The Orioles didn’t wait long to tinker with the roster after the deadline. Before tonight’s game against the last-place Angels, they brought up left-hander Cade Povich to start, added catcher Carlos Narváez and outfielder Christian Franklin, and sent outfielder Rece Hinds and right-hander Codi Heuer to Triple-A Norfolk yesterday.
Narváez, who came to Baltimore in the Adley Rutschman/Jake Rogers deal with the Red Sox, is behind the plate tonight.
Franklin’s arrival gives the Orioles a fresh look in left field. The 26-year-old came over from the Nationals for Double-A pitcher Joe Glassey in the second trade between the two clubs.
At Triple-A Rochester, he hit .249/.375/.360 with 17 doubles, two triples, six homers, 39 RBIs, 65 walks and 17 steals in 93 games. He has a .389 on-base percentage across five minor league seasons, and tonight is his major league debut as the starting left fielder.
Dylan Beavers is in the leadoff spot in right field, Christian Encarnacion-Strand is batting cleanup and Coby Mayo is at third.
Povich gets the ball after a brief stretch back in the organization. He has appeared in four games for Baltimore, with three starts, and owns a 5.12 ERA over 19 1/3 innings.
Left elbow inflammation sent him to the injured list on May 8. At Norfolk, he posted a 6.30 ERA in eight starts, though his lone career outing against the Angels was a bright one: 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings.
The matchup comes with Baltimore still hanging around in the Wild Card chase. The Orioles opened the day tied with the Tigers and 2 ½ games out of the final spot, with four teams sitting ahead of them. They’ve also handled the Angels well in recent years, going 21-8 against them since 2022.
The Angels, meanwhile, keep running into the same wall in Baltimore. They haven’t won a series at Camden Yards since May 2019, and they haven’t taken a road series since May 26-28 in Detroit.
This game also sends former Orioles first-round pick Grayson Rodriguez back to Camden Yards after the November trade that brought Taylor Ward to Baltimore. Ward was moved again yesterday, this time to the Mariners.
Rodriguez’s season has been interrupted twice by the injured list. In 10 starts, he has a 7.98 ERA and a 1.750 WHIP in 44 innings. Leody Taveras has seen him well, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run against him.
Through his first 10 starts, Rodriguez and Eli Grba in 1962 are the only Angels pitchers to put up a 7.98 ERA and a .315 opponent average.
The Angels did win two of three from the Orioles in June, but they enter tonight with the worst record in the majors at 43-69. They’re 18-36 away from home. Gunnar Henderson, for his part, has a career 1.165 OPS against the Angels, his best mark against any opponent.
In Other News...
Pete Alonso Sent A Message Orioles Fans Needed To Hear
Pete Alonsos comments offered a small measure of reassurance for Orioles fans trying to process a jarring deadline stretch. After Baltimore sent Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox, Alonso spoke to the media and said president of baseball operations Mike Elias addressed the club following the flurry of trades, trying to steady a roster that has been reshaped in a hurry. It was the kind of message a team in transition needs, especially with the Orioles sitting fourth in the AL East and trying to stay attached to the race.
The bigger question now is whether that belief holds up on the field. Baltimore has been moved into a far different spot than it was expected to occupy at this stage, and the margin for error in the Wild Card chase is getting thinner by the day. Elias may still see a path to October, but the Orioles have to prove there is enough left in the room to make that vision matter. [Read more 🡒]
Adley Rutschman Trade Hit Orioles Fans Even Harder Than Expected
The Orioles decision to trade Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox landed with all the force you would expect from moving a franchise centerpiece, but the personal detail makes it sting a little more. Rutschman was Baltimores No. 1 overall pick in 2019 and became one of the defining players of the clubs rise, appearing in 572 games and collecting three All-Star nods along with a Silver Slugger award in 2023.
What makes the moment stand out even more is how ordinary it began, with Rutschman spending time away from the ballpark alongside former Orioles teammates Colston Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson. For a player who had spent years as one of the faces of the organization, the timing underscored just how abruptly the next chapter began, and why this move resonated so deeply with Baltimore fans. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Catcher Shakeup Could Force A Bigger Samuel Basallo Role
The Orioles are among the clubs still sorting out the ripple effects from the trade deadline, and one of the bigger questions in Baltimore is how the catcher situation will look going forward. After adding pieces and shifting roles around the roster, the team now has to balance its lineup and defensive alignment while keeping the rest of the club steady during the transition.
Samuel Basallo is one of the names that comes into sharper focus in that mix, especially with the Orioles needing to cover more ground behind the plate than they did before the deadline. Even as the roster settles in around the new additions, Baltimores next move at catcher will be worth watching because it could determine how quickly Basallos role expands and how central he becomes to the teams plans. [Read more 🡒]