MacPhail on Ohman-VandenHurk trade
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said having a chance at a young potential starter was the impetus for dealing lefty Will Ohman at the non-waiver trade deadline for Florida Marlins' 25-year-old right-hander Rick VandenHurk.
“Will certainly did do everything he could have,” MacPhail said. “Part of the rationale on making the trade was we are obviously not in the race and the Marlins are a lot closer than we are and they don’t have a lefty in the bullpen. Based on how we are going with our bullpen, a short-inning lefty or lefty specialist was really a luxury for us.”
MacPhail said the Orioles had been interested in VandenHurk for a while and had been rebuffed by the Marlins. But they called back moments before Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
“We had asked for him and they had said, ‘No,’ ” MacPhail said. “Five minutes before the deadline. We had sort of put him out of our head.”
VandenHurk will be sent to Triple-A Norfolk to start in the Tides’ rotation. He will be out of options next season, so must make the Orioles’ 25-man roster heading out of spring.
“We see him as a long guy or a potential starter,” MacPhail said. “We’ll put him in the mix and he’ll give us another option for a starter in the rest of the 2010 season.”
The Orioles made just one minor deal, but MacPhail said overall it was a very busy day.
“We had more conversations than I had expected about a greater variety of subjects than I had expected going into the morning,” he said. “How close we came (to other deals) I don’t know. Whether we’ll do something later as the result of the talks we have had, that’s possible as well.”
A Baltimore native, 
Comments
Why would he have to make the team out of spring training? It seems that he could be left in AAA and then only if he's called up to the O's would his option siutation be an issue if the O's then wanted to send him back down.
Posted by: Ryan | July 31, 2010 5:48 PM
yay, the O's dump one stiff for another. I'm getting the feeling that i'll kick the bucket before they start winning again and im only 32. Angelos and McFailureshould get out andlet us see some real ball. Angelos authentic jersey on Ebay 666 mark of the beast
Posted by: bastage26 | July 31, 2010 6:22 PM
Ryan,
Because he is on the 40 man roster, we need to use an option to send him to AAA next spring out of spring trraining.
Anyone on the 40 man roster uses an option if they sppend any time in the minors during the year.
Posted by: PapaRick | July 31, 2010 6:50 PM
Ryan,
I think he goes on the 40-man roster now and because he is on his last major league option year he can go either to major league or minor league club without having to worry about clearing waivers. If he is with the team next spring and makes the club he goes on 25 man roster. If not, then he must be designated for assignment (since no options left) and pass through waivers to be assigned to AAA. I think these are the MLB rules.
Posted by: shaun | July 31, 2010 7:18 PM
I like MacPhail's Go for it trade strategy ! Bring in some new talent that will give a winning chemistry ! Baltimore has some great talent. There's just a few missing links.
Posted by: Mike Moore | July 31, 2010 9:20 PM
Unfortunately there is much more dead wood left on the current roster.
Posted by: DejaVu | August 1, 2010 9:50 AM
It's a shame that the Yankees always get what the Orioles need - first Teixeira now Berkman. It seems like the Orioles could have put together as good as package for Berkman. Obviously, the team is not going to improve without some proven veteran players. His price will be high during the Free Agent season. And if he doesn't choose to remain with the Yankees, he always can go back to Houston. So I don't think there is much of chance of the Orioles getting him now.
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Jeff Z's reply: Berkman had 10 and 5 rights,meaning that he could block a trade. He reportedly did block a trade to the Chicago White Sox, who are in contention. So I doubt very much that he would agreed to come to Baltimore and play for a last-place team.
Posted by: Cecil | August 2, 2010 6:22 AM