The Orioles and Nationals filled different needs with a minor league swap before the trade deadline, sending a young reliever to Washington and bringing in an outfielder for Baltimore.
Baltimore landed Christian Franklin and sent right-hander Joe Glassey to the Nationals, multiple sources said. Glassey’s inclusion in the deal was first reported by The Athletic.
Franklin gives the Orioles a depth option in the outfield, and he can handle all three spots. He’s a right-handed hitter with strong on-base skills at Triple-A, where he has posted a .249 average and a .735 on-base-plus-slugging percentage this year. He also brings some speed on the bases.
The Orioles will need to add Franklin to their 40-man roster, though that should not be a problem after trading away multiple players on deadline day.
On the other side, Washington gets a 25-year-old reliever in Glassey, a controllable arm who has only recently moved up to Double-A. He has already made two scoreless appearances there. At High-A Frederick, Glassey put up a 2.86 ERA while striking out 15.9 batters per nine innings.
If Baltimore needs more help in the outfield, Franklin could factor in with his defense and ability to get on base. He also played at Arkansas with former Orioles first-round pick Heston Kjerstad.
With Taylor Ward no longer in the system, Franklin is one possible answer for depth. Kjerstad, who is batting .276 for Triple-A Norfolk this year, is another. Outfield prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. is also in the mix.
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For an Orioles club trying to sort out the back end of its outfield mix, the timing makes sense. Hinds does not arrive with a long track record in the majors, which keeps the move firmly in the low-risk category, but the organization now has the rest of the season to decide whether he can earn a larger role and provide some late-year help if opportunities open up. [Read more 🡒]