Orioles' housecleaning continues as Schoop, Gausman, O'Day depart - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff

Orioles’ housecleaning continues as Schoop, Gausman, O’Day depart

NEW YORK—Jonathan Schoop walked into the Orioles’ clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon, with TVs blaring news of his possible trade to the Milwaukee Brewers.

He looked around at his teammates and wondered if he should change from his street clothes to his Orioles uniform. A few moments later, Schoop found out that he had joined Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day on his way out of Baltimore.

Schoop goes to Milwaukee for infielder Jonathan Villar, minor league right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz and infielder Jean Carmona. Gausman and O’Day were sent to the Atlanta Braves for minor league pitchers Evan Phillips and Bruce Zimmermann, catcher Brett Cumberland and infielder Jean Carlos Encarnacion.

The Orioles also received $2.5 million in international signing bonus slot money, which gives them more than $8 million to spend in their vow to beef up their international presence.

In 13 days, the Orioles have traded Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Brad Brach, Gausman, O’Day and Schoop and received 15 players and $2.75 million in slot money.

Villar, who is on the 10-day disabled list because of a thumb injury, is expected to join the Orioles in Texas on Thursday, manager Buck Showalter said.

Cumberland, Ortiz and Zimmermann go to Double-A Bowie; Phillips to Triple-A Norfolk; Encarnacion to Low-A Delmarva; and Carmona to Short-Season Aberdeen.

Schoop, who was traded one day after he was named the American League Player of the Week, said he spoke to his agent during the day and realized that he could be moved. His first game for the Brewers will be against former teammate and best friend Machado and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Schoop joined the Orioles’ organization at 16 and leaves it nearly a decade later.

“This is the team that gave me the chance,” Schoop said. “This is the team that signed me, since Curacao, and gave me the chance to be a big leaguer.

“It’s difficult. Some guys you’ve played with since the minor leagues. It’s real difficult. It didn’t sink in yet. When you say goodbye, you feel sad a little bit.”

Gausman, who was the fourth overall pick in 2012, never became an All-Star, which Schoop was a year ago.

“I feel like, to be honest, in my time here, I don’t feel like I pitched to my abilities,” Gausman said. “It’s unfortunate to say that. I really feel like I had [only] two years here where I was [pitching] to the best of my ability.”

Villar can replace Schoop at second. Two years ago, the 27-year-old led the major leagues with 62 stolen bases. This year, Villar hit .261 with six home runs and 22 RBIs with the Brewers. He was successful on 14 of 16 stolen-base attempts.

Ortiz was Texas’ first-round pick in 2014. This year, he’s 3-4 with a 3.71 ERA in 16 games with Double-A Biloxi. Like Dillon Tate, who was acquired in the Britton trade last week, he’s already been traded twice before he reached Triple-A.

The 22-year-old “throws hard, more of a closer type,” said a major league scout who says he’s similar to Phillips but likes Ortiz more.

Phillips had an 8.53 ERA in four games for Atlanta this season. The 23-year-old right-hander, a native of Salisbury Md., was 4-4 for Triple-A Gwinnett with a 1.99 ERA and eight saves.

Cumberland, who is 23, was the Braves’ second-round pick in 2016. “A bat-first, switch-hitting catcher who has big power,” said the scout. He’s hitting .228 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs at Single and Double-A this season.

Encarnacion is a relatively inexperienced 20-year-old who hit .288 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs at Low-A Rome. The scout said he has “raw but whippy power.”

Zimmermann, 23, is a Baltimore native who attended Loyola-Blakefield and Towson. The left-hander is 9-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 games in Single and Double-A.

Carmona is the least experienced of all the players acquired by the Orioles. The 18-year-old Dominican is batting .239 with four homers and 14 RBIs for Short-Season Helena.

O’Day, who had season-ending hamstring surgery, had to approve the trade. Atlanta assumes O’Day’s contract. He’s being paid $9 million this year and next.

Showalter said that he’s relieved that trade talk is over for now.

“It’s something you know is coming more than likely,” he said.

“I think in a lot of ways you’re kind of glad it’s come and gone. Everybody can kind of settle in, the mode that we need to be in the rest of the year. I think it’s kind of reflected in our play here recently. I think the guys kind of know that some changes are coming. We control it. It’s kind of self-inflicted. If we played better we wouldn’t have to do this. I look at it as there’s a certain accountability for that. If we played better, we wouldn’t be having to make those deals that the club had to make today.”

 

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