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Orioles, Nationals make unique history in trade involving right-handed pitcher originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals quietly made baseball history on Wednesday night.
At first, the minor trade between the two clubs seemed insignificant.
Right-hander Kyle Nicolas was sent to the Nationals in exchange for minor league infielder Randal Diaz.
But there's more than meets the eye with this agreement.
"It’s the first trade between the two teams since the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington in 2005," Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors wrote.
The two clubs have played 110 games in the history of "The Battle of the Beltway" rivalry. The Orioles lead the all-time series 60-50.
"While it’s certainly not a blockbuster, it does mark a symbolic moment in the history of the two franchises. They’ve had animosity dating back to the relocation," Franco added.
"They battled for the better part of two decades over rights fees related to their awkward broadcast setup on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network — an arrangement that finally ended in January when the Nats cut ties with MASN and turned their in-market broadcasts to the league."
In terms of the players involved in the trade, Nicolas has parts of four seasons of Major League experience with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.
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In three minor league appearances at Triple-A Norfolk with the Orioles, he allowed three earned runs in 4.1 innings.
Nicolas has thrown 105.1 MLB innings, posting a 4.96 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate and 13.8% walk rate.
After the trade, the Nationals optioned him to Triple-A Rochester.
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