Barring a miracle, the Baltimore Orioles are not going to make the postseason. Jeremy Hellickson is not the type of difference maker that will change that.
The Baltimore Orioles seemingly have no idea what they are doing. Over the past few weeks, they went from claiming they would buy at the deadline, to selling, and back to buying again. This time, they appear to have settled on the original plan, having acquired Jeremy Hellickson from the Philadelphia Phillies. In exchange, the Orioles sent Hyun Soo Kim, Garrett Clevenger, and the always popular international bonus money to the Phillies.
sources: hyun soo kim, garrett cleavinger and int'l bonus $ for hellickson and cash
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 29, 2017
It is absolutely no surprise that the Orioles are making trades. After all, they are currently 6.5 games out of the Wild Card, needing to leapfrog five teams to reach the postseason. What makes absolutely no sense is for the Orioles to acquire a rental player in Hellickson for a stretch run that simply will not happen in Baltimore.
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One has to wonder where this refusal to acknowledge reality is coming from. General manager Dan Duquette has a solid track record, having build the framework for the 2004 championship Red Sox. He also infamously determined that Roger Clemens was about done after 1996, before Clemens allegedly discovered PEDs and grew a third ear.
Perhaps the Orioles mistakenly thought that Hellickson was already on their team. After all, his 4.73 ERA and 22 homers allowed look like typical Orioles starter, so the confusion is understandable. Since those numbers are similar to what Dylan Bundy has produced this year, Baltimore may consider Hellickson a top of the rotation arm.
The problem with the acquisition of Hellickson is that he is a rental, pure and simple. Had he been signed through next season, when the contracts of Manny Machado, Adam Jones, and Zach Britton are set to end, the trade could have made sense. Instead, Peter Angelos and the Orioles front office appear to be under the mistaken belief that the postseason is within reach.
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The Baltimore Orioles need to face reality and understand that, unless a miracle happens, they are not making the postseason. Instead, they traded for Jeremy Hellickson.