HOUSTON — It takes a lot to rattle Ramón Urías.
During his time in Baltimore, Urías won a Gold Glove Award, never let sporadic playing time impact his performance and became a key member of the American League’s winningest team during a two-year period. Throughout his six seasons with the Orioles, Urías was rarely flustered.
But he was when Orioles general manager Mike Elias called him the night before the trade deadline. Despite being under team control through the 2026 season, Elias traded Urías to the Houston Astros for 20-year-old pitching prospect Twine Palmer.
“I was actually in shock when Mike called me. I wasn’t expecting to get traded,” Urías said in the Astros’ clubhouse at Daikin Park ahead of his new club’s series opener Friday against his old club. “Honestly, I think it worked out well for me, getting to play a little bit here … and I’m happy for that. I think it was a good moment in my career.”
Urías said that it took him two days to clear his mind, settle his nerves and turn the page. He became an Oriole after being claimed off waivers in 2020 and built a life and a solid big league career in Baltimore. At the time of the trade in late July, Urías’ 10.4 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference’s estimation, from 2021 through 2025 ranked fourth on the Orioles behind only Gunnar Henderson (19.8), Cedric Mullins (15.6) and Adley Rutschman (14.6).
“It probably took me two days to really concentrate and be able to be myself again, because it was something I never experienced before,” Urías said. “But it’s part of the job, you know, and it’s secure to be part of a franchise for a long time. … I’m really happy to be here. Like I said, I’ve had the opportunity to play. That’s the most important thing for my career.”
Urías, who is starting at second base Friday, isn’t sure what to expect when he plays against the Orioles for the first time in his career. He met up with a few of his former teammates in the afternoon when he arrived at the ballpark.
“Facing that uniform is something I’ve never experienced in my life,” Urías said. “It’s probably going to feel pretty different.”
He added, “I really love playing with those guys. Something that I’ll never forget in my life.”
In joining the Astros, Urías goes from one of the AL’s worst teams to one of its best. Baltimore is 55-66 and in last place in the AL East, while Houston is 68-53 and atop the AL West.
“Especially being on a winning team, like [the Orioles] were the last two years, helped me control those emotions when the games are on the line,” Urías said. “We are playing every night here with that type of emotion, and I’m just grateful that I have that opportunity to be on that kind of team the last couple years.”
The 31-year-old Mexico native said that he’s already learning from World Series champions Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, the latter of whom rejoined the team at the deadline from the Minnesota Twins.
“Those type of guys that have so much experience in the postseason and are winners, I’m trying to learn every single day from them,” Urías said. “I think it’s like a God-given opportunity to be here around them.”
Urías couldn’t come up with a singular reason the Orioles’ season went awry. Coming off three straight winning seasons and two consecutive playoff appearances, the Orioles have the third-worst record in the AL after firing their manager in May and selling nine players at the deadline.
He said it mostly came down to a few bad weeks early in the season, the ones leading up to former manager Brandon Hyde’s firing May 17.
“I think just was maybe two, a couple of weeks at the beginning of the season. It hurt so much,” Urías said. “Other than that, I think we were pretty much the same team. We were playing good at some point in the season, but I think it was just the beginning of the season that make them big sellers.”
Still, Urías said that he’ll always cherish his time in Baltimore — even if he’s hoping that his former team loses all three games this weekend in Houston.
“I was there for some part of the rebuild, and being there from that side to the winning side, it was special,” he said.
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