Baltimore Orioles: Three players likely to be moved at the trade deadline
By Nick Stevens
Mychal Givens has been a steady reliever for the Baltimore Orioles.
The Baltimore Orioles have been fielding calls for reliever Mychal Givens since very early in 2019. Just a few weeks into the season, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal noted just a few weeks into the ’19 season that a few teams were in discussions with the Orioles in an attempt to acquire Givens, but the Orioles held pat with their high price tag on their reliever and didn’t end up moving him.
Givens is no longer the closer in Baltimore, but he has been nearly lights out in 2020 after a rocky 2019 season. For teams like the San Diego Padres who may not be looking to part with very much talent or add much to their books at the deadline, Givens would be an ideal pickup.
The 30-year-old right-handed pitcher is owed less than $1 million this year and brings with him additional control past the 2020 season.
In 11 outings, Givens has allowed just one earned run on six hits, striking out 16 hitters and posting a 0.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a .150 average against in 11.2 innings.
While his 34.8% strikeout rate is higher than his career-high 33% mark of 2019 and he has yet to allow a home run after giving up 13 last season, walks have been an issue for Givens. He’s issued six free passes, good for a career-worst 13% walk rate in his small sample of innings.
The bullpen has been one of the more pleasant storylines for the Orioles this season and someone like Givens, or even Shawn Armstrong, may also join Richard Bleier in being shipped out of Baltimore.
Throw Miguel Castro‘s name in there as well. Castro began the year as one of the most effective relievers in baseball, but has cooled off significantly. He’s still striking out nearly 14/9 IP and if a team believes they can harness his 93 mph changeup and 98 mph fastball, the Orioles don’t need to think twice about moving Castro at his peak value.
With a long list of former teammates and coaches already in San Diego, Givens seems like a natural fit for the Padres who have seen injuries to Kirby Yates, Drew Pomeranz, Emilio Pagan, and others pile up very quickly.