Orioles acquire Thyago Vieria and Aneuris Rodriguez in trade with Brewers

Written by:

Justin Sutphin

While Albert Suárez and the Orioles were battling the White Sox on a sunny Saturday afternoon, O’s GM Mike Elias was in the office at work.

Elias made another trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, this one on the smaller side. In exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Garrett Stallings, the Orioles have received two right-handers, 19-year-old Aneuris Rodriguez and 31-year-old Thyago Vieira.

Rodriguez has pitched in rookie ball for the Brewers since 2022, when he was very young, at just 17. In 24 games in the lowest level of the minors, Rodriguez has pitched to a 3.67 ERA in 83.1 innings. Strikeouts are a strong point for him, with 95 total in those 24 games.

What seems to be the main point of this trade is Vieira, who was designated for assignment by the Brewers, so Elias and Co. must have seen something that warranted giving up Stallings as opposed to letting Vieira get picked up by someone else.

Vieira has shown nothing in his time in the majors on the stats sheet. He has a career 6.18 ERA and a career 5.65 WHIP.

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However, a deeper look into his arsenal may show what Elias sees. As a potential big league bullpen piece, Vieira is a high velocity guy with a sinker that averages 98 mph. He has thrown that pitch over 50% of the time this year paired with a high velocity slider.

With an arsenal that does feature a four-seamer as well and potentially a changeup, a pitch Vieira has thrown just once this year, the O’s pitching coaches may have a project on their hands.

The Orioles acquired Stallings from the Los Angeles Angels in December 2020 for José Iglesias. He registered a 5.67 ERA and 1.630 WHIP this season in 11 appearances with Triple-A Norfolk, including four starts.

Once Vieria, who is out of options, reports to Chicago, the O’s 40-man roster will be full. Rodriguez will report to the FCL Orioles.

We wish Stallings the best of luck in his career and welcome Vieira and Rodriguez to Birdland.

What do you think of this trade? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!

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