The Baltimore Orioles reportedly traded minor league pitcher Jean Cosme to the San Diego Padres for right-handed pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne on Thursday.
Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reported the Orioles and Padres pulled off a deal involving Cosme. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com added that Despaigne was going back to Baltimore in the trade.
Despaigne gives Orioles manager Buck Showalter versatility with his pitching staff for 2016. The 28-year-old has appeared in 50 games for the Padres since 2014, with 34 starts and 16 games in relief.
Per Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun, Orioles general manager Dan Duquette confirmed that Despaigne would be competing for a rotation spot in spring training:
The numbers for Despaigne in 2015 weren’t pretty. He posted a 5.80 ERA with 142 hits allowed, 17 home runs, 69 strikeouts and 32 walks in 125.2 innings, so Baltimore pitching coach Dave Wallace has his work cut out for him.
The Orioles are likely to use Despaigne in the starting rotation when the season starts. They badly need depth in the rotation after free agent Wei-Yin Chen signed with the Miami Marlins in January.
Even if Despaigne fails in that role for the Orioles, Showalter has been a master at building bullpens in his five-plus seasons with the team. They’ve finished in the top six in relievers ERA three times in the past four years, including fifth in 2015 with a 3.21 mark.
For the Padres, as noted by Corey Brock of MLB.com, they were able to move Despaigne because he didn’t have a role with the team in 2016:
On top of that, Padres general manager A.J. Preller was able to flip Despaigne for a 19-year-old who had a solid year in short-season ball with 53 strikeouts and just 46 hits allowed in 57 innings.
Cosme isn’t going to change the fortunes of San Diego’s farm system on his own, but he’s a worthy gamble for the team to take given his age and performance in 2015.
The Padres have plenty of starters to choose from in 2016 with James Shields, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner and Robbie Erlin as their first four. They can build a bullpen from spare parts because Petco Park is massive.
Both teams solved problems with this trade. Despaigne gives Showalter more options to choose from, while the Padres were able to create a roster spot for incoming closer Fernando Rodney and get a solid young pitcher.
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