The Baltimore Orioles have already undergone many changes this offseason, so it's no surprise the rumor mill is churning out more buzz for the American League East Champions.
According to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun, left-handed pitcher Wei-Yin Chen is the hottest commodity on the Orioles' roster.
Connolly also reported that there was a trade proposal made involving the Los Angeles Angels but it went nowhere:
As noted, the Orioles already have a good young second baseman in Jonathan Schoop. Adding a second base-only player like Howie Kendrick wouldn't make sense.
However, the Orioles are in an interesting spot this offseason. They have good depth in the rotation, including Chen, but lack a traditional No. 1 starter. They have already lost Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz to free agency.
Who knows what will happen with Manny Machado, who missed 80 games and underwent another knee operation in August.
Given all those questions about the lineup, as well as the depth of their starting rotation, it's only smart for the Orioles to listen when teams call about Chen.
Rich Dubroff of Comcast SportsNet Baltimore highlighted everything that made Chen so valuable to the Orioles last season:
There’s a lot to like about Chen. His control is good. In 2014, he struck out nearly four times the number of batters than he walked.
Chen exited before the end of the fifth inning just twice in 31 starts.
And, he’s the Orioles’ only left-handed starter. Last year, T.J. McFarland got a spot start, but Chen, who didn’t miss a turn had 31 of the team’s 32 starts from left-handed.
Even if Baltimore doesn't move him, there are a lot of teams that would love to have a 29-year-old starting pitcher who posted a 3.54 ERA in 31 starts last year and makes $4.75 million, per Baseball-Reference. The Orioles would be foolish to close the door on a potential offer.
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