Trade Central: Orioles Add Rotation Candidate In Despaigne

THE DEAL

The Orioles, looking for rotation upgrades, have been attached to names such as Yovani Gallardo and Tim Lincecum, free agents both. Loathe to relinquish the 14th overall pick for Gallardo and waiting for Lincecum’s showcase later this month, they instead decided to build some depth by acquiring Cuban righthander Odrisamer Despaigne from the Padres for righthander Jean Cosme.

“Despaigne should be a solid addition to our pitching staff,” executive vice president Dan Duquette wrote in a text to BA correspondent Roch Kubatko. “Very capable and crafty pitcher.”

PADRES ACQUIRE
Jean Cosme, rhp
Age: 19

The 6-foot-2, 160-pound righthander was a 17th-round pick of the Orioles in 2014 from Puerto Rico who pitched at short-season Aberdeen in 2015. Cosme, who was not in the Orioles’ Top 30 for 2016, has a quick, loose arm that produces natural gloveside run and has a fastball that sits 88-92 mph. Cosme shows enough feel for spin to project an average breaking ball with a serviceable changeup. He was ticketed for Delmarva, so he’ll likely end up in low Class A Fort Wayne with the Padres, who’ll continue to develop him as a starter.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG
Aberdeen (NYP)	SS	3	5	4.74	12	12	57	46	31	30	2	18	53	.217

ORIOLES ACQUIRE
Odrisamer Despaigne, rhp
Age: 28

Despaigne defected from Cuba during a tournament in Europe in the summer of 2013, establishing residency in Spain. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres in May 2014 for about $1 million and provided some quick returns with a 3.36 in 16 starts in 2014 after brief stays at Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. 2015 wasn’t as fruitful for the 6-foot, 205-pound righthander as his strikeout rate dropped to just 4.9 batters per nine and his home run-to-fly ball rate soared. It added up to a 5.80 ERA and he was bumped from the rotation for Colin Rea.

For the Orioles, he could serve as a swingman and perhaps more importantly, he has a minor league option remaining, meaning he could be stashed at Triple-A Norfolk in case of injury.