The Orioles continued to shed talent from their major league roster Sunday, sending right-handed reliever Mychal Givens to the Colorado Rockies in their second trade on the last full day before the trade deadline.
The Orioles acquired prospects Tyler Nevin and Terrin Vavra plus a player to be named later, the team announced. Nevin, 23, a first-round draft pick (38th overall) by the Rockies in 2015 and the son of former major league All-Star and current New York Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin, has a career .286/.362/.441 batting line in five minor league seasons playing first base, third base and left field. He spent last season in Double-A, where he primarily played first and posted a .744 OPS.
Vavra, 23, was the Rockies' third-round pick in 2018 out of Minnesota and has hit .313/.405/.483 in 146 games last year across the Short-A Northwest and Low-A South Atlantic leagues. The infielder, the son of Detroit Tigers hitting coach Joe Vavra, is the Rockies' No. 17 prospect, according to Baseball America, while Nevin is ranked 13th.
The Orioles' second-round pick in 2009 as a shortstop, Givens converted to pitching and made it to the majors in late 2015 to join an Orioles bullpen that was one of the game's best with Zack Britton, Darren O'Day and Brad Brach already established at the back end.
Givens was manager Buck Showalter's middle-inning weapon in those times, coming into games with messy situations inherited from the starter and getting out of it cleanly. In his first three seasons, Givens had a 2.75 ERA with 222 strikeouts in 183? innings and a 1.107 WHIP.
He had his peccadilloes. It took Givens years to embrace his changeup as a weapon against left-handed hitters, and he wasn't as good coming out of the dugout to start a new inning as he was coming out of the bullpen.
Givens never took off in the closer's role after the Orioles bullpen changed in 2018 because of injuries and trades of those three former All-Stars of Britton, Brach and O'Day. He had a 3.99 ERA that season, saving nine games, and had the worst year of his career in 2019 when he recorded a 4.57 ERA and gave up several costly home runs while never really settling into a role for manager Brandon Hyde.
Givens didn't get a save chance in 2020, instead being used against the other team's top right-handed bats in high-leverage situations. He responded by allowing two runs in 13 innings with 19 strikeouts and a 1.000 WHIP, and other teams took notice.
The fact that he has another year of club control in 2021 made him a more attractive option for teams looking to acquire more than a rental, and also provided more value to the Orioles in moving him now.
Givens represents the sixth veteran player traded by Elias and the Orioles since he took over in November 2018. Starting pitcher Andrew Cashner was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for a pair of Venezuelan teenagers last July, which turned out to be the only major leaguer dealt from that roster last year.
Infielder Jonathan Villar was traded to the Miami Marlins for left-hander Easton Lucas in December, and days later, the Orioles acquired four pitchers, including right-handers Isaac Mattson and Kyle Bradish, from the Los Angeles Angels for former top pick Dylan Bundy.
Earlier this month, Elias dealt veteran left-hander Richard Bleier to the Marlins as well for a player to be named later, and earlier Sunday, he traded left-handed starter Tommy Milone to the Atlanta Braves for two yet-to-be-named players.
Though this was expected to be another year in which the Orioles moved their veteran talent for younger players, the shortened season presented several problems. For starters, teams' finances are tight and clubs might not be willing to take on money for 2020 and beyond.
There are also restrictions about only players being in a club's pool being eligible to be dealt, though teams are working around that by making trades for players to be named later, which can be decided on now and designated after the season ends.
