The Orioles are staring at a trade deadline that could push them in two very different directions, and Mike Elias made the mood pretty clear on Saturday: Baltimore wants to go for it, if it makes sense. That’s the kind of line that leaves plenty of room for interpretation, especially with the club well outside the playoff picture and rumors already swirling around Adley Rutschman.
That uncertainty is exactly why this deadline matters so much. The Orioles have a roster with talent, but they also have decisions that could either nudge them back toward contention or drag them into a messier rebuild. And if they want to avoid making things worse, there are two moves they need to stay away from.
The first is taking on a bad contract just to add a veteran name.
Baltimore could use some experience, sure, and there will be plenty of clubs willing to dump older players with ugly money attached. One name that has surfaced around the Orioles is Matt Chapman, and on the baseball side, it’s easy to see why. Third base defense has been a disaster area for Baltimore this season, and Chapman remains one of the best defensive third basemen in the sport.
He would help them right now. That’s not the issue.
The problem is the price tag and the timeline. Chapman is 33, and he is owed $25 million for each of the next four seasons after this year, which runs through his age-37 season.
That’s the part the Orioles have to be careful with. Once players hit that stage, the decline often shows up in bat speed first, and production tends to follow.
Chapman’s bat speed is still elite, but the numbers already point to some slippage. His OPS has gone from .790 in 2024 to .770 in 2025 and sits at .692 now. He’s having a good month, but if Baltimore made that deal, it would be paying for the years most likely to age badly.
There’s another layer here too. If the Orioles added Chapman, they’d be stacking him alongside Alonso as two expensive players on long-term deals that were signed with the understanding that the final years would be rough.
That kind of payroll structure is hard enough to manage on its own. Doing it with two players at once would make roster building even tougher, even if Baltimore spent more than it ever has before.
The other move the Orioles can’t make is trading Adley Rutschman.
That one is going to keep coming up because Rutschman is valuable, and with a year and a half of team control left, other clubs could put together offers that look appealing on paper. But baseball doesn’t get played on paper. Rutschman means more to the Orioles than a stat line can show.
He brings production, he brings value in the clubhouse, and he represents this era of Orioles baseball to the fans and to the young players who’ve arrived after him. Moving him now would amount to admitting the rebuild failed, and it would send a blunt message to the rest of the young core about how the front office views players as they get closer to free agency.
Baltimore would be far better off trying to extend Rutschman than using the deadline to cash him in. Keeping him would preserve a fan favorite and show the next wave of players that they’re more than just trade chips.
The Orioles need to be open-minded and creative over the next stretch, but dealing Rutschman or adding an aging, expensive veteran would do real damage to the long-term outlook.
In Other News...
Orioles Need To See This From Jackson Holliday Before 2027 Plans Clear
Jackson Holliday is back with the Orioles after missing the first two months of the season with an injury, and the return has come with the kind of scrutiny that follows any top prospect in Baltimore. He is still young for his experience level and the organization has long viewed him as a major part of its future, but the early version of his comeback has not looked like the breakout many expected.
What the Orioles need now is a clearer sign that his bat is moving in the right direction, especially in the way he handles pitches and puts balls in play. For a club trying to map out its next few seasons, Hollidays development is not just about getting him healthy again, it is about finding out whether he can still grow into the role they once seemed ready to hand him. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles May Have Learned Something Concerning About Trey Gibson
Trey Gibsons first look in the big leagues gave the Orioles a reminder that pitching prospects rarely arrive with a straight line from the minors to Camden Yards. Promoted because of injuries in the rotation, the right-hander flashed the kind of arm that made him one of Baltimores better young pitchers, but the results also showed how quickly the margin shrinks against major league hitters when command slips.
What makes Gibson worth watching is that the stuff has not disappeared, and his Double-A success earlier this season suggested a pitcher who could miss bats and limit damage when everything was synced up. The concern now is less about whether he belongs in the organizations future plans and more about how long it will take for his command to catch up, because that will determine whether he is just depth for now or someone who can truly push for a rotation job down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Could Force Orioles Fans To Rethink The Trade Deadline
The Astros surge back into the American League West and wild-card picture has changed the tone around their deadline plans, turning a club that looked like a likely seller into one that may be shopping for help instead. For Baltimore fans, that matters because Houstons new posture could put the Orioles on the other side of the market, with Bleacher Reports Kerry Miller pointing to a pair of Baltimore players as possible fits if the Astros decide to buy.
One of those names would make sense for a Houston team looking to add offense, even if the power production has not matched last years pace. The other has been working through a rocky overall line, but a strong June suggested there may still be more upside there than the season-long numbers show, which is exactly the kind of profile a contender can talk itself into when the deadline starts to tighten up. [Read more 🡒]