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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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I think all this activity shows just how handcuffed Dan and Buck have been by the owner. The sons seem to be letting him do his job with international money etc. I think he has been judged way too hard. You have to go after the Rasmus types when your owner leaves you no choice. Dan and Buck are good baseball people and should continue if the Orioles are true my changing how they do business.
I agree that Duquette has often been too harshly criticized by fans, Deqalt. He’s made plenty of mistakes, but his hands have also been tied on a number of fronts. That makes it difficult to judge his full body of work with the Orioles, in my opinion.
Dan has very much redeemed himself. He has power,direction,and the support of the Sons. A winning combo. Just one question--though I generally like all of the trades why was it mandatory to trade Schoop today until waiting for the winter meetings/off season? Was there something that soured Schoop in their eyes?
The feeling is they’d get more for Schoop by trading him when the acquiring team could have him for two races rather than one. They also felt he was unlikely to re-sign here.
Finally have a base stealing threat in Villar, just one of many things the Os needed.
Sad to see some of these guys go, especially Schoop, but it had to happen.
It's a shame it took a disaster of year like this to make the Os front office FINALLY change change directions with regard to the international signing money.
This will be a fascinating few months as we see what’s in store for this team, 73.
I'm sorry, but I don't buy into the Schoop trade. And I don't buy into him being unsignable in the future. Schoop for a bag of chips? Normally I'm a Duquette defender ... but this particular trade ... I'm afraid we are all going to rue this day. Milwaukee is getting one hell of a middle infielder and the O's are getting a Punch and Judy strikeout artist who's 2 years older and already slowing down, along with a couple of young unknowns. I truly hope I'm wrong about this one ...
Totally blindsided by the Schoop trade. Gausman I saw coming and tend to think he’ll turn it around and be an all-star type pitcher (like Arrietta). IMO you have to keep Schoop to build around, Davis, Mancini, Bundy just aren’t the cornerstones we need. I wish all the now ex-Orioles well and hopefully get to see then play again at the Yard!!
Duquette keeps saying the Os are now in a youth movement, yet trades a 26 year old All-Star for a 27 year old non-All Star, a 25 year old pitcher making his major league debut, a 26 year old infielder with 20 games or so under his belt--those kind of players aren't really the future and how are any of these an upgrade over Schoop, either right now or realistically ...EVER? From all reports, the Orioles never even offered Schoop an extension (and didn't for Machado either if the stories were correct). These are sounding more and more like salary dumps, as if the main objective is to see just how low the payroll can go. Under $100 million anyone? How would that team compete? The Orioles defense isn't major league level right now, and there isn't much to be done about it. Players don't generally discover how to be good defensive players after reaching their mid-20s, by that time they are what they are.. Every ball is an adventure. Better buckle up, it's going to be a rough ride.
Put me in the thrilled category. Some of the players traded away were good to very good BUT a losing culture may have been festering. An influx of very young talent is what the Dr ordered. What's ironic is that the majority appear to be from International market of past years. Keep up the good work Dan(Duquette) and you have earned a new contract.
It very much remains to be seen whether the players are very young talented players, or just very young players By the way, Schoop was a young, PROVEN talent and he was traded for nothing in particular. The Os handcuffed themselves with Britton and Machado by not trading them earlier or trying for a proactive extension early in their careers, and now repeating that mistake they never tried to extend Schoop. If a losing culture is festering, why is Showalter still around? Cultures come from management and if the argument is that it's a losing culture why keep him to establish that in the next round of players?