In an MLB Network interview, the Orioles’ general manager acknowledged that he’s looking to trade the club’s pending free agents.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The countdown to the trade deadline has reached 10 days. So far all has been quiet, both for the Orioles and across MLB, but trade action presumably should pick up soon.
When it does, the O’s figure to be prominently involved, and their direction is clear: they will be sellers, not buyers. General manager Mike Elias confirmed as much in an MLB Network interview yesterday, as reported by MASN’s Roch Kubatko.
“The conversations that I’m having right now are more oriented towards seeing what’s out there for some of our available major league players,” Elias said. “We have players that interest other clubs that are coming towards the end of their contracts, (and) we’ve got to listen to that. So that’s what we’re spending our time on.”
Elias emphasized that the O’s have no plans to undergo a total rebuild like they did when he first took over the team. With the 2025 season a loss, they’re more focused on trading their pending free agents to restock the minors and plan to be competitive again next year. “Our front office is investing its time in setting ourselves up for 2026 and beyond,” Elias said.
His comments should come as no surprise to anyone who’s watched the Orioles this year. This 2025 team just doesn’t have the juice. They’re hopelessly buried in the standings and can never seem to put together enough of a hot streak to even think about a long-shot wild card bid. Punting on this season is the Orioles’ only real option, and they might as well trade away nearly any player who isn’t under contract for next year.
And it makes sense, too, that the O’s still plan to compete next year. They still have a promising, young core of homegrown players who are under team control for several more years, so even if the O’s trade a bunch of veterans this month, they aren’t going to tear the team down to the studs just because of one bad season. They certainly have the talent and the financial wherewithal to reload for next year, as long as they can stay a little healthier and make some better roster decisions this offseason than they did last winter.
So, yes, this season is sunk. But that doesn’t mean the future of the Orioles is dire. Let’s see what moves the next 10 days will bring to hopefully get the O’s back on track in 2026.
Links
Bradish (Tommy John) set to begin rehab assignment – MLB.com
We have a Kyle Bradish sighting! He’ll be starting for Aberdeen this Thursday and hopes to rejoin the Orioles by the end of August. He won’t save the season but he’ll be a sight for sore eyes.
Have the Orioles forgotten about Ramón Urías? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
A reader thinks the Orioles should move Jordan Westburg to left field so they can play Ramón Urías every day at third base. That is…certainly an opinion.
Baltimore Orioles: O’s salvage one win in weekend series vs. Rays – The Baltimore Banner
The Orioles eked out a win yesterday but Félix Bautista’s velocity was down about 3 mph. Should I be panicking? I feel like I should be panicking.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Five former Orioles were born on this day: left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (40), shortstop Mike Bordick (60), and right-handers Willie Eyre (47), Mark Williamson (66), and the late Moe Drabowsky (b. 1935, d. 2006).
On this date in 1990, Ben McDonald, the Orioles’ #1 overall draft pick the previous year, made his first major league start. I’d say it was a successful one. McDonald threw a shutout against the White Sox, holding them to four hits and a walk while striking out five in a 2-0 win. (Speaking of Big Ben, best wishes to him as he recovers from a 25-foot fall from a deer stand.)
And on this day in 1996, the O’s swung a deal with Cleveland to reacquire Orioles legend Eddie Murray, eight years after they traded him away under less-than-ideal circumstances. The Hall of Famer’s return to the Orioles proved to be a huge success, as he hit his 500th career home run in front of the Baltimore faithful and helped lead the Birds to a wild card spot.
Random Orioles game of the day
On July 21, 1974, the Orioles lost to the California Angels, 6-4, to head into the All-Star break. It was a back-and-forth game in which the Angels kept taking the lead and the O’s kept tying, but California went ahead for good with two runs in the top of the ninth. Former Orioles superstar Frank Robinson, whom the O’s had traded three years earlier, drove in the game-winning run for the Angels on a pinch-hit sac fly. Brooks Robinson, Bobby Grich, and Tommy Davis homered in the losing effort for the Orioles.