Orioles ship Sherrill to Dodgers
The Baltimore Orioles traded George Sherrill(notes) to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday for Double-A third baseman Josh Bell and minor league pitcher Steve Johnson, two baseball sources said.
Sherrill, a left-hander who has 20 saves this season and had 31 in 2008, was acquired by the Orioles from the Seattle Mariners in the deal that sent left-hander Erik Bedard(notes) to the Mariners after the 2007 season. Sherrill will be used by the Dodgers as a setup man for closer Jonathan Broxton(notes).
Bell, who is batting .296 with 11 home runs at Double-A, was a fourth-round pick in the 2005 draft. Johnson is a right-hander who has pitched well at Double-A since getting promoted from Class-A two weeks ago.
It's possible that Sherrill or Broxton could be part of a package that would bring Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay(notes) to the Dodgers, but Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti has said for weeks that shoring up the bullpen was as important as adding a starter.
Numerous teams were in on Sherrill, including Chicago White Sox, who were offering third baseman Josh Fields(notes).
