A's Trade Cole Irvin to Baltimore for Infield Prospect
Cole Irvin, set to turn 29 in just a few days, has been traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with prospect Kyle Virbitsky in exchange for infield prospect Darell Hernaiz, according to Jeff Passan.
Irvin had been durable and consistent in his two seasons with the Oakland A's, making a total of 62 starts and holding a 4.11 ERA. He has found success in the A's rotation by utilizing his excellent command and ability to have a solid game plan heading into each start. He went 3-2 against the World Series champion Houston Astros in six starts, holding a 3.58 ERA and a 1.009 WHIP, so he can shut down even the best offenses in the game.
According to Roster Resource on FanGraphs, Irvin will be one of the top pitchers in the Orioles current rotation, and his durability and reliability should make him an asset to the ascending O's.
Kyle Virbitsky was a 17th rounder in 2021 by Oakland, and spent his 2022 in the low minors putting up a combined 4.63 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP, 10 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 between Stockton and Lansing.
The player the A's got in return, Hernaiz, is a 21-year-old utility infielder that had been ranked 16th in Baltimore's deep farm system. In his age 20 season, he reached Double-A by season's end, and will likely begin in Midland with manager Bobby Crosby in 2023.
Pipeline says that athleticism is Hernaiz's calling card. He is another guy that makes solid contact, and as he continued to grow into his body in 2022, he also developed a little more power in his bat. In High-A, where he saw the most playing time at any stop last season (60 games), he hit .305 with a .376 OBP, 5 home runs, a 16.9% strikeout rate and an 8.6% walk rate. He had another six home runs combined in Low A and Double-A, giving him a total of 12 on the year.
The move for the A's clears up a spot on their roster to make room for the recently signed Jesús Aguilar, and also opens up the rotation competition quite a bit.
The A's currently have Paul Blackburn, James Kaprielian, A.J. Puk, Shintaro Fujinami, Drew Rucinkski, JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk, Kyle Muller, Adrián Martínez, and Adam Oller all vying for a spot in the starting mix come opening day, and any of those five could end up in the rotation.