A month after tearing the roster down at the trade deadline, the Orioles are somehow still standing in the race.
Baltimore chose the sell-off route on Aug. 3, moving pieces it no longer expected to keep in the mix. Adley Rutschman went to the Boston Red Sox, Taylor Ward was dealt to the Seattle Mariners, and Tyler Wells landed with the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the kind of deadline that signals a team is looking ahead, not around the corner.
But one month later, the Orioles have managed to get something rare out of that decision: a future haul and a live postseason chase.
Johnny Flores Jr. of The Athletic gave Baltimore an “A” in his deadline re-grade, pointing to both the prospect return and the fact that the club is still right in the thick of things.
"Trade deadline report card: A," Flores writes. "... That the club is just one game back of the third and final AL wild-card spot, even after a busy Aug. 3, is all the more reason to celebrate."
The return package has already given Baltimore plenty to feel good about. Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar, and Alex Hoppe are among the prospects the Orioles added in the deals, and the early results have been encouraging.
At the same time, the big-league club has refused to fade. As of Sept.
2, Baltimore is just 1.5 games out of the third wild-card spot, with one month left in the 2026 regular season. Despite moving Ward and Rutschman, two established players, the Orioles have stayed close enough to make October a real possibility.
And there’s a twist in all of this: the Mariners, who acquired Ward, are 5.5 games out of the Wild Card and 5.0 back in the AL West. So the team that bought at the deadline is currently in a worse position than the team that sold.
That’s why Baltimore’s deadline looks so good now. The Orioles added to the farm system without sacrificing their shot this season, and that combination is exactly what made Flores’ re-grade so favorable.
In Other News...
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Orioles Just Took Another Costly Hit From A Familiar Problem
Craig Albernazs latest lineup and bullpen choices added another layer of frustration to a Orioles season already defined by close calls and missed chances. In Colorado, Baltimore dropped a 4-2 decision to the Rockies, a result that nudged the club further back in the Wild Card race and put more attention on a night when Kyle Bradish again looked like a pitcher still working through the effects of past injuries.
The game also brought a couple of eyebrow-raising decisions that will be discussed long after the final out. Luis DeLeon was asked to make his MLB debut in the middle of a tense spot, and the Orioles were without Luis Robert Jr. despite acquiring him earlier, while Coby Mayo was also left out of the lineup. For a team trying to keep pace in a crowded race, those choices only sharpened the sense that Baltimore is still searching for the right formula. [Read more 🡒]