PIE TO BALTIMORE
The Baltimore Orioles acquired outfielder Felix Pie from the Chicago Cubs for pitchers Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson.
What does it give the Baltimore Orioles
Very quietly, the Orioles are building an impressive and talented young outfield. With Pie joining rising stars Nick Markakis and Adam Jones, they have a versatile trio of athletic outfielders who can potentially bolster the top half of their batting order for years to come. Pie, 23, is still growing as a player but he has seemed close to a Major League breakthrough for a few years now (although he hasn't quite made the adjustment successfully, in part because of his tendency to swing and miss too many pitches). Pie is the favorite to win at least a share of the left-field job heading into spring training.
What does it give the Chicago Cubs
The Cubs obviously got tired of waiting for longtime prospect Pie to make the adjustment to Major League pitching, and the recent signing of Milton Bradley (who takes Pie's projected lineup spot, with Kosuke Fukudome moving from right to center field to accomodate Bradley) reiterates their commitment to winning now with veterans. Olson, a lefty, remains a high-potential talent (a first-round draft pick in 2005) who at 25 may be ready to break through after very good results in the minor leagues over the past few years. At the very least he gives the contending Cubs a live arm to compete for a back-of-the-rotation spot or long relief. Williamson is a long-range prospect righty who has shown a lot of strikeout potential at the lower minor league levels but is probably a while away from making a splash at the Major League level.
Fantasy impact
