Orioles

Orioles trade for Athletics’ left-handed starter Cole Irvin; Hernaiz goes to Oakland

The Orioles acquired a veteran left-handed starter on Thursday, picking up Cole Irvin from the Oakland Athletics. Irvin and right-handed pitcher Kyle Virbitsky were traded to the Orioles for minor league infielder Darell Hernaiz.

Irvin, who will turn 29 on Tuesday, was 9-13 with a 3.98 earned-run average for Oakland with a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.160 last season. In four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and  A’s, Irvin was 21-30 with a 4.40 ERA.

He gives the Orioles a left-handed starter while John Means begins the 2023 season on the injured list after last April’s Tommy John surgery.

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Virbitsky was Oakland’s 17th-round draft pick in 2021 and was 7-7 with a 4.63 ERA for Single-A Stockton and High-A Lansing.

Hernaiz was the Orioles’ fifth-round draft pick in 2019. Last season, he hit .273 with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs for Single-A Delmarva, High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie. He was rated 16th on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Oriole prospects.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Irvin, the Orioles designated left-handed pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez for assignment.

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Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.

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