Mets Trade Omar Quintanilla To Orioles For Cash

The Mets have traded shortstop Omar Quintanilla to the Baltimore Orioles for cash. Quintanilla spent a couple months on the Mets' active roster and accrued most of his 80 plate appearances while fellow shortstops Ruben Tejada and Ronny Cedeno were on the disabled list. In that time, he hit .257/.350/.371, which was a significant improvement upon his previous performance in big leagues. For the most part, Quintanilla played good defense at short, too.

Quintanilla was designated for assignment three days ago to make room for Jason Bay on the 25-man roster. As a result, the Mets were able to explore their options on the trade market and found a match with the Orioles. While the team is not getting a player in return, it at least makes sense that they played a part in choosing his next destination rather than letting him hit the waiver wire and go to a team like the Atlanta Braves, who very well may have claimed Quintanilla because of their general lack of a proficient shortstop.