Pie Traded To Baltimore

[love_that_reefer]

Despite being rated as the top prospect in the Cubs' farm system in 2006 and 2007, outfielder Felix Pie never made his mark in Chicago. Now he'll get a chance to make a big-league impact in Baltimore, instead.

The Cubs traded Pie to the Orioles on Sunday for left-handed pitcher Garrett Olson and minor league pitcher Henry Williamson.

Pie, 23, played in 130 major league games for the Cubs the past two seasons. In 2008 he hit .241 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 43 games. Baseball America rated Pie as the Cubs' No. 1 prospect in both 2006 and 2007.

Olson, 25, was 9-10 with a 6.65 ERA in 26 starts for Baltimore last season. In 33 career starts for the Orioles, Olson was 10-13 with a 6.87 ERA.

Seems like a fair deal. Pie and Olson have both disappointed at the MLB level and aren't likely to be anything special. Cubs get a starter which they need now with Harden have a tear in a joint in his shoulder, O's get competition for Adam Jones.

[catman]

I hope he gets a chance to play now. The Cubs seemed to be uninterested in developing him further. Playing with Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, he could help the Orioles improve a bit.

[Kingdom]

Orioles missed having Corey Patterson's lovely OBP, so they wanted Pie for a quick fix.

[ThomasTomasz]

I'm a little late to the party for this deal, but I'm excited. Pie has potential, but it does seem like the Cubs had little interest in developing him. That sometimes happens to teams that are competing- they don't want to work a younger player through their slump, so they bench him or send him down. On a team that is not expected to compete, like the Orioles, the player can work through slumps and not have to really worry about seeing the bench for a long time.

Baltimore did the same thing with Adam Jones last season. He struggled the first two months, but really improved for June and July before going down with an injury in August. It's because the Orioles can afford to be patient at this point, and I think that Pie is really coming into a place where he can shine.

[love_that_reefer]

Pie, Jones and Markakis will make one of the fastest OF's in the game.