A bad offensive performance, the Keys are back in the organization, and behind the scenes of a trade.
Good Morning Birdland,
Welp, the revamped Orioles offense—which is now missing Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, and Cedric Mullins—did not show itself well in its first post-deadline game. They lost 1-0 to the Cubs and totaled just three hits.
As I have said a few times, I’m not gonna get too worked up over game results through the end of the season. The front office’s main priority is not 2025 wins at this point. So, a loss is tolerable provided that the context produces some good news. That was partially the case on Friday afternoon in Chicago.
Trevor Rogers was, once again, really good. He tossed all eight innings that the Orioles were responsible for and allowed just one run on four hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts. He did all of this on just 88 pitches and against one of MLB’s top offenses. Only the Yankees and Dodgers have scored more runs than the Cubs, and that is with the Cubs playing one less game to this point. With each passing game the evidence that Rogers is “fixed” becomes easier to believe. The Orioles still need to add a starter this offseason, but this has been a wonderful development.
The same cannot be said on offense. As has often been the case this year, if the Orioles don’t homer, they don’t score. They had just one extra-base hit, a ninth-inning double from Adley Rutschman. We are all still waiting for Gunnar Henderson to rediscover his power stroke. The shortstop has still be good, just nowhere the MVP candidate he was in 2024.
There is a lot of growing and learning to do in the next two months.
Links
It’s official: Frederick Keys are an Orioles affiliate again | The Baltimore Banner
The Keys are back, and the IronBirds are heading to the MLB Draft League. It’s a logical swap of affiliations. Frederick is a bigger town that has historically supported their minor league team in a significant way. Aberdeen is smaller, and the club has seen attendance lag recently.
Taking a closer look at Orioles’ trade with Padres that netted six minor leaguers | Roch Kubatko
This is an interesting look at the Orioles process to get the deal with the Padres done. Apparently, they wanted Boston Bateman really bad. So much so that they rejected an alternative deal that included Kash Mayfield, a first round pick in 2024 that is considered by many public scouting outlets to be a better prospect than Bateman. Very interesting.
O’s remaining stars recognize need to put ‘big-boy shoes’ on | Orioles.com
It will be interesting to see who steps up. It seemed like O’Hearn was a big team leader, and Mullins was a fan favorite that will be missed. Those that remain will need to step into those roles. That is oftentimes easier said than done.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Parker Bridwell turns 34 today. He pitched in two games for the Orioles back in 2016 before moving on to Anaheim, where he had one really solid season and then struggled to replicate it.
- Matt Riley is 46 years old. The lefty was selected in the third round of the 1997 draft, and then became one of the game’s top prospects. He debuted with the O’s as 20-year-old in 1999, but then went back to the minors for the next three seasons. In total he would pitch in just 19 games for the Orioles between 1999 and 2004.
This day in history
1995 – The Orioles are one-hit by Blue Jays rookie Paul Menhart, but that hit, a solo homer by Harold Baines in the second inning, would be enough to lift them to a 1-0 win.
2022 – The Orioles and Twins make a trade. All-star closer Jorge López goes to Minnesota in exchange for Yennier Cano, Cade Povich, Juan Nunez, and Juan Rojas.