The Orioles’ deadline purge rolled on Thursday, and this one came with a familiar name going back the other way. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Baltimore is sending reliever Tyler Wells to the Rays, with the Tampa Bay Times adding that the Orioles will receive pitching prospect Michael Forret in return.
Wells has been one of the few steady arms in Baltimore’s bullpen this season, and maybe the only one that really fit that description. After years of trying him as a starter, the Orioles finally settled him into a relief role, and he rewarded them with a 2.67 ERA and a 0.963 WHIP in 54 innings over 43 appearances.
That’s not elite closer stuff, but it’s the kind of production any bullpen can use. Tampa Bay has already shown a knack for squeezing more out of Orioles relievers, with Bryan Baker becoming an All-Star after landing there, and Wells now gets the same shot. He turns 32 later this month and comes with 2027 team control still left, along with a salary that stays very manageable: $2.55 million this year, plus a final arbitration raise next season.
For Baltimore, the move is another sign that the club’s deadline approach has shifted hard toward selling, even with the Orioles only 2.5 games out of a wild card spot. Adley Rutschman was dealt earlier in the day, and Dean Kremer is also now gone. The bigger picture is getting thinner by the hour, and there’s still time for more movement before the deadline passes.
Forret brings a different kind of return. The Orioles drafted him in the 14th round in 2023, and after showing enough to become a modestly interesting arm last season, he was shipped to Tampa Bay in the Shane Baz deal.
Now he’s back in Baltimore’s system after a season that started strong in Double-A before Triple-A brought more turbulence. At that level, he posted a 4.89 ERA and a 1.474 WHIP in nine starts.
There’s still upside here. MLB Pipeline had Forret ranked as the Rays’ No. 8 prospect at the time of the trade, and he should land somewhere around that spot in the Orioles’ system too. He’s 22, and because he signed out of junior college at 19, Baltimore will need to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason to keep him away from the Rule 5 draft.
For an Orioles team trying to navigate a strange deadline, it’s a little unexpected to be bringing Forret back instead of pushing more pieces out. But that’s where things stand now, with more decisions still to come and the roster getting stripped down in real time.
In Other News...
Orioles Fans May Hate What Adley Rutschman News Says About This Front Office
The Orioles rebuilding project has always been judged through the lens of patience, but any conversation about progress in Baltimore is going to feel different when it involves Adley Rutschman. The franchise centerpiece has been at the heart of everything the club has tried to build under general manager Mike Elias, which is why the latest news naturally lands as a referendum on the front office as much as on the player himself.
There is still a procedural step left before anything becomes official, and that is the part keeping this story from being complete. Even so, the mere fact that Rutschmans name is now tied to a move of this magnitude will force Orioles fans to reckon with how aggressively the organization wants to keep reshaping the roster, and whether the people making those calls can be trusted with the next phase of the rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face One Deadline Decision That Could Define Their Rotation
The Orioles have already made one move that fits the deadlines usual balancing act, sending Dean Kremer out and bringing Jake Rogers in to shore up catching depth. Now the bigger question is whether they lean further into selling, or take a swing at adding help for a rotation that still has to carry them through a postseason chase. Baltimores front office is working with the same familiar tension that hangs over a contender near the deadline: protect the future, or push chips in for the present.
One possibility being discussed would address a clear need by adding a controllable left-handed starter, the kind of arm that could stabilize the staff beyond this season. It is the sort of deal that would require real prospect capital, and the Orioles have to decide how far they want to go to strengthen the rotation without thinning out the next wave of talent. For a club trying to thread that needle, this is the kind of decision that can shape not just the deadline, but the shape of the pitching staff for some time to come. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Just Helped A Wild Card Rival And Fans Know It
A late-summer trade sent veteran outfielder Taylor Ward from Baltimore to Seattle, a move that immediately drew attention because the Mariners are pushing to stay in the playoff race. Ward, on a one-year deal, gives Seattle another right-handed bat as it tries to shore up an offense that has been looking for a lift.
For the Orioles, the deal is a tougher sell to the fan base because they are still sitting near the wild-card picture themselves and moved a useful bat in the process. Baltimore did bring back three minor-league right-handers in Alex Hoppe, Harrison Kreiling and Brock Moore, though none of them were among Seattles top 30 prospects, which only adds to the feeling that this was a small return for a player who could have helped in the standings race. [Read more 🡒]