MLB Trade Rumors: Braves Agree To Deal With Orioles’ Kevin Gausman In Final Hour
As the final hour of Tuesday’s nonwaiver trade deadline creeped in, the Baltimore Orioles are sending Kevin Gausman to the Atlanta Braves according to MLB insider, Jon Heyman.
Heyman sent out a Tweet Tuesday afternoon saying “Braves have deal for Gausman.” Gausman, 27, has a 4.43 ERA for the Orioles this season.
sources: braves have deal for gausman
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2018
The deal comes just one day after Atlanta acquired Adam Duvall from the Reds for three players. Atlanta continues to be extremely active on the trade market this season after acquiring Jonny Venters and Brad Brach.
The Orioles are said to have spent the day working out trade deals for Gausman and Jonathan Schoop, a second baseman, an insider said.
Gausman still has two years of team control beyond this year and is not eligible to enter free agency until after the 2020 season. The trade could lead to a significant return for the Orioles since the Braves have the most prospect-filled, farm system in baseball.
The Orioles drafted Gausman fourth overall during the 2012 from Louisiana State, the athlete made his major league debut the following year.
It is not clear yet who is coming to Baltimore from the trade as they continue in their quest to rebuild the team. Saturday, the Orioles also sent reliever, Brad Brach, to the Braves for $250,000 in international bonus slot money instead of a player.
The 27-year-old pitcher has worked exclusively as a starter since June of 2015 and was the Orioles top starter this season, going 5-8 with 11 quality starts of his 21 appearances.
Winning the trade deadline is not the goal for Atlanta, but getting far into the playoffs. Braves’ general manager, Alex Anthopoulos is trying to do just that by adding Gausman.
While the new deals won’t change the team’s course, they are roster improvements. Atlanta was almost able to aquire Chris Archer from Tampa Bay, however, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to close the deal with the young pitcher. This move left the Braves to deal with Gausman.
The Orioles will also include veteran reliever Darren O'Day in this deal https://t.co/3dkl2zeEA3
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 31, 2018
According to Mark Bowman, an MLB insider, the Braves are sending three prospects to the Orioles in exchange for Gausman. Later, Bowman tweeted the Braves will be trading Brett Cumberland, Evan Phillips, Bruce Zimmerman and Jean Carlos Encarnacion to the Orioles while welcoming Gausman and veteran reliever, Darren O’Day.
The Orioles will receive $2.5 million international bonus bucks in addition to the big deal with Atlanta on Tuesday, according to Heyman.
