Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens might be the best trade chip and is someone who will make an impact on a postseason race and in the playoffs.
The MLB trade deadline is less than a week away and numerous players, notable and less so, will be suiting up for new teams come August 1. One such player rumored to be on the move is Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens. In fact, It has been reported that the Dodgers, Indians, and Braves have their eye on Givens.
So who exactly is Mychal Givens?
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Since his first full season in 2016, Givens has appeared in just under 70 games a season serving as a bridge guy for a bullpen that featured relief ace, Zack Britton.
While he hasn’t racked up many saves, Givens has been worth 4.3 WAR as a reliever since 2016. This makes him a top 25 reliever in baseball and ranks him ahead of more high-profile trade targets like Will Smith and Shane Greene.
Givens hasn’t been great this season evidenced by the fact that he was pulled from the closer role and has given up way too many home runs. The tools that made him an excellent reliever remain, however.
If you check out his Baseball Savant page, you can see he is still showing elite velocity, spin rate, and generating a ton of strikeouts. For those of you who prefer visuals, take a look at how wicked his stuff is below.
In addition to throwing gas, Givens has a funky arm slot that gives lefties and righties an equal amount of headaches. Checkout his slider.
Yes, best chance hitters have is to get out the 9 iron. His frisbee slider is pure filth that makes professional hitters look like little leaguers.
Lastly, Givens can be controlled for two seasons after this one so you are acquiring him to be an anchor in the bullpen for years to come. With postseason innings being dominated by bullpens, it is beyond critical to have talented relievers that can come in at a moment’s notice.
Givens doesn’t have to be your closer and won’t cost you as much as the other closers on the market. There’s a strong argument that he is the best reliever available this deadline.
Yes, he has struggled this season, but the tools that made Givens an excellent reliever remain and teams have got to be chomping at the bit thinking they can get him right.
Current Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens is going to be mowing down hitters in innings that matter the rest of the year and in October. You just better hope it’s for your team.