During the weeks leading up to the July 30th trade deadline, one of the big questions ping-ponging around social media was whether Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias would be willing to give up any of the game’s top young prospects to upgrade his injury-plagued pitching staff.
Turns out, he didn’t have to.
Jackson Holliday, who is back in Baltimore, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo remain safely in the organization — with Mayo and Basallo waiting to be part of the Orioles’ still-bright long-term future — while Elias was able to satisfy several pressing needs by acquiring nine players – some just minutes before the deadline passed Tuesday at 6 p.m.
He managed to acquire two solid starting pitchers and two hard-throwing relievers and rebalance the O’s offensive attack with some right-handed bats, while giving up veteran outfielder Austin Hays, well-regarded second base prospect Connor Norby, outfielder Kyle Stowers and six other minor league players, only three of whom were chosen as high as the second round of the first-year player draft.
“This was a wild one that reshaped our roster,’’ Mike Elias said on MASN during Tuesday night’s 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. “I think we have a lot more depth and a lot more pitching than we did a week ago, and we’ll see how these guys play. And, ultimately, I hope this is going to help get to where we want to go.”
Of course, only time will tell whether he did enough to prepare the Orioles for their second postseason bid under his leadership. The addition of former Tampa Bay Rays starter Zach Eflin paid instant dividends when he delivered a strong performance in his O’s debut on Monday afternoon. He’s a solid No. 3 guy to work behind aces Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez.
The deal that sent Norby and Stowers to the Marlins for left-hander Trevor Rogers is more of a gamble. Rogers’ talent is not in dispute, but he has been all over the place during his four-year major league career. He was the runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year in 2021, but because of injuries and inconsistency, had not been the same pitcher until he reeled off a string of 11 starts dating back to May 27th in which he gave up two earned runs or fewer nine times.
Elias upgraded the bullpen with two separate deals with the Phillies. Right-hander Seranthony Dominguez already has looked good in two late-inning appearances and he’ll be joined in Baltimore by big-armed left-hander Gregory Soto. Both will give manager Brandon Hyde more options in the wake of the elbow injury to left-hander Danny Coulombe and the recent struggles of future Hall of Fame closer Craig Kimbrel.
The Orioles needed some right-handed help at the plate, especially after moving Hays, though outfielder Christian Pache and veteran utilityman Austin Slater don’t figure to be particularly impactful. Former White Sox outfielder/DH Eloy Jiménez however, is a power bat who should add some pop from the right side.
Jiménez is making $13 million in the final guaranteed year of a contract that has two team options worth a total of $35 million, but the White Sox are picking up some of his current salary and it seems unlikely the O’s will be interested in the remainder.
But who knows? The Orioles are under new ownership and it is starting to look as if Elias will have far more financial flexibility to do what it takes to keep the Orioles competitive in the years to come.
The eight-player haul did not include another Corbin Burnes, whose 2024 salary is $15.6 million, but it includes a starting pitcher (Eflin) who is under contract and slated to make $18 million next season. So, the O’s are already living in very different economic world than they were as recently as last season.
“We were able to entertain so many possibilities because of the support of this new ownership group and the passion that this new ownership group had towards improving the team,’’ Elias said. “You know, they took over on Opening Day… right on Opening Day, so this was our first opportunity to really do something to bolster the roster and David [Rubenstein], Michael Arougheti, Mitch Goldstein, Michael Smith and some of the main owners were really involved in the process and extremely supportive. And we had everything necessary to execute navigating the deadline like we wanted to and that’s all you can ask for.”