Just a few games from the third Wild Card spot, the Orioles have pushed themselves into a much better place than anyone expected when the first half of the season was unfolding. They’re 7-3 in their last 10 games as of July 25, and that surge has changed the conversation around Baltimore at the deadline.
For most of the year, the Orioles looked like likely sellers. Now, GM Mike Elias could have a real case to act like a buyer.
That doesn’t mean Baltimore should chase only short-term help. Rental pieces can matter, sure, but the bigger swing is finding players who can stay in the picture through 2027 and beyond.
In a division with the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox, that kind of move would give the Orioles a better shot at keeping pace over the long haul. And with a number of clubs around baseball already bracing for a sell-off, there are controllable arms out there - if Baltimore is willing to pay.
Hunter Greene is the kind of arm that could change the Orioles’ rotation picture in one shot. Baltimore has had a hard time landing elite free agent pitchers, so trading for one has always been the more realistic path.
Greene fits that mold. He’s got three years of team control left after this season, and the Reds don’t need to move him unless someone makes the offer worth their while.
That’s where Baltimore’s farm system comes into play. MLB.com has ranked the Orioles’ minor league system highly in recent seasons, which gives Elias the kind of prospect capital that can at least get Cincinnati’s attention.
Greene won’t come cheap, and players like Nate George and Joseph Dzierwa could be part of the kind of package it would take to make a serious run at him. The upside is obvious: Greene owns a career K/9 rate of 11.3 and brings some of the nastiest stuff in the sport.
The downside is just as clear. Since reaching the majors in 2022, he hasn’t managed to put together a full season, and his 150.1 innings in 2024 stand as his career high.
Still, with a year left on his team-friendly 6 yrs/$53M contract and two team options through 2030, he’s the sort of gamble that can make sense.
José Soriano offers a different route: still useful, still controllable, but likely far less expensive. He opened the 2026 season looking like an early Cy Young candidate, rolling through April with a 0.84 ERA and a WHIP under one.
Then came the rough stretch. In May and June, Soriano posted a 5.34 ERA, and his command slipped badly with 33 walks in 57.1 innings.
But July has brought a rebound, and he’s looked much more like the pitcher he was at the start of the year.
The Angels, who are currently battling the Rockies for the worst record in baseball, are expected to hear teams out on their top players, including Reid Detmers. Soriano, with two more years of team control after the 2026 season, fits the Orioles’ preferred lane: a pitcher who can help now and still matter later. And because his price should be lighter than Greene’s, Baltimore may be more willing to make the kind of deal that doesn’t strip the top of the prospect list.
That’s the balancing act for Elias now. If the Orioles are going to keep this push alive and build something that lasts, the best deadline moves are the ones that stretch beyond this season.
In Other News...
Another Orioles Loss Just Raised The Stakes Around Mike Elias
A close loss to the Braves did not change the larger picture for Baltimore, which is now staring straight at the trade deadline with a decision to make. The Orioles have had enough individual bright spots to keep the conversation from turning purely bleak, but the calendar is forcing the front office to sort out whether this is still a team that can push for a spot in the postseason or one that needs to start cashing in pieces and thinking longer term.
Mike Elias is right in the middle of that conversation, because the next few days could define how aggressively the Orioles move. Trevor Rogers has emerged as one of the more interesting names in the mix if Baltimore does decide to sell, while Kyle Bradishs recent extension is another reminder that not every move on the roster points in the same direction. The result is a familiar deadline tension: a team still trying to compete, but with enough uncertainty around the standings that every loss makes the path a little harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Rogers Has Forced A Huge Orioles Decision
Trevor Rogers has put the Orioles in a familiar spot for a front office that already locked up Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish before the season: decide whether a pitcher who has helped stabilize the rotation is worth a longer commitment before the market gets involved. A fan survey showed overwhelming support for an extension, and it is easy to see why the idea has traction, but Baltimore still has to weigh the value of acting now against the reality that Rogers has not built the kind of long, steady track record that makes these calls simple.
The timing only sharpens the dilemma, because Rogers is getting close to free agency and the Orioles have to consider every possible path with him. They can try to work out a deal, they can ride out the season and make a qualifying offer, or they can keep the door open to a more complicated decision later if the clubs place in the standings changes. For a team trying to balance present contention with future control, Rogers has become one of the more important names on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Defensive Mess Sparks Bigger Questions About Accountability
The Orioles defensive problems have gone beyond a bad week or two, and the numbers have started to reflect it. Baltimore has spent the 2026 season near the bottom of the league in errors per game and among the worst teams in unearned runs allowed, a frustrating backdrop for a club that has tried to build around cleaner, sharper baseball. Hall of Famer Mike Bordick, who knows what solid infield play is supposed to look like, has become one of the louder voices calling out the sloppiness and the lack of basic execution.
Bordicks larger concern is not just the miscues themselves, but the way they are being handled. He has pointed to mistakes by both infielders and pitchers, and he believes the Orioles need more direct accountability and more emphasis on fundamentals, especially with Adley Rutschman and Blaze Alexander injured and the margin for error even thinner. He also sees a contrast with the old-school approach Tony Mansolino brought in his interim stint, a style Bordick thinks might better fit a team trying to stop beating itself. [Read more 🡒]