FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Orioles are in the process of finalizing a deal that would net them Bud Norris from Houston in return for outfielder L.J. Hoes and a second player. The Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly says the second player is left-hander Josh Hader. The Astros will also get a competitive balance pick from the Orioles that should come in around 40th overall in next year’s draft.
Rosenthal says the Orioles beat out the Diamondbacks for Norris’s services.
Norris figures to bump Jason Hammel from a Baltimore rotation that also includes Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen and Scott Feldman. Norris is 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA and a 90/43 K/BB ratio in 126 innings for the Astros this season. He’s making $3 million this year in his first year of arbitration and he’s under control through 2016.
Hoes, 23, was just called up by the Orioles this week after hitting .304/.406/.403 with three homers and seven steals in 365 at-bats for Triple-A Norfolk. The former second baseman doesn’t have the power one wants from a corner outfielder, but he might be a useful part-timer with his on-base skills. The Astros could stick him right on the major league roster after sending Justin Maxwell to Kansas City earlier this afternoon.
Hader, 19, was 3-6 with a 2.65 ERA and a 79/42 K/BB ratio in 85 innings for low Single-A Delmarva this season. He was a 19th-round pick last year, and MLB.com rated him as the Orioles’ No. 5 prospect at midseason.
