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MLB: Winners and Losers from Aroldis Chapman trade

By Dave Stevenson

Oct 2, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 6-4 in twelve innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 6-4 in twelve innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 23, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Zach Britton (53) pitches during the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Minnesota Twins defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

WINNERS: Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles emerge as winners in this trade because they can now further explore trading closer Zach Britton. Assuming the Orioles sign Darren O’Day, the Orioles could potentially get even more for Britton than the Reds got for Aroldis Chapman. The Orioles have multiple holes to fill. They could fill one of them by dealing from a position of strength should they decide to trade Zach Britton.

Aroldis Chapman has one year left until he becomes a free agent. Britton has two years left and has been quite comparable to Aroldis Chapman if you purely look at results. Britton strikes out roughly a batter per inning and tends to not allow hard contact. He allows a ton of groundballs, meaning that he’s always one pitch away from pitching his way out of pretty much any situation.

The Orioles likely won’t be dealing Britton for prospects. They’ll likely deal him for an MLB player who will help fill a hole. The Dodgers made sense with Yasiel Puig. Now the Orioles could get talent from any number of teams. They could even trade with their geographical rival Nationals, but it remains to be seen if the Nationals have what it takes to pry Britton away from the Orioles. After all, they didn’t even have what it takes to pry Aroldis Chapman away from the Reds.

The Orioles control their own destiny right now regarding trading Britton. And now they’ll have teams lining up wanting to give them their best offer.

Next: LOSERS: Houston Astros

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