I hope they’ve all made good use of the All-Star break.
Hello, friends.
The whole of MLB is off for one more day before the All-Star break ends and the regular season resumes. With the Orioles having looked like they were in dire need of this break in the final week leading up to it, we can all hope that it’s what they need to restore themselves to something closer to the way they were playing up to about the middle of June.
Going back exactly one month from right now, the Orioles are 11-13. There have been two separate five-game losing streaks in that time. The disappearance of the offense was one thread in common between these two different skids. They scored a total of four runs across five straight losses to the Cubs and then Yankees.
I think that a lot of fans have either Coby Mayo- or Connor Norby-focused thoughts on how to affect some improvement there, because those feel like problems the Orioles can solve internally, without giving up any prospects. Pitching problems are thornier. We’re here in the break and the Orioles only have two healthy starting pitchers who are performing at better than league average ERA – and one of these two is Albert Suárez, in whom I don’t have much faith to keep that up.
There are 12 days to go until the trade deadline. It’s not too soon for deals to be struck. Last year, the Orioles made a move on July 19 in getting Shintaro Fujinami, not that this one paid off on the postseason roster. We’ve already seen the market open up in the 2024 season as well, with the Nationals having dealt former O’s reliever Hunter Harvey to the Royals in exchange for a draft pick and prospect Cayden Wallace.
The main barrier might be that not every team is ready to wave the white flag. If you’re within four games, which most of the National League is, punting on the season right now may not be as palatable as if another ten days go by and the team has lost another two games.
As far as the Orioles making trades, the main barrier to trying to figure out what they’re going to do is there’s no way for us to know what Mike Elias is thinking. What does he expect from this team if no changes are made? Is that good enough for him? Which of his top prospects does he really view as indispensable and essential parts of continuing success going forward? What trade targets might be worth giving up a valuable player?
Elias’s ideas for all of these things could be very different than the impression given by baseball reporters who have weighed in about supposed trade interest in, say, Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, or anybody else. The Orioles aren’t a leaky ship. The general public might learn about a trade ten minutes before the team sends out a press release because that’s when one of the agents of the players involved in the trade texts a reporter. That’s about it.
I think he’s got to get an eighth inning reliever at a minimum. Maybe if he’s really optimistic he believes that Suárez, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, and Cade Povich will get it done. I’m not optimistic about that, but maybe he is. Going back to that Harvey trade, would you trade Norby plus a lesser player (let’s say Creed Willems) for 1.5 years of someone who would hopefully be a setup man? I’m not rejecting the idea immediately. They just have to get someone who is actually good and not someone who gets here and then their luck turns.
Around the blogO’sphere
Trade deadline tiers: Which MLB teams could be – and should be – aggressive buyers and sellers (The Athletic)
Surprisingly to me, the Orioles are not listed among tier 1 “aggressive buyers” in this list.
A rundown of relievers on the trade block (FanGraphs)
A breakdown of each of the bullpens of the non-contenders, with positives for some and cold water thrown on others, such as Washington’s Kyle Finnegan.
After setback at Auburn, pitcher Chase Allsup reestablished himself. The Orioles took notice. (The Baltimore Banner)
Some information from and about the Orioles fourth round pick from this year’s draft. He certainly sounds like he’s got the right attitude to improve in the system.
A few takeaways from the Orioles 2024 Draft (Steve Melewski)
Included in this article are some thoughts from scouting director Matt Blood about the “major league traits” that the Orioles look for in the later-round pitchers they draft.
Former Orioles pitcher Jerry Walker, youngest to ever start MLB All-Star Game, dies at 85 (The Baltimore Sun)
Jerry Walker is not an Oriole I’ve ever thought much about. Even considering it was 1959 and the game was different, the fact that he started the All-Star Game at age 20 is remarkable. Rest in peace.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2001, the Orioles were supposed to play a day-night doubleheader against the Rangers. The night game ended up being postponed after a train carrying some toxic substances derailed in a tunnel underneath Baltimore.
There is one lone former Oriole who was born on this day. Happy 80th birthday to Rudy May, who pitched in the starting rotation for the 1976 and 1977 Orioles.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies include: Titanic survivor Margaret Brown (1867), astronaut John Glenn (1921), journalist/author Hunter S. Thompson (1937), director Paul Verhoeven (1938), actor Vin Diesel (1967), and rapper M.I.A. (1975).
On this day in history…
In 1389, warring powers France and England settled on the Truce of Leulinghem. This peace led to a 16-year interruption of the Hundred Years’ War, but by then each country had a different ruler and the war resumed.
In 1872, the United Kingdom’s Ballot Act brought about that country’s requirement for a secret ballot for parliamentary elections.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 18. Have a safe Thursday.