Wellington

Aracena

Kade Strowd will get top billing because he’s a major leaguer, but Aracena is probably the more important pickup in the Alexander trade. The Orioles got him from the Mets for Gregory Soto over the summer, and he wound up with a 2.25 ERA and a 114/51 K/BB in 92 innings, most of them in Low-A ball, between the two organizations. Aracena can reach triple-digits with his fastball and has a promising slider, as well. He might not be able to hold up as a starting pitcher, but he could turn out to be a closer someday.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes that the Diamondbacks will receive Kade Strowd, Wellington Aracena and Jose Mejia in return for the versatile 26-year-old. Alexander has shown intriguing power potential in his limited big league work, but his paths to a full-time job were blocked in Arizona. They don’t appear to be much better in Baltimore as he’ll likely function in a utility role to open the season. If he does find full-time at-bats though, he could be an intriguing late-round option for fantasy purposes.

With all due respect to Cameron Foster — the other pitcher acquired by the O’s in the trade for Soto — Aracena is the get. He’s a 20-year-old who has touched 101 mph with his fastball, and he has two more strong secondary pitches that have helped him strike out 84 batters across 64 1/3 innings. He’s also walked 35 in that timeframe, so the control/command need a lot of work. As a player who doesn’t turn 21 until December, there’s time for him to figure it out.