Wow, what a trade deadline! Not for the reasons you may think, as there were no big blockbusters, but the flurry of moves at the end was just a whirlwind that resulted in quite a haul. Even now, many of those pieces still don’t feel like they fit perfectly.
Before we get to the deadline, we need to discuss some topics I have seen on Twitter/X today:
- Yes, the Orioles got better today.
- Yes, they had to overpay to get a controllable starter. Welcome to the deadline, ladies and gentlemen. This year’s prices were extremely high; if you wanted someone with control, you had to give up something big. So, do you hold onto another year with these old prospects or trade them now for whatever you can get? They weren’t getting a controllable starter that could start over Grayson Rodriguez in October without giving up one of the big three today; that’s how it is.
- No, I don’t know where all these pieces fit in with the Orioles. This roster is in flux right now, so how Mike Elias and Brandon Hyde plan to use these players is something we’ll find out together.
The deadline was so much this year that I decided to break the trades into categories: minor league depth, major league depth, the Philly trades, and “impactful” moves.
Let’s get into it:
Minor League Depth
Orioles traded OF Billy Cook to Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Patrick Reilly
I got nothing for this one. Cook had no spot here, and Reilly has good stuff. This is a trade that goes beyond my evaluations, but if someone in the Warehouse likes Reilly, cool.
Cincinnati Reds traded LF Austin Slater, SS Livan Soto, and cash to Baltimore Orioles for Player To Be Named Later
Some will argue that this trade belongs in the other tier, but I personally believe they will try to send Slater through waivers and have him land in Norfolk, and Soto has an option left. Maybe I am wrong, but I can’t see these guys playing meaningful innings this year.
Major League Depth
White Sox Trade Eloy Jimenez to Baltimore for Cash Considerations and Trey McGough:
Is it weird that the best part of this move, in my opinion, is that the Orioles took on money? At this point, Jimenez is a good bat against lefties (though has reverse splits in his career), who can’t play defense. Could this mean that we will see less of James McCann against lefties? Is Eloy a pinch hitter only this year? These are the questions that have yet to be answered. McGough was a Rule V pick in the minor league portion. He was having an OK year but was Rule V eligible again, so sending him out makes sense.
Philly Trades
Baltimore Orioles traded RF Austin Hays to the Philadelphia Phillies for RHP Seranthony DomÃnguez and CF Cristian Pache
We finally get to the first real move. Hays, simply put, had no place on this roster. His offensive profile, where he seemed to pre-determine when he would swing before the at-bat, never fit, and his constant injuries prevented him from being a full-time, impactful player. So the Orioles traded him away for guys who could contribute. Dominguez has honestly impressed me. He can be wild, but he has been just fine so far. I wonder why the Phillies gave up on him. Perhaps he needed a change of scenery. Pache is a throw-in. He can field, but he can’t hit, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t here long.
Philadelphia Phillies traded LHP Gregory Soto to the Baltimore Orioles for RHP Seth Johnson and RHP Moisés Chace
Copy and paste everything said about Dominguez, flip him to the left-handed side, and you have Soto. He throws hard, can be inconsistent, and hasn’t been that bad over an extended stretch of time. Outside of two games, he has been good this season. Again, this is a high-risk, high-reward type of player. Soto did cost Seth Johnson and Chace. Johnson was once a prized get by the Orioles for Trey Mancini. The Tommy John surgery he got before he came here has diminished his overall ability, and he wasn’t going deep into games. Chace hurts a bit more, as he had been pitching well, but the O’s had to give up something to get something.
Impactful Moves
Tampa Bay Rays traded RHP Zach Eflin to Baltimore Orioles for RHP Jackson Baumeister, OF Matthew Etzel, and OF Mac Horvath.
Thank goodness for this trade. With the price of pitching going up more than groceries over the past few days, Elias did something innovative and jumped into the market early. It might have cost Heston Kjerstad and Cade Povich if he had waited until today for this move. Eflin is such a solid pitcher. He immediately becomes a high-upside number three for this team, and is under control through 2025. I want to be careful because the Rays are great at developing pitching prospects, but it seems they sold low on Eflin.
I liked the guys the O’s sent, but nothing stands out about them. Etzel and Baumeister both have a chance to be good, but they are older prospects, and Horvath is an athlete who doesn’t really have a position. This is easily the best move Elias made, for my money.
Miami Marlins trade LHP Trevor Rogers for Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers
You would have thought Elias had burned down the Warehouse when this trade was announced. Rogers is a solid pitcher; there, I said it. Other than a rough May, he has good numbers this year and isn’t a free agent until 2027. The price was high, but so was every other trade today. Norby and Stowers probably don’t have as much value as the media and some fans seem to think. Norby is a second baseman with below-average defense who can hit but has limited upside. Stowers honestly might have just been a throw-in here. He has power and okay defense, but will he ever get his strikeouts and whiffs under control?
Was it a little bit much? Yes, but there weren’t much better options on the table for the Orioles.
Another point is that other teams around the Orioles in the AL barely did anything. The Yankees really only got Jazz Chisolm, who is certainly an upgrade, but they needed more in that lineup. Nobody made a big splash today, probably because there wasn’t one to be had. None of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects were moved.
I truly think the asking prices for some of these players were way too steep, and this is the deadline we get. Baseball adding another Wild Card and making every team think they have a chance doesn’t help, either.
It wasn’t what we wanted, but I think Elias & Co. made the best possible lemonade from lemons available.
