This is the last game for the Orioles before the trade deadline.
This is it. This is the final Orioles game before the trade deadline. So far, Mike Elias has only traded some relievers who most people probably didn’t care about all that much, leading to a bullpen of guys who, before the season, were not thought of very much by O’s fans. They might not even have been in the organization at all.
Presumably, other trades will be coming. Starting pitchers, if the Orioles crop of veterans with poor season numbers are in demand enough for Elias to move them. Outfielders, if someone wants Cedric Mullins or Elias decides the prospects he’s getting are worth more than Ramón Laureano’s presence for next year. Ryan O’Hearn should be in demand from multiple teams. It’s a bummer to think about the dismantling – but not as much of a bummer as the April/May play that necessitated the trades.
We’ve seen over the past three games why this team always had potential this season. The Blue Jays are solidly in first place here at the end of July and the Orioles have been kicking the crap out of them, with two blowouts so far along with a narrow win saved by Corbin Martin (really). It’s a shame that those first two months were such a mess because the offense at full strength could have been good enough. The rotation could have been too. It wasn’t, so here we are.
Finishing off the four-game mop of the Jays would be fun for its own sake. It’s far too late to change the trade math. The Orioles are seven games out, still with seven teams to pass. They’d have to win their next eight games beyond this just to get back to .500. If they’re going to do a 2024 Tigers-like miracle, they’ll be doing it without those who have already been traded and those who will be dealt over the next 30 hours or so.
Orioles lineup
- Jackson Holliday – 2B
- Jordan Westburg – 3B
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Adley Rutschman – DH
- Ryan O’Hearn – 1B
- Colton Cowser – LF
- Cedric Mullins – CF
- Dylan Carlson – RF
- Alex Jackson – C
The Orioles were fairly late to post this lineup and Laureano isn’t in it, which could mean something in terms of a coming trade or maybe it means nothing at all. They might just want to give Carlson a start against a righty and it has nothing to do with tomorrow being the deadline.
Dean Kremer is pitching for the Orioles. Of O’s pitchers who’ve made ten or more starts, he’s got the best ERA, which explains a lot about why this season is where it is since Kremer’s ERA is not very good at 4.23. If he can push that lower between now and season’s end, that would be one of the markers towards feeling better for 2026.
Blue Jays lineup
- Joey Loperfido – RF
- Ernie Clement – 2B
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – DH
- Bo Bichette – SS
- Addison Barger – 3B
- Davis Schneider – LF
- Will Wagner – 1B
- Myles Straw – CF
- Ali Sánchez – C
The Blue Jays starter is Jose Berríos, who is doing some solid innings-eating this season. This is a guy who’s not getting many strikeouts, so he’s going to give up contact. Maybe that will go well for the Orioles. You never know.