Pete Alonso didn’t sugarcoat the mood around the Orioles after Baltimore moved Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward and Tyler Wells before Monday’s MLB trade deadline.
Speaking to the media one day after the deal that sent 2019 first-round pick Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox, Alonso said Orioles GM and President Mike Elias had addressed the team in the aftermath of the moves.
According to Alonso, Elias was direct with the clubhouse and still believes Baltimore can make a postseason push. The Baltimore Banner Sports X account shared Alonso’s comments.
Alonso also made it clear the players know they have some responsibility here. The Orioles are 54-58, sitting fourth in the AL East and 2.5 games out in the race for the third wild card. That chase remains crowded, with Minnesota, Texas, Seattle, Baltimore and Detroit all packed within 2.5 games of the final postseason spot.
For Baltimore, the quickest way to quiet the sting is obvious: play cleaner baseball and start stacking wins. The club already let a handful of tight games slip away in the first half, and now it has to move forward with a reshaped roster.
Rutschman’s exit landed especially hard for teammates who were close with him. He was reportedly on his way to the movie theater to see the new “Spiderman” movie with Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle when he got the news. He was a popular presence in the clubhouse, but as the situation now makes clear, baseball keeps moving.
There was also reporting that the Orioles offered Rutschman two deals between November and May, but for whatever reason, both were turned down.
Baltimore now turns to Tuesday night at Camden Yards against the Los Angeles Angels, with Grayson Rodriguez slated to start for his new club. How fans react to the altered roster - and to seeing a former Orioles pitcher on the mound - will be one of the night’s biggest questions.
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For Baltimore, the return added real volume to a transaction that already looked seismic, with multiple players coming back in the exchange. However it is judged later, this was the kind of deadline move that instantly changes the conversation around a club, because when a core catcher of Rutschmans stature is involved, every piece of the return and every next step becomes part of the story. [Read more 🡒]