1 August 2023
During his pre-trade deadline news conference Friday, Mike Elias described the American League East as “arguably the strongest division of all time.”
After years in the division’s cellar, the Orioles are now leading it ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline. But Elias, the club’s executive vice president and general manager, said going from worst to first in under two years hasn’t given him the confidence to sit on his hands while other AL East teams bolster their rosters.
On Monday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays, who entered the day 1 1/2 games back of the Orioles, acquired starting pitcher Aaron Civale from the Cleveland Guardians. The Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday acquired reliever Jordan Hicks from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Elias said what their top competitors in the AL and division do at the deadline could have an impact on how the Orioles approach potential trades.
“We’re keeping an eye on what our division’s doing,” he said. “Look, we’re a game and a half up in our division, there’s a long way to go. You’re not just worrying about the Rays in second place. We’ve got three other teams, and any one of those could challenge for the division. It’s certainly part of the equation is keeping an eye on what other teams are doing as it pertains to forecasting where we’re going.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, here are the three types of players the Orioles could target.
Starting pitchers
Elias said he “would bet heavily” that any additions at the deadline would be for pitchers.
Adding a starting pitcher, especially one who can lead the rotation, is perhaps the club’s biggest need. It was made even more so after the Orioles optioned starter Tyler Wells to Double-A on Sunday after a string of ineffective starts.
“I think it’s no secret that that would be the areas of the team where we could A. either use more depth or B. look for upgrades,” Elias said. “We’re participating in that market, and we’ll see what comes of it, but those are obviously the conversations that are first and foremost for us on the pitching side when we’re looking to bring in help.”
Without Wells, who was the Orioles’ best starting pitcher in the first half, Baltimore is without a named starter Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays. That spot in the rotation will either be given to left-hander Cole Irvin or an arm the Orioles acquire at the deadline.
While Kyle Bradish has been excellent the past two months, he’s still just in his second big league season. John Means could return from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery recovery in early September, but whether he’ll be able to start games and throw 90-plus pitches remains to be seen.
For those reasons, a top-line starting pitcher is the main way the Orioles can make a splash at the deadline.
Possible options: New York Mets right-hander Justin Verlander, San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell, Detroit Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, Tigers right-hander Michael Lorenzen, St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty.
Relief pitchers
The back end of the Orioles’ bullpen doesn’t need help, but they do need assistance in getting to the dynamic duo of Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista.
At times this season, Baltimore’s bullpen has struggled in the middle innings. Elias has already made one move to bolster the club’s middle relief corps, adding right-hander Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics. But that doesn’t mean the Orioles can’t add another reliever.
“We’ve got a great back half of the bullpen, but there’s a couple of spots that are in flux,” he said. “Any team can improve the middle part of their bullpen. By definition, you can always improve the middle part of your bullpen. Obviously, we’ve got the best closer in the game right now, and relative to him, the middle spots are an area that we can look around for and we’re doing that in addition to the Fujinami trade.”
While a reliever wouldn’t be as impactful as a starter, it would also cost less for the Orioles to acquire one.
Possible options: Padres left-hander Josh Hader, Washington Nationals right-hander Kyle Finnegan, Kansas City Royals left-hander Scott Barlow, Chicago White Sox left-hander Aaron Bummer.
Outfielders
Given the injuries to center fielders Cedric Mullins and Aaron Hicks, it’s possible the Orioles could be in the market for an outfielder who can play center field.
However, Elias said the goal for Hicks and Mullins is for them to spend “a large bit of August” back with the Orioles. He said their injuries aren’t influencing how the club is handling the deadline.
“We’re not that worried,” he said. “Obviously, they’re out for a few weeks, but we’ve got [Colton] Cowser, [Ryan] McKenna, [Austin] Hays. We’re in pretty good shape.”
Possible options: Nationals’ Lane Thomas, Mets’ Mark Canha, Seattle Mariners’ Teoscar Hernández, Mets’ Tommy Pham.
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