The 4:00 PM deadline came and went, and O’s fans accepted the fact that Zach Britton, as well as lesser pieces like Welington Castillo, Seth Smith, and Brad Brach, were all staying put, and no haul of prospects would be coming to Baltimore.
We were ready to move on, though most found themselves cursing Dan Duquette’s (or Peter Angelos’, depending on where you prefer to place your blame) name.
But then, at about 4:09, something hit our Twitter timelines. The Orioles had, in fact, made a move!
Who was on the way out? Which contender finally gave in and offered up something that the O’s could use to help rebuild a decimated farm system? What elite prospects could we get finally get excited about?
BREAKING: #Rays have traded Beckham to #Orioles
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 31, 2017
Wait, what?
Beckham? As in, Tim Beckham?
Former number one overall (2008) draft pick Tim Beckham?
Why? How? Say huh?
So uh…what did we give up?
In exchange for Beckham #Rays get RHP Tobias Myers from #Orioles
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 31, 2017
Cool, I suppose?
Let’s talk about Beckham first.
He’s 27 years old, and the owner of a career .247/.299/.421 slash line. In 87 games this year, he’s at .259/.314/.407, with five home runs (two of which he hit in the same game off of Dylan Bundy earlier this season).
The upshot is that he’s under team control through 2020. With J.J. Hardy very likely being gone after this year, this saves the team from having to find their shortstop of the future.
Beckham doesn’t look like the kind of guy who will ever live up to his draft status, but he could help solidify the Birds’ infield for a few years, while contributing here and there with the bat.
Or maybe he’s more of a Ryan Flaherty/utility-type replacement and they have other plans for shortstop. Who knows?
Oh, and of COURSE he strikes out a lot (32% of the time this year), so he’ll fit right in in that regard.
Not a bad acquisition, but it seems odd that THIS was the team’s priority today.
As for Tobias Myers, he was the O’s 6th round pick in 2016. He’s 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 29.2 IP for Aberdeen this year. You can probably bank on the Rays turning him into a productive Major League pitcher, because that’s what they do. He doesn’t turn 19 until later this week though, so that headache is at least a handful of years away.
