Welcome to Baltimore David Lough

So the Orioles finally made a move in the offseason that wasn’t met with a ton of fan backlash. Yesterday they traded Danny Valencia to the Royals for David Lough. Valencia’s value was about as high as it will ever be after all of his clutch homers and extra base hits to end the season while the orioles were attempting to make the playoffs. Even though Valencia ended the season with a triple slash of  .304/.330/.553 in 170 plate appearances with the acquisition of Michael Almanzar in the rule five draft he became expendable. The Orioles then used Valencia to potentially fill the hole in left field from the departure of Nate McLouth.

            Lough is a solid pickup who had a triple slash of .286/.311/.413 for the Royals and also finished 8^th in A.L. Rookie of the Year voting. Lough brings solid speed and above average defense to a crowded left field battle. Lough will be competing against Henry Urrutia, Nolan Reimold, and Francisco Peguero. Out of this group, besides Urrutia Lough offers the most upside after his rookie campaign. Urrutia is more suited for a DH role but he would need to hit for more power. Lough’s speed, defense and experience at all three outfield positions are the traits that set him apart from the rest of the group.

            Personally I like this trade a lot, Valencia was a man without a position but was too valuable of a trade commodity to be stashed at Triple A. Lough is a very good option in left field who is under team control for at least two more years before entering arbitration. That’s great value for someone whose value was higher than it has ever been and (probably) ever will be again.

            So welcome to Baltimore David Lough and may the odds be ever in your favor in the left field battle.

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