The Orioles made two trades late Wednesday night and early Thursday, dealing infielder Ramón Urias and cash considerations to the Houston Astros and right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge to the Chicago Cubs.
The Orioles are receiving minor league pitcher Twine Palmer for Urías. The Orioles are receiving Dominican shortstop Wilfri de la Cruz, whom Chicago signed for $2.3 million in January, their highest bonus in the class and the ninth largest overall in exchange for Kittredge.
Urias won a Gold Glove at third base in 2022 despite starting just 84 games. He came to the Orioles on waivers from St. Louis on February 11th, 2020 and hit .259 in six seasons, playing mostly third, but also the other three infield positions.
Urías has another season of club control.
Palmer, a 20-year-old 6-foot-5 right-hander, was a 19th-round pick in the 2024 draft and is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 13 games for Single-A Fayetteville.
Kittredge, who has a $9 million option for next season, was signed as a free agent before this season. He was 2-2 with a 3.45 ERA in 31 games. He missed the early part of the season because of a knee surgery and didn’t pitch until May 21st. He threw a scoreless inning in Wednesday’s game against Toronto.
The Orioles are playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend and need to replace Kittredge and Urías on the 26-man roster. They’ll have to replace others who are traded before the 6 p.m. deadline on Thursday.
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