Orioles left-hander Richard Bleier sat in the bullpen during Friday’s 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t one of the five men called on to help protect his team’s lead.
After the game, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias told him why: He was traded to the Miami Marlins for a player to be named later.
“Definitely surprised,” Bleier said. “Extremely thankful for Baltimore, the organization and everything they’ve done for the last few years for me. They gave me an extended opportunity in the big leagues and really gave me another opportunity coming off a down year to kind of get back to the status I was at before.