BALTIMORE -- The Orioles could walk back onto the field Tuesday night at Camden Yards looking like a different club. They could also look almost exactly the same.
With Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline closing in, Baltimore still doesn’t know how much movement is coming, or what direction those moves might take.
That uncertainty is hanging over a team that badly needs a reset on the field after a rough weekend against the Phillies. Baltimore dropped Sunday’s rain-shortened game 8-0 in five and a half innings, and Philadelphia finished the series by outscoring the Orioles 13-0 over the final two games.
Even so, the standings keep the door open. The Orioles are 54-58, just 2 1/2 games behind the third American League Wild Card spot held by the Guardians at 57-56. The Twins (56-57), Rangers (55-57), Mariners (55-58) and Tigers (54-58) are all still in the chase.
For now, the only thing the players can do is keep their focus on the field and not the front office.
“What we have in this clubhouse is more than capable of winning, regardless of what they do,” right-hander Kyle Bradish said. “But at the end of the day, it’s something you can’t control."
Sunday’s game briefly looked like it might tilt Baltimore’s way after the first delay. Play stopped for 1 hour and 49 minutes in the middle of the third inning, and neither starter returned once the game resumed. Bradish gave up two runs in three innings, while Philadelphia right-hander Zack Wheeler worked two scoreless frames.
Wheeler has a 2.49 ERA in 18 starts this season, and he looked the part. Getting into the Phillies’ bullpen by the third could have mattered for the Orioles, especially with that relief group carrying a 4.40 ERA that sits near the bottom of the National League.
Instead, Baltimore’s offense stayed silent. The Orioles have now gone 15 straight innings without scoring, dating back to Friday. Philadelphia then worked over the Baltimore bullpen for six runs, with Anthony Nunez, Josh Walker and Albert Suárez each failing to turn in clean innings.
“It’s not ideal,” manager Craig Albernaz said of the contest becoming bullpen games for both clubs. “The Phillies had one of their guys going, Wheeler, and we had K.B.
It would make for a really good game. It just stinks that they were both done.”
The uncertainty off the field comes after president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that the Orioles would not operate as straightforward buyers or sellers. Instead, the front office is looking at different possibilities and could make moves that go in both directions.
Baltimore has already made one deal, sending Dean Kremer to the Twins late Friday night, a move that clearly landed on the sell side.
“Difficult part of the business,” Bradish said. “He’s one of my best friends. We’ve played together ever since I’ve been in the big leagues, so it’s tough not having him around every day.”
Inside the clubhouse, the hope is simple: keep the group together and keep pushing. The players believe they have enough talent to make this a successful season.
Still, nobody knows what Tuesday will bring when the Angels come to town. So the waiting continues.
“You look at the landscape of the division, where everyone’s at in the AL, we’re not too far off,” outfielder Colton Cowser said. “I have a lot of belief in this clubhouse and know that we can win a lot of games. So, kind of putting our faith in the front office, and whatever they decide to do, they decide to do."
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 🡒]