There’s an impact to the Baltimore Orioles’ trade of starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right fielder Seth Smith that's not limited to those two teams. The O’s deal abruptly ends their trade discussions with the Mets on both of New York’s available outfielders, Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson. It also ends their discussions with free-agent outfielders like Michael Saunders and Angel Pagan.
Smith fills the Orioles’ hole in right field, at least as a platoon starter against right-handed pitchers. He has a career slash line of .272/.355/.472 with 104 home runs against right-handed pitching and a slash line of just .202/.282/.312 with only nine home runs against left-handed pitchers. Smith contributed just 0.5 WAR last year, his lowest mark in three years, but he did hit 16 home runs with a career-high 63 RBIs for the Mariners.
The Orioles didn’t want to pay the price in trade that it would have taken to land Bruce or Granderson, and they liked Smith’s one-year, $7 million price tag better than the alternatives that were left on the market.
Adding Smith does not end the O’s pursuit of another right-handed power bat for their lineup -- still-available free agents like Mark Trumbo, Chris Carter or Mike Napoli. The latter three still fit as designated hitters in Baltimore. Trumbo could also play right field against left-handed pitching and then DH against right-handers.
The Orioles’ rotation without Gallardo now lines up with Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Ubaldo Jimenez and Wade Miley, without a lot of depth behind them. The Orioles might want to consider adding another pitcher, and with Jason Hammel still on the free-agent market, it might make sense for the Orioles to consider a reunion with him since he’s much less of a risk than Gallardo was going to be, and at what is expected to be a similar cost.
On Seattle’s side of the deal, the Mariners have been looking to add another starting pitcher since they dealt Taijuan Walker to the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this winter, in that big trade that returned shortstop Jean Segura and outfielder Mitch Haniger to the M’s.
Gallardo, 30, is in the final year of a two-year, $22 million pact that comes with a $13 million club option in 2018 (which can be bought out for $2 million). He has put up double-digit win tallies six times in his career and has a career record of 108-83 with an ERA of 3.79 and FIP of 3.84, but he’s coming off his worst season after going 6-8 with a 5.42 ERA in 23 starts and 118 innings pitched.
However, last year’s poor performance owed much to shoulder tendinitis -- which shelved him from late April into June, costing him two months -- more than a pitcher in outright decline. He finished his 2016 season on a strong note when he pitched six solid innings at home against the Diamondbacks on Sept. 23, allowing just two runs, and then got the win against the Yankees on the last day of September, going six innings and allowing just two hits and a run.
He’s presently on a strengthening program for his right shoulder, and that program’s success will be critical if he’s going to return to form. Gallardo’s move from the small confines of Camden Yards to the much larger dimensions of Safeco Field will certainly help his chances of having a better season. He will fit into the Mariners rotation after Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton, with Ariel Miranda bringing up the rear in the No. 5 spot in their rotation.
Bottom line: The Orioles needed a left-handed-hitting right fielder with a high OBP, and they got him in Smith. The Mariners needed a starter capable of logging 30 starts and 180 IP if healthy to replace Walker. Both teams got what they needed, but not necessarily what they wanted.