Baltimore (47-58) has gone 4-6 to open the second half and is now 8 1/2 games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League. As a result, the front office’s fire sale has begun, as general manager Mike Elias has already traded relievers Bryan Baker and Gregory Soto.
Ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, here’s the Orioles reset:
What was good?
Trading Tomoyuki Sugano makes a ton of sense. Whether a contending team wants him is the question.
Sugano was the Orioles’ best starting pitcher through his first 12 starts of his MLB career with a 3.04 ERA. But his ERA rose after each of his next seven starts as MLB hitters began to adjust to the 35-year-old’s pitch-to-contact repertoire. His 7.88 ERA severely diminished his trade value and potentially removed it entirely, especially considering the underlying metrics tell a concerning story for a pitcher who struggles to generate swings and misses.
However, Sugano’s outing Sunday against the Colorado Rockies was one of the best of his big league career, striking out an MLB-career-high eight batters across six innings of one-run ball while displaying a firmer-than-usual 94.5 mph fastball. He’s tossed a quality start in two of his past three outings after he also did so July 10 against the New York Mets.
“I’ve experienced good times and bad times, especially the past month,” Sugano said after Sunday’s win through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “June, I went through some struggles, but I can overcome that moving forward.”
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said Sugano has spent the past few weeks working with Baltimore’s pitching coaches on adjustments that helped unlock some extra velocity and keep hitters off-balance. Does Mansolino think Sugano should be an attractive target for contending teams at the deadline?
“If they watch the last three starts, yeah, I’d take that,” Mansolino said. “I felt pretty good about it. If you watched that Mets start, I’d take him. In a heartbeat.”
Sugano is one of the most decorated pitchers in Japan history, but he wanted a new challenge and came over to MLB this offseason on a one-year, $13 million deal with the Orioles. Mansolino said Sugano has assimilated to a new country, a new league and a new clubhouse “very gracefully.”
“Players love him,” Mansolino said. “He is so well-liked in that room. The players mess around with him, he messes around with his teammates.”
What clubhouse will he be joking around in a week from now?
What wasn’t?
When Félix Bautista took the mound July 20 in Tampa, Florida, it was clear immediately that something was off.
The 6-foot-8 closer hasn’t fully regained the triple-digit velocity he consistently flashed before his elbow injury, but he’s been throwing high 90s mph for most of the past two months. But when he entered for the save versus the Rays, he was initially throwing 94 mph — a concerning number for someone who was averaging about 98 mph.
Bautista hasn’t pitched since. As he began to warm up Wednesday in Cleveland, Mansolino said the right-hander reported that “something didn’t feel right.” He was placed on the injured list the next day with shoulder discomfort, and the team has yet to provide additional details. This could be simply a minor injury and Bautista will be back shortly. But until that’s known, the concern level will always be high for a pitcher as important as Bautista.
What’s next?
The best team in baseball is coming to town.
Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays have the best record in baseball. The red-hot Blue Jays (63-43) have won eight of their past 10 and 18 of their past 23 to decidedly move atop the AL East standings.
The O’s and Jays will play four games in three days with a doubleheader Tuesday because of a rainout in April. Zach Eflin will start Monday and Charlie Morton will take the ball for one of the games Tuesday in what could be both starters’ final outing in an Orioles uniform with the deadline looming.
On the farm
Samuel Basallo missed six games because of a minor oblique injury, but he proved he’s plenty healthy when he returned to the field Friday for Triple-A Norfolk.
Basallo went 5-for-5 on Friday with a homer and then hit a 107.8 mph single off the right field wall Sunday. The 20-year-old top prospect is hitting .280 with an impressive 1.009 OPS in Triple-A this season.
Mansolino said Saturday that the Orioles’ front office has a “plan in place” for the rest of Basallo’s campaign, which could include a promotion later this year. Only a select few in the organization are privy to those details, but the slugger’s performance is making it more difficult to envision this season ending without Basallo in the show.
Extra innings
• Coby Mayo has spent most of July on the bench, starting only three of the Orioles’ first 15 games of the month. During that time, the top prospect has been working on his swing and making changes, Mansolino said. It appears Mayo has narrowed his batting stance, remaining taller throughout his swing. Other changes include slightly opening his stance and lowering his back elbow. He’s started four of the past six games, going 4-for-10 with two doubles, a home run, four walks and zero strikeouts. “He’s making a real adjustment,” Mansolino said. “When you see guys make changes … it gives the coaching room a lot of excitement and a lot of belief.”
As Coby Mayo has spent most of July on the bench, he's been working on his swing & making changes.
It appears Mayo has narrowed his stance, remaining taller throughout his swing. He's also slightly opened his stance & lowered his back elbow.
Left is from May 31. Right is today. pic.twitter.com/GI0Rwy8xWx
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) July 27, 2025
• After Gunnar Henderson made two web-gem defensive plays Sunday, his skipper praised the shortstop’s improvements defensively — no matter what the metrics say. Last year, Henderson made an AL-worst 25 errors, but advanced metrics defensive runs saved (5) and outs above average (0) were more favorable. This year, Henderson has drastically cut down on the errors, making only seven in 91 games, but his DRS and OAA (entering Sunday) are both at minus-4. “There’s no way anybody in the room thinks he played a better shortstop last year than he did this year,” Mansolino said. “Man, you’ve got to watch the game, too. … This is one of the better versions of Gunnar we’ve ever seen at shortstop.”
• The deadline for MLB teams to sign their draft picks is Monday at 5 p.m. The Orioles have signed 20 of their 24 draftees, including all of their picks in the first 10 rounds. Junior college right-handers Daniel Lopez (12th round) and Brayan Orrantia (14th round), high school outfielder William Johnson (18th round) and JUCO shortstop Jimmy Anderson (19th round) have yet to sign.
• With Adley Rutschman and Keegan Akin expected to rejoin the Orioles on Monday, Ryan Mountcastle and Cade Povich might not be far behind. Mountcastle is crushing the ball on his minor league rehabilitation assignment, going 6-for-12 with four extra-base hits in three games last week for Norfolk. Povich, who tossed five innings of two-run ball Thursday, will start again for the Tides early this week, but the left-hander could be a top candidate to rejoin the rotation after the deadline.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
]]>For a team expected to be a contender this season, much of the focus has been on which players the Orioles will be selling at the deadline. But with the Orioles already initiating two trades earlier this month (Bryan Baker and Gregory Soto), there’s even more focus on what types of prospects Baltimore could receive.
That’s difficult to determine, but recent history could provide some insight into what the Orioles should expect in return for their top trade chips. They have six players on expiring contracts who are most likely to be traded. While it’s almost impossible to find exact one-for-one comparisons, there are players with similar profiles or production levels that have been dealt at the deadline in recent years.
Here’s a look at trade comparisons since 2021 for each of those six Orioles players who could be dealt before Thursday’s 6 p.m. deadline:
(Editor’s note: The following players were all sold while playing on expiring contracts, meaning they were set to become free agents in the upcoming offseason. All rankings are by MLB Pipeline.)
Ryan O’Hearn
2021: Royals trade OF Jorge Soler to Braves for RHP Kasey Kalich (No. 21 prospect)
Soler, who led the American League with 48 homers in 2019, struggled to begin the 2021 campaign but got hot in July, just in time to be traded. Kalich was in High-A at the time and is no longer in professional baseball.
2021: Nationals trade OF Kyle Schwarber to Red Sox for RHP Aldo Ramirez (No. 19)
Schwarber hit a whopping 16 home runs in June and had a .910 OPS in the first half — higher than O’Hearn’s .824 OPS — though Schwarber was on the injured list with a minor injury when he was traded. Ramirez, who was in Low-A when he was traded, is now pitching in Mexico.
2022: Yankees trade OF Joey Gallo to Dodgers for RHP Clayton Beeter (No. 15)
After a career year in 2021, Gallo’s first half with the Yankees in 2022 was disastrous. The Bronx Bombers cut bait on Gallo and received Beeter, a 23-year-old in Double-A. Beeter made his MLB debut in 2024 but is no longer ranked inside New York’s top 30 prospects list.
2022: Orioles trade 1B Trey Mancini in three-team deal with Rays and Astros for RHPs Seth Johnson (No. 6) and Chayce McDermott (No. 12)
Baltimore fans need little refresher on this trade. Mancini was an integral part of the rebuild-era Orioles, but he was controversially traded away at the 2022 deadline despite Baltimore being in playoff contention. Mancini struggled for the Astros down the stretch (but won a World Series), while Johnson (now with the Phillies) and McDermott (now the Orioles’ No. 10 prospect) appear to have questionable futures as relievers.
2023: Guardians trade 1B Josh Bell to Marlins for INF Kahlil Watson (No. 11)
Bell was a good player for years and a Silver Slugger the year before, but he posted just a .701 OPS for Cleveland in 2023. Watson, a former first-round pick, was in High-A at the time of the trade and is now in Triple-A at 22 years old.
2023: Nationals trade 1B/3B Jeimer Candelario to Cubs for INF Kevin Made (No. 14) and RHP DJ Herz (No. 16)
Candelario bounced back from a down 2022 season and posted an .823 OPS, similar to O’Hearn’s mark this season. Made has risen only one level in the two years since this trade, while Herz made his MLB debut in 2024 but is injured this season.
Takeaway: O’Hearn, the Orioles’ lone All-Star this season, will likely net the largest return of any player they trade at the deadline. While he’s slumped at the plate recently, his overall numbers, his consistent performance since 2023 and the recent history of trades for good-but-not-great sluggers all seem to point toward the Orioles receiving at least one, maybe two, prospects inside a contender’s top 30 list.
Zach Eflin
2023: Cardinals trade RHP Jack Flaherty to Orioles for INF César Prieto (No. 16), LHP Drew Rom (No. 18) and RHP Zack Showalter (not ranked)
Orioles fans also won’t need any reminders about this one — Mike Elias’ first deadline splash, and one that backfired. Flaherty struggled mightily with the Orioles and was moved to the bullpen after his solid first half with the Cardinals. Flaherty’s history presented intriguing upside for the Orioles, while Eflin, despite his poor numbers this season, also has history as a reliable starter on his side. Two years later, Prieto is still in Triple-A, Rom is injured and Showalter is a High-A reliever with command issues.
2024: Blue Jays trade RHP Yusei Kikuchi to Astros for RHP Jake Bloss (No. 9), Will Wagner (No. 13) and Joey Loperfido (NR)
Kikuchi posted a 4.75 ERA with the Blue Jays — not far off Eflin’s injury-impacted 5.78 ERA — and was coming off two successful seasons similar to Eflin’s 2023 and 2024 campaigns. However, Kikuchi was due for positive regression and was displaying better stuff than Eflin has for much of this season. Still, the Blue Jays received three MLB-ready prospects.
Takeaway: Eflin’s solid start Wednesday in his return from the IL was critical, and so will his outing Monday against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. If he can deliver another Eflin-esque performance, it might give a contender confidence to pay the required price to acquire the veteran right-hander. But if no team is willing to give Baltimore multiple top 30 prospects, it’s possible the front office elects to keep Eflin and ponder whether to extend him the qualifying offer, which he could accept to remain an Oriole in 2026 or decline and likely earn the organization an extra draft pick.
Cedric Mullins
N/A
Takeaway: There are no good comparisons for Mullins, at least not since 2021. It’s rare for center fielders to get traded at the deadline since most teams put a premium on the position. Corner outfielders, especially ones in platoons, are much more likely to be dealt. Kevin Kiermaier was traded from the Blue Jays to the Dodgers last year, but the elite defender had posted a paltry .546 OPS for Toronto. An everyday corner outfielder like Andrew Benintendi was traded from the Royals to the Yankees in 2022, earning Kansas City three pitching prospects, two of whom were ranked inside New York’s top 30. But Benintendi was an All-Star that season, while Mullins has slumped since his scorching-hot April and is no longer the defender he was a few years ago. Guessing what the return for Mullins will be is difficult given there are no comps. A player who was worth 15.6 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference’s estimation from 2021 through 2024 is someone who should garner a large return. A center fielder with a .701 OPS this season might only net a low-level prospect. Perhaps the return for Mullins will fall somewhere in between those two.
Charlie Morton
2021: Nationals trade LHP Jon Lester to Cardinals for OF Lane Thomas
In the last season of Lester’s illustrious career, he posted a 5.02 ERA — similar to Morton’s 5.48 mark this year — but was still valued at the deadline because of his track record. Thomas struggled early in his MLB career, but he was a valuable player for the Nationals for four years.
2021: Rays trade LHP Rich Hill to Mets for RHP Tommy Hunter and C Matt Dyer (NR)
At 41 years old (the same age as Morton this year), Hill pitched to a 3.87 ERA with the Rays. Hunter, a former Oriole, was injured at the time of the trade, while Dyer was 23 years old in Low-A. Dyer never made it to the major leagues.
Takeaway: Neither of these comparisons is great for Morton considering how well he’s pitched since mid-May. Morton was awful through the first six weeks of this season, but he’s pitched to a 3.81 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate over his past 10 starts. The question for contending teams is how fearful they are of his age and his start of the season and whether they pay more because of Morton’s superb postseason resume. Morton is likely worth a player or prospect of moderate value, but it’s unlikely the Orioles receive a haul.
Tomoyuki Sugano
2021: Angels trade LHP Andrew Heaney to the Yankees for RHP Janson Junk (No. 27) and Elvis Peguero (NR)
Heaney, like Sugano could be, was seen as rotation depth for contending teams, not as a way to improve a starting corps. Heaney posted a 5.27 ERA with the Angels but struck out far more batters (28.2%) than Sugano has this year (15.2%). Junk and Peguero both debuted for the Angels in 2021 but are now with different organizations.
2021: Pirates trade LHP Tyler Anderson to Mariners for C Carter Bins (NR) and RHP Joaquin Tejada (NR)
Anderson pitched to a 4.35 ERA with the Pirates and was traded for two fliers who’ve yet to reach the majors.
2024: Pirates trade LHP Martín Pérez to Padres for RHP Ronaldys Jiménez (NR)
Pérez, a veteran with a 5.20 ERA, only netted Pittsburgh an 18-year-old in rookie ball.
Takeaway: It’s difficult to imagine a team offering anything other than a low-level prospect for Sugano. The 35-year-old’s ERA has fallen to 4.38 after a hot start, and the underlying metrics look even worse because of his difficulties generating swing and miss. Perhaps the only way to get a better prospect would be to pay for some of the remaining approximately $4 million on Sugano’s contract. Or the Orioles could just look to offload Sugano in hopes of using that money elsewhere in the future.
Seranthony Domínguez
2021: Cubs trade RHP Ryan Tepera to White Sox for LHP Bailey Horn (No. 23)
Tepera was in the midst of a career year with a 2.91 ERA for the Cubs when they dealt him across town for a High-A pitching prospect.
2021: Rockies trade RHP Mychal Givens to Reds for RHP Case Williams (No. 20) and RHP Noah Davis (No. 26)
Givens, a former Oriole, was a frequent trade chip at the deadline. After posting a 2.73 ERA with Colorado, he was traded for a pair of pitching prospects. Davis has struggled during his brief time in the majors, while Williams, who was 19 at the time of the trade, is no longer in professional baseball.
2024: Mariners trade RHP Ryne Stanek to Mets for OF Rhylan Thomas (No. 30)
Stanek was Seattle’s setup man in 2024, posting a 4.38 ERA and saving seven games before his trade to the Mets. Thomas made his MLB debut with the Mariners this season and is hitting .308 in Triple-A.
Takeaway: Domínguez might be one of the more underrated players the Orioles are shopping at the deadline. His 3.24 ERA and 1.34 WHIP might suggest he’s a middle reliever, but since increasing his splitter usage, Domínguez has been one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the AL. Platoon-neutral relievers like Domínguez have transformed into often net significant value at the deadline. Last week, the Orioles traded Soto to the Mets for two pitching prospects, one of whom was ranked as New York’s No. 19 prospect. A similar (or better) return for Domínguez seems likely.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
]]>The start of the Orioles’ game against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon has been delayed because of potential rain at Camden Yards. The delay marks the third straight Sunday on which the Orioles’ game has been hindered by rain.
The game, originally scheduled for 1:35 p.m., will only be delayed until 2 p.m., the Orioles announced shortly after the grounds crew put the tarp on the field. Weather forecasts show the potential for pockets of rain in Baltimore throughout the afternoon and evening.
With only a few days before Thursday’s trade deadline, the Orioles (46-58) are hosting the MLB-worst Rockies (27-77) at Camden Yards this weekend. The Rockies came back from down 4-0 to win the series opener Friday, while the Orioles won a laugher Saturday, 18-0, for the largest shutout victory in franchise history.
Baltimore has already begun selling off players on expiring contracts, and that’s expected to continue through Thursday. Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and Charlie Morton are among the players most expected to be traded.
Tomoyuki Sugano is another Orioles trade piece, but he’s struggled recently after an excellent start to his rookie campaign. Sugano starts Sunday opposite Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber. Lefty hitters Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser and Ryan O’Hearn were all given days off against Gomber.
Here are Sunday’s lineups:
Orioles
- Jordan Westburg, 2B
- Ramón Laureano, RF
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Tyler O’Neill, DH
- Ramón Urías, 3B
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- Coby Mayo, 1B
- Dylan Carlson, LF
- Alex Jackson, C
Rockies
- Tyler Freeman, RF
- Mickey Moniak, CF
- Ezequiel Tovar, SS
- Jordan Beck, LF
- Thairo Estrada, 2B
- Yanquiel Fernández, DH
- Warming Bernabel, 1B
- Austin Nola, C
- Orlando Arcia, 3B
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
]]>Basallo on Friday went 5-for-5 with a home run for the Norfolk Tides — just the rising star’s latest impressive performance. The 20-year-old catcher is hitting .282 with a whopping 1.020 OPS this season with 20 homers in 63 games.
His .918 career OPS in Triple-A (which includes the 21 games he played there at the end of last season) is higher than the career marks of the other elite prospects in the Mike Elias era. Basallo, the top catching prospect in MLB, is hitting better in Norfolk than Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo did when they were there.
So, when will Baltimore promote him to the major leagues?
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said Saturday before the ballclub’s game against the Colorado Rockies that the organization has a “plan in place” for what the rest of Basallo’s season could look like.
“You guys don’t know what it is, we’re not going to tell you,” Mansolino quipped. “But there’s definitely a plan in place. Mike [Elias] is thinking about him every day. Our front office is really smart. There’s a lot that goes into those decisions.”
The Orioles (45-58) have spent the past month with near-historic catching injuries. At one point, they had four backstops on the injured list, including starter Adley Rutschman (oblique) and backups Gary Sánchez (knee) and Maverick Handley (wrist). Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson both joined the organization in the past five weeks and have since formed Baltimore’s catching duo.
Last month, Mansolino said that, in his mind, superstar prospects such as Basallo should not be promoted because there’s a need, but rather once the organization deems they’re ready in all aspects.
“I don’t think you take a guy like Sammy Basallo and you bring him to the big leagues just because there’s a need,” Mansolino said in late June. “I think you bring a Sammy Basallo to the big leagues when he’s destroyed Triple-A in all facets of the game — his at-bats, his defense, his everything. So when he destroys Triple-A and he knocks the door down, to me, then he becomes part of the conversation. I don’t personally think you bring a guy to the big leagues with that type of profile until that happens.”
Since those comments, Basallo has hit .327 with a 1.178 OPS in 17 games with more walks (12) than strikeouts (10). Those numbers and his overall stat line on the season suggest that Basallo, despite being 6 1/2 years younger than the average Triple-A player, is too advanced a hitter for the level.
“We talked earlier in the year about knocking the door down, and it feels like he’s starting to do that in a lot of ways,” Mansolino said.
While Basallo’s offense is clearly ready for the next step, it’s his defense that remains an unanswered question. The Dominican Republic native has spent only 213 innings behind the plate this season while splitting his time between catcher and first base.
“What you’re not seeing is the catching. There’s no catching in the box score, so that’s still a really important piece for us,” Mansolino said. “We’ve got to have catchers that are great catchers. They affect 13 other guys, they affect the defense, they affect the whole team every night. His development right now is probably mostly coming on the catching side. The bat’s probably ahead of that.”
Mansolino said reports from Norfolk manager Tim Federowicz and his coaching staff show improvement in Basallo’s defense and his ability to manage a pitching staff — the latter part perhaps more important for his development than his framing or blocking.
“All reports are that the catching is massively going up,” Mansolino said. “Federowicz down there in Triple-A, he’s doing a great job with him. … He’s teaching Sammy a lot. Mike has a plan in place. We’ll figure that out here as we go, and we’re really excited about him.”
It’s also important to remember that Basallo is only 20 years old. While Mansolino said that he can’t comment on the youngster’s “mental game,” the skipper did note that it’s important for a young prospect to be ready for the challenges of being a big leaguer.
“In general, yeah, it’s huge for every prospect, not just Sammy,” Mansolino said. “Watching what Jackson Holliday went through last year is a great example. If Jackson is not Jackson Holliday and doesn’t have the stability he has at home with his dad and being raised in a major league clubhouse, with how Jackson was treated through the media and through everywhere else last year and how he was handled, he would not be where he’s at today. Jackson’s one of the unusual ones where things like that didn’t faze him.
“For most players to be kind of brought up into the big leagues and go through the ringer, you’ve got to be very careful. They’ve got to be ready. Sammy might already be there. I just don’t know him that well.”
Since 2022, the Orioles have promoted nine top prospects — ranked on at least one top 100 list in their minor league career — whom Elias drafted. Those players averaged 92 games, 414 plate appearances and a .903 OPS in Triple-A before their promotion to the majors. Basallo has played 84 games with 344 plate appearances and a .918 OPS.
Five of those prospects were promoted with fewer Triple-A plate appearances than Basallo: Rutschman (2022), Henderson (2022), Joey Ortiz (2023), Kjerstad (2023) and Jackson Holliday (2024). Some prospects — such as Westburg (2023) and Mayo (2024) — played a full season’s worth of games in Norfolk before they got the call.
However, it can’t be ignored that there are potential organizational benefits to keeping Basallo in the minors longer. Notably, if Basallo isn’t promoted until late August or September (like Henderson in 2022), he would likely remain rookie eligible in 2026 and have the chance to earn the Orioles an extra draft pick if he wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award next season.
The trade deadline could present an opportunity for the Orioles to promote Basallo. If the club trades left-handed-hitting first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, it could open a spot for Basallo to split time at first base, designated hitter and catcher.
Whether that’s part of Elias’ “plan” remains to be seen.
Around the horn
• The Orioles on Saturday optioned Jeremiah Jackson to Triple-A Norfolk one day after promoting the shortstop to the big leagues for the first time in his career. Baltimore recalled reliever Yaramil Hiraldo to give it a full eight-man bullpen. Hiraldo, a righty who made his MLB debut with the Orioles earlier this season, has a 4.19 ERA with a 32.9% strikeout rate in the minors this season.
• Mansolino said that left-hander Keegan Akin (shoulder) will likely rejoin the Orioles on Monday after his minor league rehabilitation appearance Saturday for Norfolk. Baltimore’s bullpen only has one left-hander after the Gregory Soto trade Friday.
• The Orioles are promoting pitching prospect Esteban Mejia to Low-A Delmarva, a source with direct knowledge of the move confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. Mejia has skyrocketed up Baltimore’s prospect ranks in recent months after Baseball America put the 18-year-old flamethrower as the No. 82 prospect in MLB.
Baltimore Sun reporter Matt Weyrich contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
]]>The trade is the Orioles’ second this month after they sent reliever Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 10. Many more players will likely be traded ahead of Thursday’s 6 p.m. deadline.
Here are five takeaways from the Soto trade:
A pitching prospect like Aracena is a valuable return for two months of Soto
No one knows what Aracena, the key piece of this trade for Baltimore, will turn into. He’s 20 years old and in Low-A. All he is now is a prospect, and it’s not common to receive one of his caliber for a pitcher like Soto.
Since 2021, eight good-but-not-great lefty relievers on expiring contracts have been traded at the deadline. Only three of those trades netted the selling team a prospect inside the buying club’s top 20 prospects list, according to MLB Pipeline. Aracena was the Mets’ No. 19 prospect.
Elite relievers — like Josh Hader in 2022 or Aroldis Chapman in 2016 — are often sold at a king’s ransom. But southpaws like Soto, who posted a 3.96 ERA with the Orioles this season, often don’t garner top-tier prospects in return. Four of the eight trades of lefty relievers like Soto since 2021 did not include a top-30 prospect.
The Orioles certainly don’t care about where Aracena is ranked on prospect lists, but that’s one of the only ways to judge trades involving prospects. By that measure, the Orioles appeared to get excellent value for two months of a reliever.
Aracena is a flier — but one that could soar
It’s not difficult to see what the Orioles like about Aracena.
The 20-year-old righty is 6-foot-3 with a lanky build, long levers and a low-effort delivery. Aracena sports a five-pitch mix with a high-90s mph fastball that’s topped out at 101 mph, a mid-90s mph cutter and a high-80s mph slider with a curveball and changeup mixed in. In May, the Dominican Republic native struck out eight straight batters, mixing his fastball, cutter and slider to baffle opposing hitters.
OK, if he’s so nasty, then why was he only the Mets’ 19th-ranked prospect? Yep, you guessed it: He allows a ton of walks.
In 173 career professional innings, Aracena has walked a whopping 123 batters. Last season, his first stateside, he walked 20.9% of opposing batters — more than double MLB’s average rate. But he’s taken a giant leap forward this season, dropping his walk rate to a high-but-manageable 13.2% while posting a 2.38 ERA with an impressive 31.7% strikeout rate.
The lower you go in the minor leagues, the more volatile the prospects get. Aracena might have a low floor because of his command issues, but his ceiling might be as high as almost any pitcher on Baltimore’s farm.
The Orioles recouped some value they lost a year ago
There are many ways to view a deadline deal. The Mets get a high-strikeout southpaw who dominates left-handed hitters. The Orioles get an intriguing young pitching prospect. The next few days should be interesting for both teams — one buyer, one seller.
Another lens through which to view the Soto trade is with last year’s Soto trade in mind.
Last deadline, the Orioles traded pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace to the Phillies for Soto when Baltimore was a buyer. Soto pitched about a calendar year for the Orioles and was overall so-so, recording a 4.33 ERA with a 3.45 FIP — an ERA-equivalent metric that only accounts for what the pitcher has the most control over (walks, strikeouts and home runs) — before he was traded for Aracena and Foster, a 26-year-old reliever in Double-A.
If combining the two trades from a macro view, Chace and Aracena cancel each other out. Chace, 22, is Philadelphia’s No. 8 prospect, but he underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery in May. MLB Pipeline ranks Aracena as the Orioles’ No. 19 prospect.
This effectively means that the Orioles traded Johnson, a 26-year-old reliever and the Phillies’ No. 13 prospect, for a calendar year of Soto.
If Johnson and Chace become stars for the Phillies and Aracena doesn’t for the Orioles, then these trades will be viewed as failures. But without knowing what’s to become of these three young arms, Friday’s trade served as a way for the Orioles to recoup some value they lost at last year’s deadline.
The trade doesn’t help the 2026 Orioles — or maybe it could?
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said on MLB Network Radio on Sunday that his focus is on getting the team back on track in 2026.
“We’re not blowing up the team,” Elias said. “We think we’re going to be very good again in 2026 and have that intention. We’re not interested in changing the foundation of the team.”
Trading Soto, a reliever set to be a free agent this offseason, doesn’t hurt the 2026 Orioles. But acquiring a 20-year-old pitching prospect doesn’t help next year’s team, either.
It’s not that simple.
Even if a trade doesn’t directly help the 2026 Orioles, it has the potential to by simply bolstering the farm system. Elias could theoretically be more comfortable parting ways with a pitching prospect now that he’s added another arm to the farm — or ship away an outfield prospect after drafting Slater de Brun with the No. 37 overall pick that was acquired in the Baker trade.
Elias was able to acquire ace Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season because he possessed the best farm system in baseball. The Orioles’ farm won’t be ranked as highly going into next season, but it could jump back into the top 10, giving Elias depth from which to trade to improve the 2026 club.
The Orioles officially have a pitching pipeline worthy of praise
With the Orioles owning one of the worst pitching staffs in MLB, Elias and his front office have been criticized this year for their failure to develop pitching prospects. Kade Strowd, a reliever, is the only Elias-drafted pitcher to make it to the major leagues with the Orioles, and Elias’ first four drafts produced few noteworthy pitching prospects.
But the pitching pipeline has finally started to pop this season. With the addition of Aracena, the Orioles have 11 pitching prospects who have legitimate value and upside. Esteban Mejia, Michael Forret, Braxton Bragg, Keeler Morfe, Nestor German, Chayce McDermott, Patrick Reilly, Luis De León, Trey Gibson, Joseph Dzierwa and Aracena are all prospects with the potential to make an impact in the big leagues. Just a year or two ago, it was difficult to say that about more than a few Orioles pitching prospects.
Teams that trade away MLB-caliber pitching often want pitching prospects in return. Elias finally has a pitching prospect surplus to play with.
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]]>As Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer jogged out to the mound in the top of the sixth inning, Camden Yards’ public address announcer asked fans to take cover because of lightning strikes in the Baltimore area. Ushers at Oriole Park then temporarily forced fans in the lower bowl to move from their seats to ones under cover.
But the game was not put into a delay despite lightning strikes occurring throughout the sixth and seventh innings. Attendance at Camden Yards for the series opener against the Colorado Rockies was an announced 25,090 for Floppy Hat Night.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the National Weather Service forecasts show a continued threat of lightning strikes in the ballpark area,” read a message on Camden Yards’ videoboard. “In order to keep everyone save, we are asking all of those who are currently sitting in open areas of the seating bowl to please seek shelter in covered areas of the ballpark. We thank you for your cooperation.”
Near the end of the seventh inning, shortly after the Orioles tied the game on Jackson Holliday’s RBI single, fans were allowed back to their original seats.
An Orioles spokesperson said the decision to temporarily remove fans from their seats was made “for the safety of our fans because lightning was in close proximity to the ballpark.” Fans will not be issued refunds, the spokesperson said.
Whether a game enters a delay is not up to the Orioles. That decision lies with Major League Baseball and the umpiring crew. When asked why the game didn’t enter a delay, an MLB spokesperson referred to crew chief Bill Miller, who spoke with a pool reporter after the game.
Miller said that the umpiring crew had no role in clearing fans from the lower bowl. The umpire said that he did not feel pressure to delay the game once the Orioles told fans to take shelter.
“I was getting updates every half-inning from the grounds crew gentleman,” Miller said via a pool reporter. “He said that we were going to get hit by a big storm in a half an hour. He said at 8:45 [p.m.] it was going to come. It was going to be windy, it was going to be rainy and there was going to be thunder and lightning. I asked him to give me a half-inning update, and it progressively diminished. The storm was decidedly moving south, he thought the top of it was going to catch us. They did clear the stands unbeknownst to me. We are concerned about lightning, but the crew did not see any lightning in the area. We saw it from afar, but we didn’t think at any time anybody on the field was in danger.
“When we pull the teams off the field when it’s not raining hard, we get second-guessed. We work in conjunction with the grounds crew. We are a team. At no time did I feel like the field was dangerous. I don’t think the field took rain in a way that there was any slipping. We did have them treat the mound and plate area with a little bit of [clay] Turface. But even that wasn’t really necessary. That was just trying to get ahead of the game, but the heavy rain just never came. Hindsight, I think we handled it accordingly. It would have been difficult to pull teams off the field and then we get into the waiting game of when we actually come back. Both starters at that point in time were still in the game, and so that’s difficult as well, because now you’ve got to burn starters.”
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said that he’s experienced a similar situation during his player and coaching days in the minor leagues. Mansolino didn’t question the umpires’ decision to continue playing the game.
“I trust the fact that the umpires have our health and safety in their best judgment,” he said. “I applaud the Orioles for kind of clearing out the lower bowl and kind of mitigating any risk whatsoever, making sure that the fans were in a safe spot.”
The Orioles led 4-0 after hitting four solo homers in the first two innings. But Kremer surrendered five runs between the third and fifth innings to allow the Rockies (26-76) to take a 5-4 lead. After Holliday’s RBI single in the seventh, Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar put Colorado back up one with a solo homer off Orioles reliever Andrew Kittredge, one of Baltimore’s top relievers after the trade of Gregory Soto on Friday afternoon. Baltimore’s bats couldn’t mount a late-inning comeback, falling 6-5 to the MLB-worst Rockies.
While the sight of Kremer pitching as fans retreated under cover was unusual, watching an Orioles game with no fans in the lower bowl wasn’t. The ballclub frequently played games during the rebuild with few fans in the stands. In 2020, MLB games were played with no fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And on April 29, 2015, the Orioles hosted the Chicago White Sox for the first game in MLB history without fans amid the protests following the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died while in police custody.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Email jameyer@baltsun.com with questions for next Friday’s mailbag.)
Why are the Orioles not giving Coby Mayo the runway to see if he’s their future first baseman? — @JonSolomon35 on X
Jon asked this question weeks ago, but it became even more relevant this week.
Wednesday’s lineup — specifically Mayo’s exclusion — was one of the more shocking ones the Orioles have put out over the past few seasons.
Up until the Orioles’ series in Cleveland this week, the club was still fighting to get back into playoff contention. However unlikely that that was, the job of interim manager Tony Mansolino and the players is to try to win games in pursuit of preventing a trade deadline fire sale.
The argument Mansolino made several times as Mayo wasted away on the bench made sense, despite fans’ misgivings about it. To play Mayo, someone who is a proven big leaguer would have to come out of the lineup. Jordan Westburg and Ryan O’Hearn are All-Stars. Ramón Urías is worthy of regular playing time and is an overall more reliable player than Mayo. Tyler O’Neill hit 31 home runs last season and is being paid $16.5 million to do the same for Baltimore, even though he hasn’t yet.
But then the Orioles lost six of seven games, and their general manager all but said that he would operate the trade deadline as a seller. On Tuesday, Mayo had one of his best games as a professional, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances. It could have been a platform performance, allowing the top prospect to leap into establishing himself in the big leagues. Instead, he was sent right back to the bench as the Orioles refused to flip the switch on a lost season.
OK, but looking at the bigger picture, this isn’t a huge deal, right? The trade deadline is next week, and the Orioles will clear space for Mayo to earn everyday at-bats. Right?
Well, it should be assumed that will be the case. However, Ryan Mountcastle will return from the injured list in August, and Samuel Basallo will be ready for a promotion later in the season (if he isn’t already). There isn’t a way to play Adley Rutschman, Basallo, Mountcastle and Mayo every night.
But this isn’t just about Mayo. This is about how the Orioles have treated many of their prospects early in the big league careers. Kyle Stowers never received consistent playing time in Baltimore. Last spring, Heston Kjerstad was promoted after dominating Triple-A and received only 17 plate appearances in 17 days on the roster. And now Mayo has started only five of the Orioles’ 18 games this month.
The Orioles’ young core was supposed to sustain their World Series window for years to come. Instead, Stowers is a Miami Marlin, Kjerstad is in Triple-A and Mayo is on the bench.
Should the Orioles re-sign Ryan O’Hearn? — Jim from Halethorpe
This question is essentially: Should the Orioles pull a Mike Bordick with Ryan O’Hearn?
O’Hearn’s odds to be traded before Thursday’s trade deadline are as high as ever as the Orioles are 12 games under .500. The slugger might be their most attractive trade piece, and it would be surprising if they hold onto him. In 2000, the Orioles traded Bordick to the New York Mets at the deadline and then signed him over the offseason. Should the Orioles do the same with O’Hearn?
The answer of why they shouldn’t is pretty simple. The Orioles are already logjammed on the corners, and Basallo, Mayo and Kjerstad are all expected to be integral parts of the 2026 team and beyond. O’Hearn is almost 32 years old, and a multiyear contract for him presents a risk.
But given O’Hearn’s production isn’t as flashy as others on the market, it’s quite possible that whatever team signs him gets him at a discount. Let’s compare him with Anthony Santander, who signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays this past offseason. That deal had an average annual value of $18.5 million but a total present-day value of only $68.6 million as a result of deferments in his contract.
O’Hearn will almost certainly not get anything close to that contract. Santander, a switch-hitter, blasted 44 home runs with the Orioles in 2024 to earn that contract. O’Hearn has hit 41 over the past three seasons combined.
But O’Hearn’s overall numbers — and his underlying metrics — show that he’s just as good as Santander, if not better. In Santander’s three seasons before reaching free agency (2022-24), his OPS+ — a normalized version of OPS in which 100 is league average — was 124. Since 2023, O’Hearn’s OPS+ is 125. They essentially provide the same level of production, and O’Hearn (who walks more and strikes out less) does so in a more consistent, less volatile way.
Maybe bringing O’Hearn back doesn’t make sense for the Orioles’ roster construction. But he’s a good hitter and a leader, and the Orioles need both.
Should the Orioles keep Zach Eflin instead of trading him? — Greg S.
Eflin helped to boost his trade value Wednesday with his solid start off the injured list. He could have one more opportunity next week ahead of the deadline.
If the Orioles can get significant value for Eflin, then trading him makes plenty of sense. Assuming he remains healthy and looks closer to the excellent pitcher he was from 2023 through April 2025 than the one he was in May and June when he was injured, he will be one of the better starters traded at the deadline, as he was last summer when the Orioles acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays.
But isn’t that inherently a strong argument to keep Eflin? This season showed how important starting pitching is, and the cliche that you can never have too much of it was proved true. It’s likely that Eflin will receive a multiyear contract this offseason, and that makes him a likely candidate to receive the qualifying offer from the Orioles should they not trade him at the deadline. For more about the qualifying offer, read this story.
The Orioles could choose to keep Eflin past the deadline, extend the QO (about $21 million, only $3 million more than Eflin made this season) and let the pitcher decide what to do. If he takes it, then great, the Orioles will have a starting pitcher who (when healthy) is reliable in their 2026 rotation. If he doesn’t take it, the Orioles would receive a compensatory draft pick that could be worth more than what they’d get for Eflin at the deadline.
In the case of Eflin, the competitiveness of the offers from the buyers will likely determine whether he’s traded.
Should the Orioles trade Ramón Laureano even though he has a club option for 2026? — Colby L.
Let’s repeat a line from the O’Hearn answer: He’s a good hitter and a leader, and the Orioles need both.
Again, the argument to keep Laureano is simple. General manager Mike Elias has stated his goal is to win in 2026, and keeping Laureano helps them do that.
The question is how the Orioles and other teams view Laureano, who has a $6.5 million club option for 2026. Do they see the 31-year-old as the .858 OPS hitter he’s been this season? Or as a platoon outfielder who was designated for assignment in both 2023 and 2024?
If the Orioles can sell high on Laureano and use his club option as a way to get a haul in return, then trading him makes plenty of sense. But if opposing teams still view him as a platoon player, then he might be worth keeping for 2026.
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]]>“We don’t want anyone in this room to get traded because I love every guy in this room,” the 21-year-old said after the Orioles’ loss, their fourth straight, on Saturday. “We’ve got to start winning.”
It appears to be too late.
Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said Sunday morning on MLB Network Radio that he has to be “realistic about our situation” with the trade deadline 10 days away. The Orioles are 44-54 and 8 1/2 games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League.
Elias said his focus ahead of the July 31 trade deadline is to shop his players on expiring contracts — “those have to be at the top of the list” — with the main goal of improving the team in 2026.
“We’re not blowing up the team. We think we’re going to be very good again in 2026 and have that intention. We’re not interested in changing the foundation of the team,” Elias said on “Front Office” with former GMs Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden. “But to the degree that we have players that interest other clubs, that are coming towards the end of their contract, we’ve got to listen to that. That’s what we’re spending our time on.”
Of course, Elias’ thinking here is sound, and it’s the same conclusion any other GM would arrive at given the Orioles are 10 games under .500. It would make little sense not to operate the deadline as sellers considering the position of the club, especially since the Orioles have nine players whose contracts don’t guarantee them remaining in Baltimore in 2026: Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Ramón Laureano, Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge.
But that doesn’t mean fans should expect a haul of top prospects or MLB-ready players in return.
Almost all of the aforementioned players, all of whom are established professionals with a track record of success, will receive interest from contending teams at the deadline. But none of them are superstars worthy of trading top prospects to acquire, especially since teams would only be getting them for two months plus the postseason. These are, after all, players on a team with the third-worst record in the AL.
O’Hearn was an All-Star this season and is presumably the most valuable of the group this season, offering the best opportunity for Elias to add significant value at the deadline. But he’ll likely be viewed by buyers at the deadline as a supporting piece to a team eyeing a playoff run, rather than someone who can carry one there.
Soto, Domínguez and Kittredge are all veteran relievers who have pitched in high-leverage situations, but none of them will likely be viewed as back-end options right now for a team in contention. Domínguez might be the exception as a now-platoon-neutral reliever with closing experience and a history of success in the postseason.
Mullins and Eflin might have earned Baltimore a haul earlier this season, but the former got injured and then slumped, while the latter struggled and then got hurt. Sugano and Morton are both over 35 years old and have each had a disastrous month this season. Laureano could also be sought after amid his impressive campaign, but he has a team option for 2026, one the Orioles might want to exercise instead of trading him.
The players that could be most expensive or ones who are under team control beyond this season: Trevor Rogers, Félix Bautista, Ramón Urías, Ryan Mountcastle, Dean Kremer, Yennier Cano or others. Elias said he’s being “passive” about trading players like them, but as evidenced by the trade of Bryan Baker, who was under team control through 2028, the Orioles GM won’t “close the door to conversations.”
“Right now, to the degree that we’re going to be selling, our front office is investing its time in setting ourselves up for 2026 and beyond,” Elias said.
The history of trades for players on expiring contracts shows that the returns are often underwhelming, with the rare success story.
It’s difficult to find perfect one-for-one comparisons for Orioles players, but one of the closest for Mullins is Andrew Benintendi, who was traded from the Royals to the Yankees at the 2022 deadline. Benintendi’s value was higher than Mullins’ as the former was in the midst of a career year, while Mullins’ 2025 season is essentially the same (if not slightly worse) as his previous three campaigns. Benintendi only fetched the Royals three pitching prospects in the lower minors, none of whom were ranked as one of the Yankees’ top 18 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. None of them have made it to the major leagues.
In 2021, the Nationals traded slugger Kyle Schwarber (a fair comparison to O’Hearn right now) and received the Red Sox’s No. 19 prospect, a pitcher in Low-A. Schwarber was recovering from a minor injury at the time, but his wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference’s estimation was 2.1, similar to O’Hearn’s 1.7 right now. That same year, starting pitcher Rich Hill, who was 41 (the same age as Morton), was traded from the Rays to the Mets for an injured reliever and a catching prospect not inside New York’s organizational top 30.
There are, of course, seller success stories from the 2021 deadline. The Nationals got outfielder Lane Thomas for aging starter Jon Lester. The Tigers received then-pitching prospect Reese Olson for left-handed reliever Daniel Norris. The Marlins got Jesús Luzardo for outfielder Starling Marte, and the Cubs received prospect-turned-superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong from the Mets for shortstop Javier Báez and starting pitcher Trevor Williams — though the Orioles don’t have a player as attractive as Marte or Báez.
Additionally, Elias’ track record in selling at the deadline is much better than his coin-flip resume as a buyer. He’s acquired Kyle Bradish, Yennier Cano, Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott in trades involving Dylan Bundy, Jorge López and Trey Mancini. However, the vast majority of his sell-side trades returned players who have never made it to the major leagues — a prime example that most of these deals will come up empty.
The Báez trade might offer insight into how Elias could approach the deadline, if the buyers will bite. Each player Elias is shopping might not garner a significant return on his own. But if Elias can pair two players together — say, Mullins and Morton, or O’Hearn and Domínguez — that would increase the level of prospect (or even MLB-ready player) the Orioles could receive. That might be difficult to achieve, but it could also be the only way the Orioles can get prospects that are more than just long-shot gambles to add to a farm system with enough depth in the middle but a deficit of stars at the top. Still, bolstering the farm’s depth could give Elias more chips at the table this offseason or next deadline when the Orioles are theoretically buyers.
Entering the season, Elias, his players and the fan base didn’t expect to be in this position. At this point, the season appears to be lost, and selling is the only logical path forward. Interim manager Tony Mansolino said the past two months have been mentally challenging for his players, and the specter of the deadline only adds to that.
Rogers, who was traded to Baltimore at last year’s deadline, aptly summed up what this time of year is like for players on a team poised to sell.
“Whoever says they don’t think about it,” Rogers said, “I’d probably say they’re lying to you.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
]]>The Orioles prevented getting swept by the Rays this weekend with a 5-3 win Sunday afternoon, surviving a 2-hour, 36-minute rain delay in the seventh inning to end their four-game losing streak.
Trevor Rogers pitched like the new version of himself, while the Orioles’ offense and bullpen bounced back from squandering Saturday’s game. Rogers tossed a quality start with six innings of two-run ball, maintaining the lead his offense provided him after homers from Jackson Holliday, Alex Jackson and Ryan O’Hearn.
“We’re obviously up early this morning and then that awesome rain delay right there in the middle didn’t help,” said Gunnar Henderson, who passed the time during the delay by playing cards in the clubhouse with teammates. “But I was proud of the way we came back out … and came out with the win.”
Félix Bautista was shaky in the ninth inning during his first appearance since July 10. The 6-foot-8 closer gave up a run, walked three batters and loaded the bases with two outs, but he struck out Junior Caminero to shut the door for the Orioles’ first win since July 11.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino was ejected in the third inning after arguing with home plate umpire James Hoye after he threw out Orioles outfielder Ramón Laureano for slamming his bat and helmet after a strikeout. It was Mansolino’s first time being ejected as an MLB manager. Mansolino and Laureano watched the end of the game together in the clubhouse, with the veteran outfielder keeping the skipper loose.
“I had Ramón Laureano sitting with me, and he was breaking down the biomechanics of the pitching delivery and the baseball swing throughout the whole inning,” Mansolino said with a smile. “So as I was kind of stressing out watching it, I was trying to focus on Ramón’s explanation of the swing and the delivery … and also what was going on with Félix. It was actually the perfect distraction to have during the inning. Nonetheless, we got through it, we won, and that’s the important thing.”
Baltimore is 44-54 and 8 1/2 games back of the final American League wild-card spot with 11 games left until the trade deadline.
Holliday led off the game with a home run off Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot that barely cleared the right-center field wall. It had the few extra feet that his game-ending, 401-foot flyout Saturday didn’t. Holliday is tied with Cedric Mullins for the team lead in home runs with 13.
Jackson, the Orioles’ backup catcher, then parked a solo shot in the third, and Gunnar Henderson smacked a two-run double to score Holliday and Jordan Westburg and put Baltimore up 4-0.
Rogers gave up one run in both the third and fourth innings, surrendering an RBI single to Caminero, who homered twice in the Rays’ win Friday, and a solo homer to Danny Jansen. But the left-hander buckled down to make it through six innings despite not having his best stuff or velocity in the muggy climate that felt like almost 100 degrees.
“Pitchability is really big for me, just being able to move the ball around, hit my locations, hit my spots. That’s huge,” Rogers said. “Velocity wasn’t quite where I want it to be, but first start after the break, I kind of expected that. Pitchability was really key for me today.”
O’Hearn’s solo homer — the All-Star’s 12th of the season — in the sixth before the rain delay provided what could’ve been critical insurance. Bautista walked Jansen, the leadoff hitter in the ninth, and then gave up an RBI single to Taylor Walls.
Bautista walked two more batters to load the bases, but he was fortunate to strike out Caminero to end the game. His 3-0 pitch appeared to be out of the zone, and his 3-1 offering that Caminero swung at was a ball. His 3-2 pitch was a fastball that Caminero was late on.
“What a crazy game, right?” Mansolino said.
Postgame analysis
Rogers pitched well, and it’s no longer a surprise. This is, at least for now, just who Rogers is.
Through seven starts this season, Rogers has a 1.74 ERA with a 0.87 WHIP and .163 batting average against. The way Rogers looks right now is radically different from how he pitched when the Orioles acquired him from the Miami Marlins at last year’s trade deadline.
Rogers pitched to a 7.11 ERA in four starts for the Orioles last season. Kyle Stowers was terrible for the Marlins, while Connor Norby played well. This year, Stowers is an All-Star, Rogers appears to be a key piece of Baltimore’s rotation for 2026, and Norby is underperforming and injured.
With the trade deadline looming, Rogers’ emergence this season should serve as a reminder to not judge trades too quickly.
What they’re saying
Rogers on pitching in three games in the past month with temperatures that feel like 100 degrees:
“I think I’ve gotten better at handling it; I don’t think I’ll ever get better at pitching in it. I don’t know who makes the schedule, but someone’s out to get me, it seems like. It’s kind of the way it’s been dealt. I think pitching in Miami all those years have prepared me for that. Me and Pepiot had to pitch in it, so everyone’s dealing with it, everyone was struggling. So you’ve just got to suck it up, toughen it out and just go out there and compete.”
By the numbers
It wasn’t pretty, but Bautista’s save was his 12th consecutive converted save, a streak that dates to May 26. It’s the longest active streak in the American League.
On deck
The last time the Orioles were in Cleveland, they were fresh off buying at the trade deadline. Back in Ohio for the first time since, Cleveland could be the destination from which Orioles general manager Mike Elias initiates a fire sale at the deadline. Elias indicated on Sunday on MLB Network Radio that he would be selling, focusing on trading players on expiring contracts. The deadline isn’t until July 31, but trades could happen any time.
Tomoyuki Sugano and Brandon Young will take the mound for the Orioles on Monday and Tuesday to kick off the four-game series against the Guardians (48-50). Zach Eflin will likely return from the injured list to start one of the series’ final two games. Eflin is one of the Orioles’ best trade chips, and he will have two opportunities to show other teams he’s healthy ahead of the deadline.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
“We’re not blowing up the team,” the Orioles general manager said Sunday morning during an interview on MLB Network Radio. “We think we’re going to be very good again in 2026 and have that intention. We’re not interested in changing the foundation of the team.”
Elias all but said that Baltimore would be a seller at the trade deadline during his appearance on MLB Network Radio’s “Front Office” with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden. The Orioles (43-54) entered Sunday’s series finale against the Rays on a four-game losing streak and 8 1/2 games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League.
“Standing here today, we’re 11 games under .500. It’s been a huge disappointment,” Elias said. “The reality is when we’re at that point in the standings and 11 days away from the trade deadline, we’ve got to be realistic about our situation. The conversations that I’m having right now are more oriented towards what’s out there for some of our available major league players.”
Elias said his focus is trading players on expiring contracts, and the Orioles have plenty of them: Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto.
“That’s what we’re spending our time on,” Elias said. “I think the guys that are coming up toward the end of their contracts, those have to be at the top of the list. We have quite a few of ‘em who are very talented and are attractive to other teams.”
The Orioles also have a group of players under team control through 2026 or 2027 who could also be on the market, including Ramón Urías, Félix Bautista, Ryan Mountcastle, Keegan Akin, Trevor Rogers, Ramón Laureano (team option for 2026) and Andrew Kittredge (team option for 2026). It would be mildly surprising for Elias to trade players from this list (sans Laureano and Kittredge), saying he will be “passive” about dealing players who are under team control past this season.
However, he’s already done so when he traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays earlier this month. Elias described that move at the time as a “one-off opportunity” with the Rays paying a premium, sending the No. 37 overall selection in the 2025 MLB draft back to Baltimore. The Orioles drafted high school outfielder Slater de Brun, who has yet to sign with the club, with the pick.
“We just really liked the return and ended up getting Slater de Brun with the draft pick we got,” Elias said. “You have to weigh opportunities, be fluid. We don’t want to close the door to conversations, but right now, to the degree that we’re going to be selling, our front office is investing its time in setting ourselves up for 2026 and beyond.”
Elias said he talked to “a number of players” right before he made the Baker trade, expressing his hope for the second half of the season while acknowledging the “reality” that the front office will explore sell-side trades.
“We try our best to involve our players in our thinking,” he said. “The guys that are hearing and reading their names in the paper, you try to give them the sense of what’s going on, too, the best that you can. It’s a little bit tricky.”
Duquette and Bowden both asked Elias about the performance of the Orioles’ young core. While this group (Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser) is not the main reason for the team’s disappointing season, those players largely haven’t performed to expectations this season. Holliday has taken a step forward, but the other four players have all spent time on the injured list and experienced slumps at the plate.
As he always has, Elias said he’s still confident in his young core, believing they can “right this ship.”
“For us, with how off-script this has gone this year, we really want to see our core players get back on track, build some momentum into the second half, build some momentum into 2026,” he said. “That’s a big part of our main focus and main list of goals here the next couple of months.”
Elias also addressed several other topics during his radio appearance.
Duquette and Bowden, both former MLB general managers, praised the Orioles’ draft, which featured 24 players (13 pitchers and 11 hitters) added to the organization. Seven of those selections came in the first three rounds, including first-round picks Ike Irish, Caden Bodine, Wehiwa Aloy and de Brun.
“We need it to be good. The draft is a lifeblood of our organization,” Elias said. “I thought our scouts and our front office people that are working on the draft and everybody involved did a really good job of kind of excruciatingly lining everybody up, not knowing what was going to happen. And then we sort of trusted our board and took the name that was the highest.”
Perhaps the most confusing part of the Orioles’ season has been the health of starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez. The right-hander suffered another setback last week and has not pitched in an MLB game since July 31. Over the past year, he’s suffered two lat muscle injuries and a pair of elbow/triceps injuries.
“We’re exploring every avenue toward getting him back up and running, but he keeps hitting various setbacks,” Elias said. “But he’s a young guy, we’ll get through this. We look forward to having him back. He’s an enormous impact on our rotation when he’s out there.”
The main reason for the Orioles’ poor season is their starting rotation, which entered Sunday as the sport’s second worst with a 5.18 ERA. Does that mean Elias will prioritize acquiring pitching at the deadline?
“Looking at our next year’s roster, the positional group is a little bit more set than the pitching group, but I think we’ve got to see what’s out there in the market in terms of returns,” he said. “We’d like to get pitching prospects back. Who wouldn’t? And we’d like to get more pitching competition going into the second half, even. But you have to see what the market’s going to bring to the table and bring to bear.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
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