft by the Tigers. The 22 year old righty stands at 6′ 6”. In high A ball this season he has pitched 55.1 innings to a 3.74 ERA with a 44:17 strikeout to walk ratio. He appears to be a ground ball pitcher with a 1.50 groundball to flyball ratio. Over his last 10 appearances, spanning 16.1 innings, hes pitched to a 1.65 ERA. He’ll be assigned to high A Frederick.
Aubrey will get his first shot at the major league level after splitting his season with Cleveland’s and Baltimore’s AAA clubs. The Orioles traded a PTBNL (which still hasn’t been named as far as I know… maybe cash) for Aubrey back in June. He hit .292/.322/.448 for Columbus with 16 doubles, a triple, and 5 homeruns, followed by .287/.324/.421 for Norfolk with 13 doubles and 3 homeruns. This will give Aubrey an early audition for the starting first base job in 2010.
