UPDATE (Feb. 19, 3:05 p.m. PT): The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced their trade of Vidal Nuño, sending the left-hander to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Ryan Moseley.
Last November the Los Angeles Dodgers traded backup catcher Carlos Ruiz to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for relief pitcher Vidal Nuño. The move came as somewhat of a surprise given Ruiz was under team control through 2017, and the Dodgers already had multiple left-handed relievers on their roster.
Nuño nonetheless presented Los Angeles with some versatility as he could be used out of the bullpen in multiple roles, and has Minor League options remaining. He was among the players the Dodgers avoided salary arbitration with, as Nuño agreed to a one-year, $1.125 million contract in January.
However, his tenure with the organization may soon come to an end, as the Dodgers reportedly are on the verge of trading Nuño to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Ryan Moseley, according to The Baltimore Sun:
The Orioles were closing in on a trade Sunday to add another piece to their pitching depth on Sunday, acquiring left-handed reliever Vidal Nuno from the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to an industry source.
Trading Nuño would open a spot on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster for the expected signing of Franklin Gutierrez. The veteran outfielder reported to Camelback Ranch on Sunday, though his one-year contract has not yet been made official.
Los Angeles previously placed Yimi Garcia on the 60-day disabled list to pave the way for Sergio Romo’s signing, and released and sold Darin Ruf’s contract to the Samsung Lions of the KBO to finalize Chase Utley’s deal.
Over the past two seasons with the Mariners, Nuno was a combined 2-5 with a 3.85 ERA, 4.67 FIP and 1.31 WHIP in 87 games (11 starts). In 2016, he allowed a career-worst 10.3 hits per nine innings, but posted a career-high 4.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Moseley was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 36th round of the 2013 Draft out of high school. He elected to attend Texas Tech University, and was later selected by the Orioles in the eighth round of the 2016 Draft.
The right-hander appeared in 12 games with Low-A Aberdeen, going 0-1 with a 3.20 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 19.2 innings.
