BALTIMORE -- The Orioles’ pursuit of starting pitching took them to an American League East rival, one who was willing to part with a high-ceiling right-hander for a hefty package of prospects in return.
Baltimore is acquiring righty Shane Baz from Tampa Bay in exchange for four prospects and a 2026 Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick, the club announced on Friday.
TRADE DETAILS
Orioles get: RHP Shane Baz
Rays get: OF Slater de Brun (O’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline), C Caden Bodine (O’s No. 10), RHP Michael Forret (O’s No. 11), OF Austin Overn (O’s No. 30), 2026 Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick
The O’s are giving up quite a bit for Baz, so they clearly believe the 26-year-old will bolster a rotation in need of upgrades.
Baz, a first-round Draft pick of the Pirates in 2017, struggled to stay healthy early in his professional career, making only 23 big league starts for the Rays from 2021-24. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2022, causing him to miss all of the ‘23 season.
Although Baz had a 4.87 ERA this past season, he set career highs in starts (31), innings (166 1/3) and strikeouts (176). He’ll look to build upon that in Baltimore over the next few years, as he’s under team control through the end of the 2028 season.
With Baz joining the fold, the Orioles’ rotation landscape now looks like this:
- RHP Kyle Bradish
- LHP Trevor Rogers
- RHP Shane Baz
- RHP Dean Kremer
- RHP Tyler Wells
Depth: LHP Cade Povich, RHP Albert Suárez, RHP Brandon Young
The O’s may not be done adding starters, though. They’ve been in the market for some of the top free agents (such as left-handers Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez), and they could still use another top arm to take their rotation to another level.