Orioles Listening To Lots of Calls On Wei-Yin Chen

The Baltimore Orioles are not actively shopping their only lefty starter in Wei-Yin Chen, but they are getting a lot of calls and they are listening.

More from Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles may not be actively interested in trading their only left-handed rotation member in Wei-Yin Chen, but they have received more calls about him than any other player, according to a story in the Baltimore Sun. Despite the lack of active shopping by the O’s, they are listening to offers just in case one comes across that could significantly improve the team.

Also coming out with reports of this high interest in Chen, is the fact that the LA Angels attempted to acquire Chen through dealing second baseman Howie Kendrick earlier in the offseason. The Orioles ended up rejecting the offer and the Angels have cooled considerably on the idea of dealing Kendrick.

As noted by Hard Ball Talk, the 29-year-old Chen will be a free agent after 2015 and the Orioles currently have more starting pitchers than rotation spots. Chen is owed $4.75 next year and his agent is Scott Boras, so the O’s are definitely listening to any offers. The main downside for the O’s in dealing Chen is that he is currently the only lefty in their rotation. He was also one of their more solid starters last year.

In fact, Chen is probably the pitcher the O’s are the least interested in losing, but he’s also the most valuable, based on the interest from other teams. The O’s would probably prefer to move Ubaldo Jimenez more than any other pitcher. Jimenez trended towards terrible during the majority of the season and was sent to the bullpen near the end. Unfortunately, his bloated contract of three years and $38.75 million means the O’s would likely have to take on a similar contract for someone else.

More from FanSided

Home/Baltimore Orioles