BALTIMORE -- The buzz continues to grow surrounding the Orioles, one of the most interesting teams to monitor ahead of Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.
Will they buy? Will they sell? Will they do a mixture of both? WIll they stand pat?
President of baseball operations Mike Elias met with the media prior to Friday’s series-opening 6-4 win over the Phillies at Camden Yards to provide a bit of clarity regarding where Baltimore stands. And it doesn’t sound as if the O’s (who improved to 54-56) will be buyers or sellers, from a traditional Deadline sense.
Elias wants to make good trades, and what that will look like is still to be determined.
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“We’re not going to have a strong bias toward being in one of those buckets, buyer or seller. I think we put ourselves in a position where we can’t have a bias in either direction,” Elias said. “So we are out in the market, on the phones, finding out what’s going on out there and looking at things on a case-by-case basis -- looking for trades that we like, looking for exchanges of talent that we think makes sense for the organization.
“Maybe those are short-term moves where we bring players in that are going to help us right now, or next year. Maybe those are longer-term moves where we’re sending out guys that are on this team right now and bringing in players for the future of the organization. I think we put ourselves in a position where we’re not declaring ourselves to be in one bucket or the other, and we are going to be kind of assessing moves as the market dictates.”
Doesn’t that make the Orioles’ Trade Deadline plans and preparations a bit complicated? Yes, and Elias admitted as much. But it’s been a slow-developing market this summer, largely in part due to the crowded mix of teams in the American League Wild Card hunt.
Even though Baltimore has a sub-.500 record, it entered Friday only 2 1/2 games out of the third AL Wild Card spot, which was occupied by Cleveland (56-54). Teams such as Minnesota (55-55), Houston (55-55), Seattle (53-57), Detroit (51-58) and Toronto (50-59) were in the mix as well.
Elias believes the O’s can emerge from that group to reach the postseason for the third time in four years, and their play during a 15-8 July supports that claim.
“I look at where we are in the standings, and we do have a shot. We do care about making the playoffs in 2026,” Elias said. “We still are respecting our chances for 2026, and repeatedly believe that this is the talent to be a playoff team if we can get things pointed in the right direction.”
At the same time, the Orioles could use the Trade Deadline as an opportunity to move players on expiring contracts in order to bolster the long-term health of the franchise.
If Baltimore is open to dealing big leaguers, then outfielder Taylor Ward and left-handed starter Trevor Rogers would be among the club’s top chips. Both are set to hit free agency after the season and have been quality contributors for the O’s this season.
“I don’t think we can sink all of our attention and chips into 2026. I just don’t think that would be responsible,” Elias said. “So we’re going to go out into the market with an open mind in both directions. That’s just where we are, and that’s just what we’re doing this Deadline.”
Rogers would also seem to be a prime extension candidate, should the Orioles decide to keep him. The 28-year-old left-hander is a key part of the rotation, and the club has been willing to spend money on such deals (the latest being a two-year extension for reliever Yennier Cano announced on Friday).
“I don’t talk about that stuff publicly. I’m never going to be the one to bring it up. As you’ve seen, we do work on this stuff behind the scenes. Some of them have happened,” Elias said. “[Rogers] is terrific, he has been terrific, and we absolutely love him and he’s a great fit here, I’ll leave it at that.”
Another name that has been brought up in trade rumors has been Adley Rutschman. The Orioles’ All-Star catcher is currently on the injured list due to left wrist inflammation, but he is expected to return in mid-August.
On June 27, Elias said the O’s wanted Rutschman “here forever” and that the front office wished it had a longer-term commitment with the 28-year-old, who is set to hit free agency after the 2027 season. Has anything changed on that front over the past month-plus?
“We love him. You feel it when he’s gone from the team. I absolutely love Adley and having him as long as we can,” Elias said. “But as I mentioned, I think we’ve put ourselves in a position where we’ve got to be pretty open-minded here as we go into these talks. But Adley is one of the best things that we have going for us.”
It will be fascinating to see which direction Elias takes the Orioles over the next few days. But for now, he still has a bit more time to figure out what he and his staff should do.
“It makes for a complicated Trade Deadline, and an unpredictable one,” Elias said, “and we’re preparing for everything.”