The Baltimore Orioles didn't wait long to make the first significant moves of the 2013 Major League Baseball trade season.
With noticeable problems throughout their starting pitching rotation, the O's - who currently trail the Boston Red Sox by 3.5 games in the American League East - sent once-promising right-hander Jake Arrieta to the Chicago Cubs along with Pedro Strop for right-hander Scott Feldman.
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Feldman now returns to the American League after a short stint with the National League Cubs. A member of the Texas Rangers from 2005 through 2012, the 30-year-old Hawaii native's best season came in 2009. Posting a 17-8 overall record with a 4.08 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 189.2 innings, Feldman grew into a reliable rotational option for Ron Washington and the Rangers.
The righty - who is 7-6 this season with a 3.46 ERA - will join an Orioles rotation that is pitching to a collective 4.79 ERA, ranking them near the bottom of the league. Not blind to the fact that his team needed to get better in the pitching department to keep pace with the Red Sox while holding off the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore executive vice president Dan Duquette is pleased with the moves the club made. In addition to acquiring Feldman, the O's also brought in catcher Steve Clevenger.
"I think when you have a number of players who are having a good year like we are, you have to address the needs of the ball club and put your focus on this year's club," Duquette told the Baltimore Sun. "And this year's ball club needs more stable starting pitching, and that's what this trade is designed to address."
"[Scott's] a proven veteran starting pitcher, and he's pitched very well in this ballpark," he continued. "He's pitched in the postseason, he won 17 games once and he is on his way to having a good year this season."
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While Baltimore seemingly bolstered their chances of making a stronger postseason run in 2013, the Chicago Cubs sent a former All-Star to the West Coast on the same day of dealings.
Carlos Marmol was voted to the 2008 National League All-Star team as a member of the Chicago Cubs and despite totaling 92 saves from 2010 through 2012, Marmol began to struggle heading into the late parts of 2012 and in 2013.
Designated for assignment last week, the Cubs (35-45 in 2013) decided to ship the 30-year-old to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for veteran reliever Matt Guerrier. In 10 major league seasons, Guerrier is 25-33 with a 3.54 ERA and 6 saves.
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Fully aware that multiple changes were going to affect the organization, Cubs manager Dale Sveum said his team shouldn't be surprised by the moves and that different players will need to step up and fill vacant roles.
"We're still viable and being able to fill those roles right now," Sveum said to the Huffington Post. "Obviously, you start getting thinner, things could change that way. But they're professional players. They have to go out and perform."
While these trades were the first of the 2013 MLB trade season, they surely won't be the last. The Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline won't come until 4:00pm, EST on Wednesday, July 31st, giving teams plenty of time to bolster their roster's heading into the second half of the season.
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