The Baltimore Orioles have traded designated hitter Danny Valencia to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder David Lough.  Valencia hit .304 for the Orioles last season and was up and down between the Orioles farm system.

Valencia had power and hit for average for the Orioles but he never played in the field which is something that the Orioles did not like.  Lough is a good fielder and played all three outfield positions for the Royals last season.  Remember the Royals have a huge ballpark and Lough was able to cover a lot of ground.

Lough also hit five home runs for the Royals.  The Orioles will have Lough under contract for a very long time.  I like this move as it gives the Orioles a solid player for a long time and helps out the outfield which needed a player.  Valencia was a spark for the Orioles and became a fan favorite as his bat really heated up when the Orioles needed it to the most.

Here is the Orioles press release on the move.

Orioles acquire OF David Lough from Kansas City

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired OF DAVID LOUGH from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for INF DANNY VALENCIA.

Lough, 27, batted .286/.311/.413 in 96 games for Kansas City in 2013, playing all three outfield positions. He finished 8th in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting, leading AL rookies in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) per both Baseball-Reference (2.7) and FanGraphs (2.4, tied with Tampa Bay’s Wil Myers).

Among all outfielders that played 500 or more innings in 2013, Lough ranked 9th overall with a +14.5 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR quantifies how many runs a player saved or allowed through their fielding skills, by combining the value of a player’s throwing arm, range and errors). Lough also ranked 6th among all outfielders in UZR/150, posting a +27.3 (UZR prorated over 150 games).

Originally selected by Kansas City in the 11th round of the 2007 First Year Player Draft out of Mercyhurst College, the left-handed hitter has batted .297/.349/.459 in seven minor league seasons in the Royals’ organization.

Valencia, 29, batted .304/.335/.553 in 170 plate appearances for the Orioles in 2013.

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