Quick guide to the O's busy Trade Deadline
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This story was excerpted from Jake Rill¡¯s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- As a seven-year MLB veteran, Corbin Burnes has experienced the uncertain nature of Trade Deadline season plenty of times. But his first Deadline in Baltimore was a bit different than any of his previous six in Milwaukee.
How so, exactly? Because the Orioles made seven trades over a span of four days (two on Friday, five on Tuesday) and brought nine new players into the organization.
¡°This is probably, I think, the most faces I think I've ever come across as far as adding at a Deadline. So this will be kind of a first for me,¡± Burnes said. ¡°If they're coming here, they're good players, and they¡¯re going to be in the same mindset as we are. And that¡¯s to win baseball games.¡±
General manager Mike Elias went down his checklist and crossed off every item along the way.
¡°We accomplished our goals,¡± Elias said during Tuesday¡¯s MASN broadcast, ¡°which was a right-handed reliever, a left-handed reliever, some right-handed outfield presence to help backfill Austin Hays and then two starting pitchers that are going to go right in our rotation.¡±
Let¡¯s analyze the six Deadline moves made by the O¡¯s that featured big league players, each of which can fit into one of three categories.
THE ROTATION MOVES
The additions: RHP Zach Eflin (Rays), LHP Trevor Rogers (Marlins)
The cost: INF/OF Mac Horvath, RHP Jackson Baumeister and OF Matthew Etzel to Tampa Bay; INF/OF Connor Norby and OF Kyle Stowers to Miami
The verdict: The Eflin deal is likely to go down as the best move made by the Orioles at the 2024 Trade Deadline. The 30-year-old is an efficient, strike-throwing right-hander who will log a lot of innings for Baltimore not only the rest of the way this season, but also throughout ¡®25.
Eflin (who allowed three runs in six innings in his Orioles debut Monday vs. the Blue Jays) is a great addition, and because the O¡¯s made the move on Friday -- before the cost for starting pitchers went up -- they didn¡¯t have to part with any of their top nine prospects.
The cost for the Orioles to land Rogers was a bit higher, as they lost Norby and Stowers, two youngsters who put up big numbers at Triple-A Norfolk and flashed their potential at times in the Majors. But Rogers gives Baltimore a needed lefty starter, and he¡¯s signed through the 2026 season. So if he can get back to his ¡®21 All-Star form, he could be quite helpful.
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THE BULLPEN MOVES
The additions: RHP Seranthony Dom¨ªnguez (Phillies), LHP Gregory Soto (Phillies)
The cost: OF Austin Hays, RHP Seth Johnson and RHP Mois¨¦s Chace to Philadelphia
The verdict: The O¡¯s have recreated the back end of the Phillies¡¯ 2023 bullpen, as Dom¨ªnguez and Soto are reuniting with closer Craig Kimbrel. Dom¨ªnguez has already proven to be a strong addition, throwing three scoreless innings over three appearances since Friday -- the day he and outfielder Cristian Pache were traded for Hays.
Soto will need to cut down on walks -- the 29-year-old lefty is averaging 5.1 per nine innings after averaging a career-best 3.3 per nine last season -- but he throws hard, much like the 29-year-old Dom¨ªnguez.
It hurt Baltimore to lose Hays, and Johnson could have a bright future once he reaches The Show. But the O¡¯s bullpen is stronger for the next year-plus, with Soto under contract for 2025 and Dom¨ªnguez having a club option.
THE OUTFIELD MOVES
The additions: DH/OF Eloy Jim¨¦nez (White Sox), OF Austin Slater (Reds), OF Cristian Pache (Phillies)
The cost: LHP Trey McGough to Chicago; A player to be named later or cash considerations to Cincinnati; OF Austin Hays to Philadelphia
The verdict: It¡¯s hard to envision either Slater or Pache making much of a big league impact moving forward, especially because Jim¨¦nez is now in the fold. The trade with the White Sox was a low-risk one -- McGough is a former Triple-A Rule 5 pick who hasn¡¯t logged a ton of Minor League innings -- and it could potentially reap quite a reward.
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Jim¨¦nez has been hampered by injuries throughout his six-year MLB tenure, but he was terrific early in his career. He belted 31 home runs as a rookie in 2019, then won an American League Silver Slugger Award in ¡®20.
If Jim¨¦nez can hit more like that version of himself -- and not the one with a career-low .642 OPS through 65 games this year -- the 27-year-old could become a big bat for Baltimore.