Aaron Boone shares his honest reaction to Orioles’ big move
The Baltimore Orioles are not playing around when it comes to staying ahead of the New York Yankees, and Aaron Boone knows it.
The Orioles added former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes this week in a blockbuster trade with Milwaukee, giving them a legitimate ace to lead their rotation. That is worrying news for Boone and the Yankees, who finished a full 19 games behind Baltimore last season and are looking to close that gap in 2024.
On Saturday, however, Boone admitted that the trade made his job a fair bit more difficult.
That can be a little bit of a problem,” Boone admitted Saturday, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “That was my first reaction. He’s obviously an amazing pitcher going to a great team. We’ll see a lot of him and look forward to competing against the best, though.”
The Yankees have been looking for a high-end pitcher themselves this offseason, but have fallen short of the top names on the market. The Orioles’ move should not really change their strategy, but they are up against a talented young team that is now adding established stars. Boone is going to have a lot of work to do.
Baltimore Orioles Acquire Young Infielder in Minor Deal with Detroit Tigers
After being designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers, infielder Nick Maton has been traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
The O’s announced the trade on Wednesday night:
We have acquired INF/OF Nick Maton from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. Welcome to Birdland, Nick!
The 26-year-old has spent parts of three years in the big leagues with the Phillies and Tigers. He’s played in 179 career games, including a career-high 93 in 2023. Lifetime, he’s a .208 hitter with 15 home runs.
There’s no guarantee that he’ll make the Opening Day roster for the Orioles, who are loaded with talent, but he could stick in the organization as a depth piece potentially.
Other Orioles’ infielders on the 40-man roster include: Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle, Ramon Urias, Tyler Nevin, Jorge Mateo and Ryan O’Hearn.
Nevin was also acquired in a deal with the Tigers this offseason.
The Orioles are coming off a season in which they went 101-61 and won the American League East. Unfortunately, they were beaten in the American League Division Series by the eventual World Champion Texas Rangers, but they’ll enter 2024 with sky-high expectations.
Because of those expectations, the O’s aren’t in the business of giving playing time to people who can’t contribute, so Maton will have to prove himself from the outset in spring training.
There appears to be a real chance that Holliday could make the roster at 20 years old, so there’s an even steeper climb for Maton at this point.
As for the Tigers, they have Javier Baez, Andy Ibanez, Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, Eddys Leonard, Andre Lipcius, Wenceel Perez and Spencer Torkelson as 40-man roster infield options
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