The Orioles continue to look for outfielders but have two interesting prospects in their farm system, one of whom is well-known to fans, and another who isn’t.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. was the Orioles’ top draft pick in 2023, and he’s their fourth-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Reed Trimble, who was added to the 40-man roster last week, isn’t ranked among their top 30 prospects.
Bradfield, who turns 24 next Tuesday, missed time with two separate hamstring injuries this past season and finished the year at Triple-A Norfolk.
In 50 games at Double-A Chesapeake, Bradfield hit .269 with two home runs and 14 RBIs and a .779 OPS, stealing 26 bases in 29 attempts. After his late-season promotion to Norfolk, Bradfield hit only .179 with a home run and five RBIs in 15 games, stealing six bases in seven tries.
To make up for lost at-bats, the Orioles sent Bradfield to the Arizona Fall League. Though he hit only .221 with nine RBIs in 20 games, Bradfield stole 17 bases and was thrown out only once, and he was named the AFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Bradfield doesn’t need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft until a year from now, and though he’s likely to begin the season at Norfolk, perhaps he’ll play for the Orioles sometime in 2026.
“Yeah, that would be terrific to see,” Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in last Friday’s video conference call. “We’re going to bring him to camp, and we’ll kind of take it from there. He’s certainly, just looking at his Baseball-Reference page, so to speak, he hasn’t exhausted the minor leagues. So, we’ll see where it goes, but he’s going to be in camp. It’s going to be a real important camp for him and look forward to seeing him there.”
A scout who’s watched Bradfield play likes his potential.
“Great defender. If he stays with contact approach, Kenny Lofton-type of player, but is injury prone. Plays hard,” he said.
In three minor league seasons, Bradfield has just seven home runs in 209 games but has stolen 135 bases in 154 attempts (87.7 percent).
Even though today’s game is power-happy, Bradfield isn’t concerned.
“Power is part of the game,” Bradfield said in a mid-August interview. “Do I think it’s something I need to work on? I don’t. If I put an emphasis on where that would rank for me, I’d probably want to clean up and improve on some other things before I even thought about that. That’s something that comes with time. We see a ton of guys put in this weird box when it comes to not having any power or juice, but at the same time there’s different guys for different reasons, different roles, different parts of the team to play.
“I think it’s something that needs to change with the game. I feel like a lot of people pay such a big emphasis on it they forget about everything else one individual can do. I feel like when the time comes, I’ll be fine. That’s not something I’m worried about at all.”
When it came to players who could be added to the 40-man roster, Trimble’s name wasn’t often cited. The 25-year-old was the 65th overall pick in second round of the 2021 draft, and his $800,000 bonus was underslot.
Trimble hasn’t appeared on Top 30 lists, but he’s impressed enough rival scouts that the Orioles added him to the 40-man roster. A year ago, they were fortunate enough to keep him after not protecting him.
Trimble is another with exceptional speed, stealing 61 bases in 61 attempts.
Unlike Bradfield, who was in major league camp in 2025 and was added as an extra player several times in 2024, Trimble has played in just six Grapefruit League games with an RBI double.
This will be his first time in camp, and though he won’t make the Orioles, he’ll attempt to impress them.
Trimble, who a major league scout considers a fourth outfielder-type, hit .259 with an .827 OPS, 17 home runs and 49 RBIs last season in 90 games at Norfolk, Chesapeake, High-A Aberdeen and the Florida Complex League Orioles.
With additional Triple-A experience, Trimble might be valuable as a reserve outfielder, defensive replacement and pinch-runner.
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