Padres, Orioles trade rumors: Edinson Volquez, Anthony Bass, Jake Arrieta

The two teams may be willing to trade flailing starting pitchers in hopes a change of scenery helps.

Jun 23, 2013, 5:57 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles could swap pitchers in the near future as both teams seem to be eyeing up the others' starting rotation, according to U-T San Diego.

The Orioles are rumored to have interest in Padres' starter Edinson Volquez. Volquez, a free agent at the end of the season, has a 5.67 ERA and 1.603 WHIP over 16 starts this season. Volquez has always had dynamic stuff, but a lack of control has kept him from achieving the same success as he had when he was an All-Star in 2008 with the Cincinnati Reds.

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The Padres recently placed starting pitcher Clayton Richard on the disabled list with a strained A.C. joint in his shoulder. That could make San Diego Hesitant to trade Volquez.

The Orioles are also looking at Anthony Bass, as well. Bass also has excellent tools, but has struggled the past two seasons split between the majors and Triple-A Tucson. He has made 19 appearances for the Padres this season, all in relief. Bass has added appeal due to him being under team control through 2017.

Baltimore could part ways with former top prospect Jake Arrieta, who has a career 5.46 ERA over parts of four major league seasons. Like Bass and Volquez, Arrieta is another player with great stuff who has struggled to put it together in the majors.

Were the two teams to make a trade, this type of deal would hinge on the hope that a change of scenery would help rejuvenate the players’ careers. The three pitchers each have plenty of talent, but have stagnated in recent years.

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Neither team has found much pitching success this season. The Orioles and Padres’ rotations have the 4th and 5th highest ERA’s in the major leagues, respectively. Both sides may be looking for any deal that could jumpstart their rotations, especially with both being within 3.5 games from the lead of their respective divisions.