Jaret Wright An Oriole

[Nanner]

Chris Britton sent to the Yanks.

Well, he's a pitcher - we need pitching. He and Leo Mazzone worked together on the Braves in 2004.....his best year as a pitcher.

I have good feelings about it - but you know, it's the off-season. Hopes are high, spring training is a few months away, anything can happen.

RIGHT?!?!?!

And Kris Benson's agent confirmed yesterday that he wants to stay with the Orioles.

O's agree to trade for Wright
Reliever Britton headed to New York in exchange for hard-throwing starter
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun reporter
Originally published November 12, 2006

The Orioles have agreed to trade reliever Chris Britton to the New York Yankees for starting pitcher Jaret Wright and cash, according to two team sources.

While the specifics of the deal have been worked out, the trade won't be official until it gets the commissioner's approval, which is necessary when more than $1 million in cash exchanges hands in a deal. That could happen as early as today.

Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan could not be reached for comment, and vice president Jim Duquette didn't return calls last night.

Along with Wright, a 30-year-old right-hander with a 68-57 record over 10 major league seasons, the Yankees have agreed to send the Orioles $4 million, according to sources. That is the amount it would have cost New York to buy out Wright's 2007 option.

Pitching sporadically this past season as New York's fifth starter, Wright went 11-7 with a 4.49 ERA.

The Yankees had until today to decide whether to pick up Wright's $7 million option or buy it out, and they were reportedly planning on the latter. Now, it is a moot point as Wright's two-year stint with the Yankees, marred by injuries and inconsistency, appears officially over.

The trade will not only reunite Wright with Leo Mazzone, his pitching coach in 2004 in Atlanta when the pitcher had his best season (15-8, 3.28 ERA), but it also satisfies the Orioles' desire to add some depth to their pitching staff.

With Wright joining Rodrigo Lopez , Kris Benson , Erik Bedard , Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen and even prospect Hayden Penn , who will get a chance to make the Opening Day roster next spring, the Orioles will have some flexibility to trade a pitcher possibly for a hitter. A team source also said that the move doesn't mean that the Orioles won't make a run at another pitcher in free agency.

Wright has a history of shoulder problems, but apparently Orioles officials felt that the one-time rising star in the Cleveland Indians' organization was worth the risk, especially at $3 million, which is the cost after the Yankees' cash contribution to the deal.

Wright didn't pitch seven complete innings in any of his 27 starts last season, though he did have a strong finish, going 7-2 in his last nine decisions.

Orioles officials were impressed by Wright's velocity down the stretch as his fastball was consistently clocked between 92 and 95 mph, a sign that Wright's always worrisome pitching shoulder was fine.

Britton, a 23-year-old right-hander who was the Orioles' eighth-round selection in the 2001 draft, was possibly the team's second-best reliever as a rookie this past season behind closer Chris Ray . Britton was 0-2 with a 3.35 ERA and one save in 52 games.

However, team officials were concerned about Britton's lack of command of a second pitch behind his fastball, and they also were worried about ongoing conditioning problems.



Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun

[redsfan]

Wright has always had a high ceiling when it came to potential since his days with the Indians. If anybody can get it out of him Mazzone can.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

That's a good move for Jaret Wright and the Orioles. The Orioles have been starving for pitching the last few years and Jaret Wright hasn't been the same since 2004. Leo will get the best out of Jaret Wright this year because Wright knows there isn't that pressure of playing in New York.

[Nanner]

See, I'm hoping you guys are right.

Things for the Orioles have got to take an upturn sometime!

:cheer:

[Nanner]

Roch Kubatko at the Sun spoke with Jim Duquette and, I think Leo Mazzone. They're both pretty excited about this move, and have high hopes for Wright, and possibly seeing him pitch further into games than the 5th or 6th innings. This should be interesting.

I am curious, if he's as healthy as they say, and if Leo's working with him, to see what he can do.

And Roch, on his blog at the Sun, is using every pun on Wright's name that he can come up with. "The Wright Stuff", etc. :D New Yorkers have already done that with David Wright. :D

Wright pickup repeats Benson formula for O's
By Roch Kubatko
Sun reporter
Originally published November 13, 2006

The philosophy that made the Orioles so agreeable about trading for Kris Benson last year was embraced again over the weekend.

If you can get a starting pitcher for a reliever, do it.

Looking to upgrade their rotation and act aggressively in the process, the Orioles obtained Jaret Wright from the New York Yankees for Chris Britton - a deal that became official once the commissioner's office approved it yesterday.

The Yankees will assume $4 million of Wright's contract, leaving the Orioles responsible for the remaining $3 million, which they considered a bargain for a starter who is 68-57 in 10 seasons.

"We thought we were definitely getting value," said Jim Duquette, vice president of baseball operations. "And with this marketplace and starting pitching at a premium, to get a guy of Jaret's ability for $3 million, that's a pretty valuable piece to have."

But where will they put him?

"Somewhere in the back end of the rotation," Duquette said. "He's a guy who has the potential to be better than that, but coming off the fact that [the Yankees] really limited him to five innings, or just below six, you have to slot him in that area. But he has the ability to be better than that."

Wright was 11-7 with a 4.49 ERA in 30 games with the Yankees, who scored two runs or fewer while he was in the game in 12 of his 27 starts. He totaled 140 1/3 innings and never pitched beyond the seventh.

"I asked him about that, and his feeling was, because early in the season he kind of got off to a slow start with them, he never really gained their confidence to allow him to go later in games," said Duquette, who will join executive vice president Mike Flanagan today in Naples, Fla., for the general managers meetings.

"It was almost automatic that if he put runners on in the sixth, he came out. He didn't really get a chance to prove that he could get them out. That's going to be the difference here. We're going to let him go six or even more. He's definitely capable of doing that."

Wright, who turns 31 in December, signed a three-year contract with the Yankees after going 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA for the Atlanta Braves in 2004. Wright will be reunited with former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, the deciding factor in the Orioles' decision to trade for him.

"Jaret was excited at the prospect of being reunited with Leo, and Leo had the same feelings," Duquette said. "He was instrumental in giving us information that sealed the deal for us."

Mazzone said Wright doesn't have to go back very far to become the pitcher he was in Atlanta.

"I thought he pitched pretty well for New York," said Mazzone, who left a message on Wright's cell phone yesterday after learning that the trade was completed.

"He's got good stuff and he's a tremendous competitor. He's a pitcher with character. He loves the game, he's been around it a long time and he's got intangibles. He'll fight you tooth and nail. He's great in the clubhouse. He's a class act. Everybody loves him."

Mazzone also noted Wright has pitched in a lot of important games, beginning in his rookie season in 1997, when the Cleveland Indians reached the World Series. Wright has made 16 postseason appearances, most recently in Game 4 of this year's American League Division Series.

"He's a battler. He'll knock you down in a heartbeat," Mazzone said.

"This just adds another quality pitcher [to] a rotation that I think shapes up to be pretty good."

The Orioles are convinced that Wright, who went 7-2 down the stretch for the Yankees, is healthy after experiencing problems with his shoulder. "We did our due diligence on the medical," Duquette said.

Wright also brings the appeal of being a free agent after the 2007 season, so the Orioles aren't making a long-term commitment to him. He'll allow them to perhaps bring along one of their young starters more slowly. Wright also can pitch in relief, "or we can take one of our other starters and trade them and try to upgrade ourselves offensively," Duquette said.

Britton, an eighth-round pick in the 2001 draft, was 0-2 with a 3.35 ERA and one save in 52 games as a rookie after being promoted from Double-A Bowie. He posted a 2.20 ERA in 28 games before the All-Star break, and a 5.14 ERA in 24 appearances after it.

The Orioles are certain they can find another middle reliever to take Britton's place, either from inside the organization or through free agency. And they couldn't resist the chance to get a starting pitcher in return.

"This is something we wanted to do early, be aggressive," Duquette said. "We've been saying we want to be aggressive, and now, to be able to do that helps us go forward with some of the other things we're trying to do."

Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun

[PopTop]

What's the deal with R-Lo right now, Nan?

[Nanner]

Ooh. I was just going to post something about him. He's been mentioned in trade talks.

He just said in an article today that he would like to stay with Baltimore, but would oppose being put in the bullpen. :hmm: Same ol', same ol'. He was outstanding in the bullpen in 2005, but whined all the time that he wanted to start. Then when they started him last year, he sucked.

I'm getting tired of his attitude, actually. You know, if you think you're a starter, prove it.