Orioles trade Jonathan Schoop to Brewers for a pair of prospects

The Orioles traded Kevin Gausman to the Braves on Tuesday afternoon and they didn’t stop there. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the O’s closed a deal with the Brewers for second baseman Jonathan Schoop. The news of the deal broke after the 4pm deadline to submit paperwork. They took it down to the wire.

The Orioles received two prospects and one other player in this trade. As first reported by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the prospects are right-handed starter Luis Ortiz and shortstop Jean Carmona. In addition, the Orioles are receiving Jonathan Villar, a six-year big league veteran infielder soon to return from the disabled list.

Ortiz was rated as the 7th best prospect in the Brewers farm system in the recent MLB Pipeline prospect rankings, while Carmona rates as the #14 prospect.

Ortiz, 22, was a late first round pick by the Rangers back in 2014. He was previously traded to the Brewers in the Jonathan Lucroy trade two years ago. Ortiz has been pitching in Double-A this season, where he has posted a 3.71 ERA over 16 starts. He’s struck out 65 batters in 68 innings with just 18 walks.

Carmona is just 18 years old, signed two years ago out of the Dominican Republic. The switch-hitter has been playing for Helena in the rookie-level Pioneer League, where he has batted .239/.298/.406 in 39 games. There are things to sound interesting in his scouting report:

Carmona is a switch-hitter who has shown a consistent approach and displayed power from both sides of the plate. Scouts like his strong athletic body and project him to fill out even more as he matures. What’s more, he’s viewed as an above-average runner and has the potential to be a basestealer with proper instruction. ...

Carmona has the arm strength to stay in the middle of the infield and has been praised for his athleticism, instincts and overall defensive tools, although his remaining physical projection does raise some concern that he might ultimately outgrow shortstop. Set to play all of 2018 at age 18, Carmona has all the components needed to become an impactful player at the highest level.

Villar is a career .256/.324/.394 hitter and is probably the answer to the question, “Who the heck is going to play in the infield while the Orioles are rebuilding?”

It has been a wild day with trades that I honestly didn’t expect between the Kevin Gausman/Darren O’Day deal and this one. The Orioles of tomorrow are going to look a whole lot different than the Orioles of a month ago.