Ex-Oriole Report: Which former Orioles are having the best and worst 2017 seasons?

Every so often here at BaltimoreBaseball.com, we’ve been checking in on how former Orioles around the majors have fared this season.

With the 2017 regular season coming to a close this month, we’re ranking the five best and five worst seasons for ex-Orioles.

BEST

5. RHP Parker Bridwell, Los Angeles Angels

From the one-that-got-away department, Bridwell spent the first seven years of his professional career in the Orioles’ organization, but only pitched twice in the majors, a forgettable pair of relief outings in 2016. He had a career ERA close to 5.00 in the minors, when the Orioles dumped him to the Angels for cash in April.

Angels coaches changed Bridwell’s repertoire, stressing a more breaking-ball-heavy arsenal than he had with the Orioles. Almost instantly, Bridwell broke out. He soon found his way into the Angels’ rotation and has been a mainstay ever since, going 7-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 17 games (16 starts). The Angels are 15-2 in games that Bridwell starts, and he’s helped keep the club afloat in the wild card race despite an injury-battered rotation.

And the reason the Orioles dumped Bridwell? They needed a 40-man roster spot for lefty Paul Fry, who never pitched in a game with the Orioles and was later outrighted off the roster.

4. RHP Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs

A year ago, you couldn’t say the name “Arrieta” in the state of Maryland without unleashing a profanity-laced tirade from every Orioles fan in the vicinity. The fact that Arrieta flamed out in Baltimore only to emerge as a NL Cy Young winner and World Series champion for the Cubs was a bitter pill to swallow for the Orioles.

That furor has died down somewhat in 2017, because Arrieta has been merely human this season. Still, he’s quietly put together another solid campaign for the Cubs. After his ERA reached a season-high 5.44 in mid-May, Arrieta has gotten back on track and is now 14-9 with a 3.48 ERA in 28 starts. A pending free agent, Arrieta, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring strain, is in line for a hefty payday after the season.

3. RHP Zach Davies, Milwaukee Brewers

Speaking of young pitchers the Orioles traded away too soon, Davies continues to haunt the club for swapping him for failed outfielder Gerardo Parra en route to a .500 season in 2015. At the time of the trade, Davies was pitching well for Triple-A Norfolk, carrying a 5-6 record and 2.84 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). But as a guy who relied on command and pitchability instead of overpowering stuff, the Orioles had some questions about whether he’d succeed in the bigs.

Davies has answered those questions in Milwaukee. He leads the NL with 17 wins in his 30 starts, and he’s posted a solid 3.67 ERA. It remains to be seen how long a career Davies can sustain with a low strikeout rate and a fastball that barely breaks 90 mph, but he’s had a breakout 2017 all the same.

2. DH Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners

When the Mariners inked a then 34-year-old Cruz to a four-year, $57 million contract after the 2014 season, most pundits considered it an overpay. The thought was that Cruz might deliver on the first year or two of the contract, but was at risk of being an aging albatross at the end.

But it’s now year three and Cruz has shown no signs of slowing down. He leads the AL with 107 RBIs — just ahead of the Orioles’ Jonathan Schoop (103) — and has 32 homers, a .284 average and .897 OPS to go with it. Cruz’s outstanding 2014 season with the Orioles wasn’t a fluke. It was the new norm, and the Mariners have taken advantage of that decision.

1. 3B Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers

Show of hands: When Turner was riding the Norfolk/Baltimore shuttle as a backup infielder for the Orioles in 2009-2010, how many of you predicted he would someday become one of the best players in baseball?

It’s been an interesting career arc for Turner, to be sure. Nearly 10 years and four organizations after he was dealt to the Orioles from the Cincinnati Reds as a minor leaguer in the Ramon Hernandez trade, Turner is now a star with the Dodgers. Heading into Wednesday night, Turner’s .326 average was tied for second-best in the NL and his .417 OBP ranked third. He also had contributed 19 home runs, 66 RBIs and a .951 OPS in addition to playing solid defense at the hot corner.

According to FanGraphs, Turner has the best WAR (5.1) of any former Oriole in the majors this year, even though he missed about three weeks with a hamstring injury.

WORST

5. C Matt Wieters, Washington Nationals

The Orioles made a difficult call in parting ways with Wieters, their longtime catcher, after the 2016 season. He was a team leader who commanded great respect on the field and in the clubhouse and had a good rapport with Orioles pitchers. Ultimately, the club decided that Wieters’ declining on-field production wasn’t worth the price tag he’d carry — specifically, the one-year, $10.5 million contract (with another $10.5 million player option for 2018) that he signed with the Nationals.

By the numbers, the Orioles’ decision looks like the right one. Wieters has dropped off the table at the plate. He’s batting .230 with nine homers and 50 RBIs this year, and his .637 OPS was the third-worst in the NL among hitters with at least 400 plate appearances.

Do the Nationals regret the contract? Probably not. Wieters has worked well with their pitching staff, and the club is a whopping 72-30 in games he starts. Still, it’s alarming how quickly his offense has cratered.

4. LHP Wei-Yin Chen, Miami Marlins

Miami is a team that tends to be thrifty with its money. So, when the Marlins do shell out a big contract, it had better deliver.

Their free agent deal for Chen hasn’t been quite what the Marlins envisioned when they signed him in January 2016. This season, Chen has appeared in six games (five starts), going 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA, and spent four months on the DL with a partial UCL tear. For that, he’s earned $15.5 million.

Chen holds a player option for the next three seasons for a total of $52 million, which he’s certain to pick up, along with a $16 million vesting option for 2021. The Marlins have gotten very little return on their investment so far.

3. RHP Francisco Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers

The 2017 season brought a hard fall for Rodriguez, a six-time All-Star reliever. He opened the season as the Tigers’ closer, but was pulled from the role after blowing four of his 11 save opportunities. He then blew another two games as a setup man and ended up languishing in mop-up duty, prompting him to bash the Detroit organization in the media.

The Tigers finally had seen enough and jettisoned Rodriguez on June 23 with a 7.82 ERA in 28 games. He signed a minor league deal with the Nationals but couldn’t make their bullpen-starved roster, getting released after five games. Rodriguez’s prolific 16-year career may be at its end.

2. OF Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays

Orioles fans can surely delight that Bautista, who is massively unpopular in Baltimore, is included on a list of the five most disappointing ex-Orioles in 2017.

The 36-year-old Bautista received tepid interest on the free agent market last winter after his so-so 2016, and he returned to the Jays on a one-year pillow deal. Based on his 2017, it looks like the rest of the league was correct to wonder whether Bautista had anything left in the tank. He’s batting .208 with a .693 OPS in 141 games, both of which are the worst marks of his nine full years with Toronto. His 22 homers are a disappointing total for a player who has averaged 32 per season in his career, and his 58 RBIs would be his lowest mark since 2009.

The Blue Jays seem certain to decline Bautista’s $17 mutual option for 2018. He might find it tough sledding again on the free agent market this winter.

1. RHP Yovani Gallardo, Seattle Mariners

It’s no secret that the Orioles’ 2017 rotation is a mess. But that can’t be blamed on the club’s trade of Gallardo (for outfielder Seth Smith) after last season. If anything, the rotation might be in even worse shape if Gallardo were still soaking up starts.

His shift to the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field this year did nothing to slow his decline that started last year with the Orioles. Gallardo is 5-10 with a 5.74 ERA and 1.512 WHIP in 27 games. He managed to start 22 — mainly because the Mariners’ rotation has been racked with injuries — but only five were quality starts.

On second thought, with the Orioles currently giving starts to Jeremy Hellickson (6.54 ERA), Ubaldo Jimenez (6.75) and Chris Tillman (7.82), maybe Gallardo would be an upgrade after all.