16 May 2018

Orioles Players With No-Trade Protection

The Orioles have been playing better baseball lately. After dropping to 8-27 a week ago, they've won five of six games. Still, at 13-28, they're 15 games below .500, and there should be no question about this team needing to move Manny Machado and many of their other trade chips well before or close to the MLB trade deadline (in Machado's case, perhaps in late May or early June).

For the most part, the Orioles can trade anyone on their roster. But there are five players who have at least some no-trade protection. With the help of contract information from Cot's Baseball Contracts, here they are:

Adam Jones: Because he has his 10-and-5 rights, Jones can block any trade. Whether he'd actually do so is a different question.

Chris Davis: The only detail that's listed for Davis is a partial no-trade clause. That almost certainly won't come into play anytime soon, as no team would willingly take on his contract right now.

Mark Trumbo: Like Davis, Trumbo also has limited no-trade protection. Cot's additionally notes that Trumbo may block deals to seven clubs annually. He's been hitting since he returned from the disabled list, and it's possible he could be moved at some point if that continues (especially if the O's were to eat some of the remaining money on his deal). Trumbo is under contract through 2019.

Darren O'Day: O'Day may also block deals to seven clubs annually. O'Day has been more injury-prone and less effective the last couple years, but with one year left on his deal for $9 million, he could potentially be traded. However, as Dan Connolly (then of the Baltimore Sun) noted when O'Day was signed, O'Day will achieve his 10-and-5 rights at some point during the 2018 season. Whenever that happens, he will be able to block any trade, just like Jones.

Alex Cobb: Cobb, the most recent signing, is the last of the Orioles with no-trade protection. He has the ability to block any trade in 2018, and then 10 clubs annually from 2019-2021. Cobb has mostly righted the ship as of late after a disastrous start, but he still has a long way to go.

There's almost no way the Orioles blow up this roster with any kind of fire sale, but at the bare minimum, they should be exploring trades for all the 2019 free agents: Machado, Jones, Brad Brach, Zach Britton (when he returns from the disabled list), Pedro Alvarez, Danny Valencia, etc. Still, don't be surprised if players like Trumbo and O'Day (and obviously Davis and Cobb) are on the roster next year.

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