The Orioles have traded RHP Ross Wolf to the Oakland A’s for 3B Jake Fox and optioned RHP Chris Tillman to AAA Norfolk. RHP Cla Meredith was designated for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster.

I like this trade because it likely spells the end of 1B Garrett Atkins’ tenure with the club at some point in the near future. I’m not sure why the Orioles didn’t just go ahead and release Atkins today as he is useless to the club. But I’m guessing he’ll be gone by Saturday when Brad Bergesen will be recalled from AAA Norfolk to make the start. With Chris Tillman being sent down that is now a certainty. Tillman struggled very badly in two of his four starts and they’d rather him pitch every five days in AAA than rot in the major league bullpen not seeing any action. Ross Wolf is just a minor league filler with not much major league future at 27 years old so hes not much of a loss. Frank Mata will soon be back in Norfolk to take his place in their bullpen. Wolf had a 2.11 ERA over 38 innings with 26 strikeouts and 15 walks.

Jake Fox struggled this year with the A’s after they traded for him in the offseason. In spare playing time over 98 at bats he hit .214/.264/.327 with 5 doubles, 2 homeruns, and 12 RBI. Thats not good but hes hit very well in his minor league career and has plenty of pop. Last year he hit .409/.495/.841 over 164 at bats with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 17 homeruns, and 53 RBI for AAA Iowa. He was promoted to the Chicago Cubs and proceeded to hit .259/.311/.468 with 12 doubles, 11 homeruns, and 44 RBI over 216 at bats, so there is enough evidence to suggest that he will produce better than he has at this point in the season. Hes 27 years old and can play multiple positions including third base, first base, catcher, and left field. Hes not going to turn us around or anything but its nice to finally see Andy MacPhail go outside of the organization and address our obvious shortcomings. Fox will be in uniform tonight when the Orioles play the Florida Marlins at Camden Yards.

The Orioles have acquired INF Julio Lugo and cash in a trade with the St.Louis Cardinals. They gave up a Player To Be Named Later or cash in return. 1B Michael Aubrey was designated for assignment to make room for Lugo on the 40 man roster. The Orioles also released C Chad Moeller per his request.

Grade: B

This was a good move. With Brian Roberts having back issues its nice to have another option in case he has a set back. Lugo hit .280/.352/.405 over 257 at bats with 13 doubles, 5 triples, 3 HR, and 21 RBI last year with the Red Sox and Cardinals. Hes a definite upgrade over Robert Andino, who I’m assuming is the odd man out after this trade. Lugo can also play all over the field although hes not very good defensively, at least hes versatile. Another good thing is we only have to pay him the league minimum. The Red Sox are on the hook for the rest of his $9 million contract. Losing Aubrey doesn’t hurt us much. He had barely been able to play at spring training this year due to a groin injury. We have Brandon Snyder, Rhyne Hughes, and Brandon Waring coming up through the minors so he would have a tough time making the team anyway. Chad Moeller asked for his release after Craig Tatum won the backup catcher job. I have a feeling he could be back on a minor league deal if he can’t find a job elsewhere.

The Orioles traded a player to be named later to the Kansas City Royals for C Steven Lerud.

Grade: C

This is just a minor league filler trade. The PTBNL the Orioles are trading will most likely be cash or a player similar to Lerud at a different position. Lerud played at AA Altoona last year and hit .240/.339/.336 with 17 doubles, 4 HR, and 26 RBI. He was a 3rd round pick in the 2003 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. My guess is he’ll split catching duties at AA Bowie with Adam Donachie and will never see time in the majors as an Oriole.

The Orioles have traded RHP Chris Ray and a Player To Be Named Later to the Texas Rangers for RHP Kevin Millwood and $3 million.

Grade: B+

This was a great trade by Andy MacPhail. Millwood isn’t anything great, but he’ll most likely give us 190-200 innings at ~4.50 ERA and provide some veteran leadership for the younger pitchers coming up. He was 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA over 198.2 innings in 2009 with 123 strikeouts and 71 walks. Hes a solid pitcher similar to Jeremy Guthrie which will be important to keep our bullpen healthy and rested. The Orioles will pay him $9 million in the last year of his contract, which is a better deal than what they would most likely find in the free agent market. We could trade Millwood before the trade deadline if a prospect is proving ready or we could potentially receive two draft picks at the end of the year assuming he is a type A free agent and declines arbitration. This move will allow the Orioles to sign a “high risk, high reward” pitcher coming off an injury like Erik Bedard or Kelvim Escobar.

Losing Ray isn’t much of a loss, there was a chance he could’ve been non-tendered on Saturday or released before opening day anyway. He was 0-4 with a 7.27 ERA over 43.1 innings in 2009 and hasn’t been effective since 2006. There were rumors circling that the Orioles were offering Felix Pie, David Hernandez, or Brandon Erbe for Millwood, which would have been terrible. But MacPhail is sticking to his word that he isn’t dealing his good prospects. Ray is easily replaceable and this trade should give a guy like Kam Mickolio a chance to start the year in the bullpen. Its hard to find anything not to like about this deal. Onto the next need.

The Orioles have traded for LHP Sean Henn from the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later, and also transferred OF Adam Jones to the 60 day DL to make room on the 40 man roster for Henn.

Grade: C

Throw another arm into the crowded bullpen, why not. Henn is a player that has excelled in the minor leagues, but has done nothing but struggle at the major league level. In AAA Rochester this year he pitched to a 2.33 ERA over 38.2 innings with 45 strikeouts and 16 walks. But for the Twins he pitched 11.1 innings with a 7.15 ERA. He had 9 strikeouts and 8 walks. Lets see what he can do for us. If we like what we see, we keep him as a lefty in the bullpen next year. If not, we can designate him for assignment.

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.

The Orioles completed the trade of Gregg Zaun to the Tampa Bay Rays by receiving 1B John “Rhyne” Hughes as the Player To Be Named Later.

Grade: C+

So we completed the trade with Tampa Bay by getting another first baseman for Norfolk to go along with Brandon Snyder and Michael Aubrey. This tells me Aubrey Huff will most likely not be coming back next year and Snyder, Hughes, and Aubrey will battle it out in Spring Training. I could see Hughes winning that battle. Snyder could get some more seasoning at AAA. This year, Hughes has split his season between AA and AAA. In AA he hit .252/.340/.500 with 11 doubles and 15 homeruns. In AAA he hit .313/.361/.533 with 22 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 homeruns. He strikes out alot, but hes got alot of power. He reminds me of a slightly lower tier, first baseman version of Nolan Reimold. Reimold is 26 as a rookie this year, Hughes will turn 26 in September, and they have similar progressions through the minor league system. I like the trade, but its not a homerun.

The Orioles have traded C Gregg Zaun to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later. C Chad Moeller has been recalled from AAA Norfolk.

Grade: C

Its hard to give this trade a grade until we know who the player to be named later is, but its not a big loss either way. Zaun was doing a very good job as the back up catcher, but a guy that plays once or twice a month isn’t exactly the most important spot on the roster. Moeller will be brought back up to take Zaun’s place. He was batting .203/.242/.254 at AAA Norfolk, which is terrible, but all he has to do is do a good job defensively for the rest of the year. I’m thinking a part of this was to give Wieters some more playing time since Zaun was doing so well he was getting two or more starts a week. And if we can get something for him? Why not. I’ll be interested to see who it is.

The Orioles have traded LHP George Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 3B Josh Bell and RHP Steve Johnson.

Grade: B+

This was another great trade by Andy MacPhail and made his previous trade of Erik Bedard even better. Josh Bell is our ‘third baseman of the future’ as long as he has the defense to be able to stay at third. Our scouts must think he can for him to be the headline of the trade. Bell is a switch hitter with a big build. Scouts say he has big power potential. He hits alot of doubles now, but hes playing in a pitcher friendly league in AA and they should translate into homeruns eventually. Hes 22 years old and should start out at AA Bowie for the O’s. With AA Chattanooga he was batting .296/.386/.497 with 30 doubles, 2 triples, and 11 homeruns. Hes also shown an ability to take a walk with a 50:70 walk to strikeout ratio. I would say if he keeps developing he’ll be the Orioles starting third baseman by the middle of next season.

Steve Johnson is the son of former Oriole and current radio announcer Dave Johnson. He has 4 average to slightly above average pitches (fastball, slider, curveball, changeup), his fast ball is in the high 80′s to low 90′s, but he strikes out alot of batters so he must know how to pitch. This season hes spent most of his time in high A ball, just recently getting promoted to AA and starting 2 games there. In high A, he was 8-4 with a 3.82 ERA. He struck out 102 batters in 96.2 innings and walked 42. In AA he was 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA. He struck out 15 batters in 10.2 innings and walked 3. He should also start out at AA Bowie with the Orioles. I would slot him behind Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Matt Hobgood, and Zach Britton as far as our starting pitching prospects go. He’d probably be in the Brandon Erbe, Troy Patton, David Hernandez range. Overall, I think it was a deal the Orioles couldn’t pass up to add a potential third baseman of the future and another arm to the ‘cavalry’. Sherrill was great as an Oriole but closers are continuously overrated in the trade market and unpredictable from year to year. His main asset is as a left handed specialist and he should help the Dodgers out in the late innings.

With the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline 8 days away, the Orioles are definitely in ‘sell mode’. We have no chance at the playoffs and we have a few veterans that could help a contending team down the stretch. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Andy MacPhail has said he would like to avoid the late season collapses that have marred recent seasons, but I would look for us to make at least two trades before all is said and done. Heres a look at who I think has a chance of being dealt by next Friday at 4 pm.

RHP Danys Baez: The Colorado Rockies are apparently very interested in acquiring Baez to help their bullpen down the stretch. I can see us working out a deal with them or another team looking for bullpen help. I don’t think it would take much to take Baez off of our hands. He won’t net us draft picks if he signs with another team in the offseason and we have plenty of options to replace him when hes gone (Chris Ray, Dennis Sarfate, Kem Mickolio, Jim Miller, etc.). Baez has a pretty hefty salary for a middle reliever so we might have to pitch in some money in any deal.
Chances of being traded: 10 (out of 10)

LHP George Sherrill: After some early season struggles, Sherrill has really found his groove closing games for the O’s. He has a 2.52 ERA and 20 saves while striking out almost a batter an inning, plus he is under team control for two more years. He is dominant against lefties. His trade value is very high and there are a bunch of teams that are interested in him, with the Los Angeles Angels at the top of the heap. I could see us getting a potential third baseman of the future and a solid pitching prospect for Sherrill. In fact, I don’t see us settling for any less since hes under our control for a couple more years and his value should remain high entering the off-season and next year. Jim Johnson could step into the closers role if Sherrill is dealt.
Chances of being traded: 8

1B Aubrey Huff: In my opinion, I think the Orioles should have traded Huff either at last years trade deadline or the off-season. All signs pointed to a drop off from last year. Huff has had a very disappointing season, hes back to 2007 levels. That said, he is a notorious second half hitter and a team might be willing to take a chance on him. San Francisco and the New York Mets could be potential destinations for Aubrey. MacPhail might prefer to hold on to him and offer him arbitration in the off-season, but he might not be a type A free agent unless he starts hitting like last year. If he accepted arbitration a one year $8-10 million dollar deal wouldn’t be bad, but I’d rather take a decent prospect for him and play Ty Wiggington at first base until Brandon Snyder is ready to take over.
Chances of being traded: 6

LF/DH Luke Scott: Scott is having a tremendous season and I’m sure he could help out a team looking for some offensive help down the stretch. Luke has even been hitting left handed pitching this year, proving to be an everyday player. I wouldn’t give him up easily, but if some team wants to overpay for him I would strike while the iron is hot. Scott is a very streaky hitter and our outfield is set with Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Nolan Reimold. The average O’s fan might not like it, but trading Scott while his value is highest would make a good Miguel Tejada trade even better.
Chances of being traded: 4

RHP Jeremy Guthrie: Guthrie has struggled so far this year, but he should still be able to collect a good bounty if last year’s Joe Blanton trade is any indicator. He has proven to be an innings eater at the least, or a number 2/3 starter if he bounces back to ’07/’08 levels. I don’t see us trading him at the deadline unless we’re really overwhelmed, but I think theres a good chance hes moved in the off-season. Our pitching prospects are finally at the cusp of being major league ready and we’ll need to make room for them somehow, might as well be with our most valuable starting pitcher. But I think Koji Uehara’s injury and Rich Hill’s struggles have put an end to any serious thought of trading Guthrie before the deadline.
Chances of being traded: 2

3B Melvin Mora: This might be wishful thinking but who knows, maybe some team with issues at third base will look at Mora’s second half resurgence last year and take a chance on him. Any Mora deal would most likely have to include the Orioles picking up the rest of this years salary. Mora has looked old and has seemingly lost any semblance of the power he once showed. Maybe an infamous Player To Be Named Later trade. Most likely the Orioles will just let Mora play out the season, decline his 2010 option, go our separate ways, and induct him into the Orioles Hall of Fame in a few years.
Chances of being traded: 1

1B/3B Ty Wiggington: Wiggington started off the season ice cold, but has returned to more of his career norms lately. He could be a useful bat off the bench for a National League team in need of some pop or help against lefties. Wiggington has limited range but is fairly sure handed with balls hit in his immediate vicinity. He can play all over the field and hes signed to a cheap deal through 2010. Those last two might be a reason why the Orioles keep him around. He could replace either Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff, or even Luke Scott  next season if we don’t acquire any long term options in other trades. At worst he does what hes doing now, a good bat on the bench and someone to plug into the lineup against lefties.
Chances of being traded: 3