The O’s get some business done, the trade deadline marches closer, and there are still holes to fill.
Good Morning, Birdland,
Yesterday was interesting. The Orioles swung two trades that, while not overwhelming additions, certainly feel like a push in the right direction. The team wakes up today with a slightly improved bullpen, a much more stable rotation, and a toolsy fourth outfielder that should rarely step foot in a batter’s box.
Mike Elias achieved all of this without giving up any of his most prized prospects. Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo, and Heston Kjerstad are all still Orioles. Heck, so are Connor Norby, Cade Povich, Enrique Bradfield Jr, and Dylan Beavers. The O’s system may have lost a bit of it’s depth on Friday, but the overall quality wasn’t dinged too much.
At the same time, we saw in the game that followed that these Orioles still need some help. Seranthony Domínguez made his debut and looked electric—although he gave up two hits—and bridged the gap to closer Craig Kimbrel. And yet, for the second consecutive night, Kimbrel fell apart. This time it wasn’t a save situation as the game was tied. Regardless, it was a disaster.
The Orioles offense scored four runs. Not awful, but could be better. They did fight back late, scoring twice in the eighth inning. That is appreciated. The problem was that they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. That have to cash in more often on those sorts of situations.
But the the thing that annoyed me the most was the defense. Gunnar Henderson made a rather lazy throwing error in the sixth and Heston Kjerstad compounded it with his misadventure in left field. The Kjerstad catch that wasn’t went down as a double. It should have been an out and probably would have been for every other outfielder on the roster. That just cannot happen.
The Orioles are lucky to play in the AL East right now. The entire division has gone sideways recently, which has allowed the O’s to maintain the same two-game lead they have had for more than three weeks. But you have to think that sort of mediocrity goes away from at least one of the Yankees or Red Sox eventually. The O’s need to get their act together and quick. Hopefully Elias has some additional plans for the remainder of the year.
Specifically, the pitching staff still needs at least one more arm. An additional starter could allow Albert Suárez to go back to the bullpen. A late-inning arm could spell Kimbrel when he goes through his funks. Getting one of each would be ideal.
But there should be in-house improvements in the lineup as well. Holliday still feels like he could be this team’s second baseman at some point in the year. He’s healthy and hitting well. Mayo has more than a full year of good production in Norfolk. He likely won’t be in Baltimore until late August to maintain rookie eligibility for 2025, but could be an option at first base.
The trade deadline comes into consideration here as well. Holliday and Mayo probably are untouchable, but Elias has already shown he will trade from the big league roster. If a player like Ramón Urías or Ryan Mountcastle gets dealt to get the aforementioned pitching help, the path to playing time would be clear for some prospects.
Links
Austin Hays ‘embodied’ who the Orioles are. That’s why it hurt to see him leave. | The Baltimore Sun
As exciting as this season has been, it has also felt like the end of an era. Austin Hays is now gone. Cedric Mullins is turning into a role player. Anthony Santander has been fantastic, but is headed to free agency. John Means is out for the year. These are the guys that are holdovers from a dark period. It has been neat to watch them on some really good Orioles teams, but sad to see them move towards the exit door.
Orioles strike new tone with trade deadline moves for Zach Eflin, Seranthony Domínguez | The Baltimore Sun
These moves are a notch above what the front office did last year in adding Jack Flaherty and Shintaro Fujinami. Elias still has to prove himself a bit in this regard though. Clearly, he knows what he’s doing with scouting and player development. He is yet to show he has the stomach for a truly massive trade. Even the Joey Ortiz-for-Corbin Burnes deal wasn’t that because he had the safety net of Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg to say “See? I had to trade someone. I made the right choice.”
In jumping the trade market, the Orioles check a lot of pitching boxes | The Baltimore Banner
Don’t get me wrong. I like these moves! I think they are positive, and have made the Orioles better right now than they were a day or two ago. And in a market that lacks pitching, this is good work. But at least one more arm feels like a requirement.
Looking back at the Machado trade and Hays’ departure | Roch Kubatko
The Manny Machado trade is a good reminder this time of year. The Orioles basically had to trade Machado, and the Dodgers had to give up five players to get him. It turns out the best player they sent to Baltimore was Dean Kremer. You think that was worth the trip to the World Series they took with Machado? Yeah, I would say so.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Preston Guilmet turns 37. The righty appeared in 10 games out of the Orioles bullpen in 2014.
- Ryan Flaherty celebrates his 38th birthday. A Rule 5 pick in 2011, Flaherty was a solid utilityman for the O’s from 2012 through 2017.
- Floyd Rayford is 67 years old. He had two stints with the Orioles, from 1980 through ‘82 and then again from ‘84-’87 during which time he play a unique combination of positions: catcher, second base, and third base.
- Rich Dauer turns 72. The defense-first infielder spent a decade in Baltimore from 1976-85, including the World Series campaign of 1983. He holds two AL records: 86 consecutive errorless games at second base and 425 straight errorless chances at second base. The O’s inducted him into their team Hall of Fame in 2012.
This day in O’s history
1996 – Baltimore beats up on Cleveland starter Orel Hershiser, scoring 10 runs off of the former Cy Young. The O’s win the game 14-2