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Orioles Acquire Eloy Jimenez

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The Orioles and White Sox pulled off a trade sending outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez and cash from Chicago to Baltimore for minor league reliever Trey McGough. Chicago is reportedly kicking in $4MM to cover almost all of the approximate $4.26MM remaining on his contract. The Sox would also pay down $1.5MM of the $3MM buyout on Jimenez’s 2025 club option, which the O’s are virtually certain to decline.

Jimenez, 27, was one of the highest-profile international signings in recent memory and one of the top-ranked prospects in all of baseball prior to his big league debut. He signed a then-record six-year, $43MM deal before ever playing a big league game. He’s earning $13MM this season in the final guaranteed season of that contract, which also contains club options valued at $16.5MM and $18.5MM for the next two seasons. The O’s should pay the $3MM buyout on his 2025 option, making Jimenez a free agent.

In the early stages of his career, Jimenez largely delivered on the hype, hitting .276/.327/.504 with 71 homers in his first 316 games. That includes a down year in 2021, but the Cuban-born slugger was well above-average in 2019, 2020 and 2022 — including a monster .295/.358/.500 slash with 16 homers in only 84 games in ’22.

Injuries have derailed Jimenez’s career, however. He’s been on the injured list for multiple hamstring strains — including a tear that sent him to the 60-day IL — an adductor strain, an appendectomy procedure, an ulnar nerve injury and a high ankle sprain. His once-potent bat has produced only a .240/.297/.345 output in 2024. Jimenez’s 18.9% strikeout rate is actually a career-low, however, and he’s averaging 92.4 mph off the bat with a huge 50.8% hard-hit rate. The O’s will hope that a change of scenery and those underlying metrics can bring about improvement of some degree, if not a return to peak form.

If that type of turnaround is to come to fruition, Jimenez will need a radical overhaul in his swing, however. He’s posted an astonishing 59.6% ground-ball rate this season — far and away the highest in baseball among active players. (Tim Anderson, released by the Marlins this year, technically leads him at 62.4% but isn’t with a team.) For a player that ranks in the sixth percentile of MLB players in terms of average sprint speed, pounding the ball into the ground that often is never going to yield much benefit — regardless of how hard the ball is put into play.

The Orioles, having moved Austin Hays in last week’s trade bringing reliever Seranthony Dominguez over from the Phillies, were reportedly on the hunt for a right-handed bat. Jimenez will fill that role to some extent, and it’s worth noting that he’s posted a strong .304/.360/.370 batting line against lefties in 2024. Again, however, he’s simply been far too prone to grounders whether facing lefties (59%) or righties (59.7%).

McGough, a 26-year-old lefty, came to the Orioles from the Pirates via the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He recently moved to the bullpen after recovering from Tommy John surgery and owns a sparkling 1.99 ERA in 54 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s fanned 25.5% of his opponents and walked 9.7% of them. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen recently listed him 37th among O’s prospects, calling him a potential low-leverage reliever whose best pitch is an above-average slider.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Orioles were finalizing a deal for Jimenez. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the White Sox were receiving McGough. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the cash breakdown.

Orioles To Acquire Trevor Rogers

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The Orioles are acquiring southpaw starting pitcher Trevor Rogers from the Marlins, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  The Marlins will receive second baseman/outfielder Connor Norby in the deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.  Miami also gets outfielder Kyle Stowers, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Rogers marks the Orioles’ second recent rotation addition, after they acquired Zach Eflin from the Rays four days ago.  Rogers, 27 in November, owns a 4.53 ERA, 18.0 K%, 9.7 BB%, and 46.9% groundball rate in 105 1/3 innings this year.  Rogers has a 3.17 ERA over his last nine starts, but with no apparent improvement in his skills.

Rogers was at his best three years ago, when he made the All-Star team and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting by posting a 2.64 ERA in 133 innings.  He averaged 94.6 miles per hour on his fastball that year, and looked like one of the game’s best young starters.  The lefty had a strong pedigree, as well, having been drafted 13th overall out of high school in 2017.

Things took a turn in 2022, as Rogers’ strikeout rate plummeted and he missed a month with lower back spasms.  That season also ended a bit early due to a lat strain.  2023 was worse, as Rogers’ season ended in April after four starts due to a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right lat.

Rogers then entered the arbitration system, and is earning $1.53MM this year.  He remains under team control through 2026.  Rogers has avoided the IL thus far this year, but it’ll be up to Orioles pitching coach Drew French and the rest of the staff to attempt to help him regain his 2021 form.  Rogers’ average fastball velocity is down to 92.2 miles per hour this year, a notable 2.4 mile per hour drop from his one stellar season.

Having lost Kyle Bradish, John Means, and Tyler Wells to Tommy John surgery, the first-place Orioles have a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Eflin, Dean Kremer, and Rogers.  Burnes and Means are eligible for free agency after the season, leaving Rodriguez, Kremer, and new additions Eflin and Rogers for 2025.

The Orioles had been connected to Garrett Crochet and Blake Snell, and could theoretically add one of them in the next three-plus hours, but are likely done with their rotation at this point.  Aside from Eflin and Rogers, Orioles executive vice president and GM Mike Elias also bolstered his bullpen by acquiring Seranthony Dominguez last week.

Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix did quite well in adding a pair of Major League-ready position players for two-plus years of Rogers.

Norby, 24, ranked 93rd on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects heading into the 2023 season.  Prior to this season, BA gave Norby a 50 grade, calling him a “bat-first second baseman” who can also handle left field.  The former 2021 second-rounder has spent most of the season repeating Triple-A, and has shown quite well with a 134 wRC+ in 80 games.  He’s gotten a few brief looks with the Orioles due to Jorge Mateo’s injuries, but has only played in nine big league games so far.  Norby is under the Marlins’ control through 2030 and will likely receive regular playing time at second base for the rest of the season.

Stowers, 26, was drafted by the Orioles in the second round out of Stanford in 2019.  Known for his big raw power from the left side, Stowers has been unable to secure regular playing time on the stacked Orioles since his 2022 debut.  Stowers, who is best-suited for right field, will get that chance with the Marlins.  Like Norby, Stowers has spent most of the season at Triple-A, posting a decent 115 wRC+.

If the Marlins did indeed come up with a pair of controllable regulars for a back-end starter in Rogers, it’ll be quite the win as Bendix makes his mark on the team.

At the time of this writing, Bendix still has three-plus hours remaining to further remake the Marlins, likely by dismantling his bullpen and possibly trading outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.  The team’s 2024 rotation is particularly bare with the departure of Rogers, leaving Edward Cabrera, Max Meyer, and Kyle Tyler.  Jesus Luzardo is working his way back from a lumbar stress reaction, Ryan Weathers is recovering from an index finger strain, and Braxton Garrett is on the IL for a forearm strain.  Next year, the team will get Sandy Alcantara and eventually Eury Perez back from Tommy John surgery.

Garrett Crochet Rumors: Deadline Day

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White Sox ace Garrett Crochet has been the hottest name on the trade market this month, both because of the Sox’ own failed attempt to extend him and because his camp has since indicated that the left-hander wants an extension before pitching in October for a new club. Crochet’s 114 1/3 innings this season have already eclipsed his prior career total. He’s said to be against a move to the bullpen, believing that staying on a starter’s routine is best for his health, and aiming for financial security before pushing his workload even deeper into postseason waters.

It’s rubbed many fans the wrong way to see such a business-like approach, and it’s taken many in the industry aback — White Sox GM Chris Getz included, apparently. Via Sox Machine’s James Fegan, Getz spoke with reporters yesterday and acknowledged that he was “surprised and taken back” by how Crochet’s camp handled the situation, particularly as he’d had a conversation with the left-hander’s agent at CAA just the night before.

“I think most fans and even players without knowing everything, it makes sense,” said Getz. “We understand why a stance would be taken. Now how you go about expressing that is what was a bit hurtful, quite honestly, considering I felt like we could have handled it a little bit differently and still I think everyone accomplished what they wanted to accomplish. … But Garrett and I are fine, we are good. I’ll continue to be one of his top supporters. In regard to how it affects the coming days, tough to tell.”

We’ll round up today’s Crochet chatter here and break out any major developments into their own posts…

  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the White Sox have become increasingly optimistic that they’ll find someone to meet their asking price on Crochet even in the wake of his extension revelation. Per Nightengale, the Sox believe that they’ll trade Crochet between now and the 5:00pm CT deadline but expect to hang onto center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — as was reported to be the case regarding Robert just last night.
  • Both Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggest that Crochet’s market remains strong. Rosenthal lists the Padres, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, Red Sox and Orioles as teams with varying levels of interest. Levine echoes much of that same list and quotes an executive from a rival AL club stating the relative obvious: “You don’t get a chance to find a top pitcher like that often. You must get creative.”
  • The Yankees inquired on Crochet at some point but were told in those initial talks that the two parties “didn’t match up” in a trade, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Yankees could always revisit talks, particularly with so many alternative rotation options off the board. New York has been tied to Tigers righty Jack Flaherty as well, and the Yankees are seeking a rotation upgrade as they simultaneously explore the possibility of moving Nestor Cortes in a separate deal.

Orioles Interested In Kevin Pillar

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The Orioles are known to be looking for right-handed hitting outfielders, and Heyman writes in a separate X post that Pillar is one of the names on Baltimore’s list of possible targets.  The Orioles added Cristian Pache as part of the Austin Hays trade with the Phillies, but the 2024 version of Pillar would bring a lot more pop than a defensive specialist like Pache.

Orioles Interested In Blake Snell

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Giants left-hander Blake Snell might be available before the trade deadline, with the Yankees, Padres and Cubs having already been connected to him in rumors. The Orioles can be added to that pile, as Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports on X that the O’s are “aiming high” at the deadline thanks to their new owner and strong farm system.

The Orioles have generally acted very conservatively in recent years, hardly spending any money at all. MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that, since April 2018, the O’s haven’t given out a larger contract than the $13MM deal for Craig Kimbrel. The only multi-year deals they have given out have been two-year extensions for John Means and Félix Bautista, players that were already controllable but facing recoveries from Tommy John surgeries.

The lack of spending was somewhat justifiable while the club was in the depths of a rebuild, but it has carried over into the new competitive window that they are currently in. It has been speculated that things might open up once the planned sale of the club went through and there are some signs that is now happening.

David Rubenstein’s purchase of the club didn’t become official until the end of March, the cusp of Opening Day, so the O’s still had a fairly modest offseason. But here in the lead-up to the deadline, they have shown a willingness to absorb some money, both for this year and into the future. They acquired Zach Eflin from the Rays, with that pitcher still owed roughly $3.8MM of his $11MM salary and a big spike to $18MM next year. They also acquired Seranthony Dominguez from the Phillies, who is making $4.25MM this year and has an $8MM club option for next year.

Acquiring Snell would be a risky proposition on account of his opt-out but the O’s are perhaps the club best suited to take such a risk. As recently laid out by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco in a piece for Front Office subscribers, teams are usually hesitant to trade for players with player options or the ability to opt out. There’s no real difference between the terms “player option” or “opt-out”, as either one gives the player the control over what transpires.

Trading for such a player at the deadline comes with more downside than upside for the acquiring club. If the player performs well, they will trigger the opt-out and leave, making them a rental. If they perform poorly or get hurt, the club is stuck with them at a price that’s unpalatable, as the player wouldn’t have accepted it otherwise.

Due to their lack of spending in recent years, the O’s came into this year with almost nothing on the books for 2025 and beyond. The $1MM owed to Bautista was the only guarantee, though they have since added Eflin’s $18MM, as mentioned. They have a few club options and some arbitration-eligible players, but they have hardly anything committed for next year.

Snell signed a two-year, $62MM deal with the Giants coming into 2024. That comes in the form of a $15MM salary and $17MM signing bonus, the latter of which is reportedly not transferable to a trade partner. He then has a $30MM player option for next year.

The results have been inconsistent so far, as they have been throughout much of Snell’s career. He has two Cy Young awards, in 2018 and 2023, but struggled in between. Though he was in Cy Young form just last year, his 2024 got off to a rough start.

Since he didn’t sign until the second half of March, he had a hasty ramp-up and then struggled in his first three starts. He landed on the injured list with an adductor strain, came back for three more bad outings, then returned to the IL with a groin strain.

He was sitting on a 9.51 ERA after those six starts but has since returned and been dominant. He’s made four starts since coming off his second IL stint and only allowed two earned runs in 24 innings. He has struck out 35.7% of batters faced in those four outings, highlighted by punching out 15 Rockies in six shutout innings on Saturday.

The Giants are below .500 at 53-55. That only puts them 3.5 games back of a playoff spot in a relatively weak National League Wild Card race, but they may consider doing some selling. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs still give them a 21.2% chance of sneaking into the postseason though the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus have them down at 9.8%, which could lead to them prioritizing the future.

Making Snell available could allow them to recoup some prospect talent while also clearing $30MM off next year’s payroll that they could reinvest in the team. That might happen anyway if Snell opts out but isn’t a guarantee. Such a move would hurt them in 2024 but wouldn’t necessarily punt their season, as they could still go into the stretch run with a rotation core of Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison and Robbie Ray. There’s also Alex Cobb, who was supposed to be reinstated from the IL over the weekend but was delayed by a blister. The club also has young starters like Mason Black and Hayden Birdsong that they could work into the mix.

Snell’s talents will undoubtedly lead to many exploratory calls, but the offers might be tempered by the player option situation. That’s especially true of club’s with competitive balance tax concerns, which applies to the three other clubs connected to Snell. The Yankees are slated to be a third-time payor and above the fourth tax tier, meaning they are facing a 110% tax on any new spending they take on. Next year’s payroll is more open but they will want to have some powder dry for making a run at Juan Soto and other free agents. The Padres and Cubs are both right up against the base CBT threshold this year and seem loath to cross it.

The O’s are nowhere near any tax concerns and have loads of payroll flexibility, making them an interesting fit on Snell. The front of their rotation now consists of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez and Eflin, with Dean Kremer and Albert Suárez in the back end. Kremer’s career 4.32 ERA makes him fine for eating regular season innings but the O’s would ideally like to push him out of consideration for playoff starts. Suarez has a solid 3.62 ERA this year but is a 34-year-old journeyman who didn’t pitch in the majors from 2018 to 2023, meaning Baltimore probably doesn’t want to be relying on him either.

Whether it’s Snell or someone else, it seems possible they make some kind of bold strike in the days to come. In addition to the payroll flexibility, their farm system is regarded as one of the best in the league, giving them plenty of prospect capital to work with. The trade deadline is Tuesday at 5pm Central.

Orioles Still Looking To Make Additions

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The Orioles have already made a few notable moves in the lead-up to the trade deadline. They sent outfielder Austin Hays to the Phillies for fellow outfielder Cristian Pache and reliever Seranthony Domínguez, and also bolstered their rotation by acquiring Zach Eflin from the Rays. But they still have work to do, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reporting that they are looking to add another reliever, who would ideally be left-handed, as well as a right-handed hitting outfielder to replace Hays and perhaps another starting pitcher.

Even with Eflin slotting in behind Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez, it’s easy to see why the O’s would want to add yet another arm into that mix. The final two rotation spots are currently held by Dean Kremer and Albert Suárez, both of whom could be improved upon.

Kremer has a servicebale 4.32 earned run average in his career and a 4.20 mark this year, but his .240 batting average on balls in play here in 2024 might be keeping that ERA artificially low. In general, he’s been more of a back-end guy than the type of arm they would want in the mix for starting a playoff game. Suárez is in the big leagues for the first time since 2017, having spent much of the interim pitching in Japan and Korea. His 3.48 ERA this year is certainly respectable but he’s 34 years old and the O’s have kicked him to the bullpen before.

Rosenthal adds that the club is willing to add a rental starter to that pile, listing Jack Flaherty, Yusei Kikuchi, Blake Snell and Frankie Montas as possible fits. Snell has another year left on his deal but has an opt-out at year’s end. Rosenthal says teams are expecting him to trigger that opt-out but it’s not a guarantee, as it’s entirely possible some injury or poor performance leads to him taking the proverbial bird in the hand. Trading players with opt-outs is a tricky situation that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored in a piece for Front Office subscribers.

The mention of Flaherty is interesting as the O’s acquired him at last year’s deadline and it didn’t go well. The righty had a 6.75 ERA in 34 2/3 innings with Baltimore last year, getting bumped to the bullpen in the process.

However, he has completely turned things around here in 2024. In 18 starts with the Tigers, he has a 2.95 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, 4.6% walk rate and 43% ground ball rate. That’s the best form he’s been in since 2019, when he looked to be breaking out as one of the better pitchers in the league. He then suffered through a number of injury-marred seasons and took some time getting over them, but there’s no doubting he’s been excellent this year.

Front offices are generally loath to reacquire a player if they already had him and it didn’t go well. If the second attempt also fails to deliver, then it invites the obvious criticism of why they tried the same thing that already didn’t work once, something that was recently discussed on the MLBTR Podcast. However, Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic published a column a few days ago that said the O’s aren’t ruling out another run at Flaherty.

Though there’s a chance for a negative PR situation if Flaherty struggles in Baltimore again, he’s got the best combination of talent and availability among starting pitchers. He is on a one-year deal and therefore a rental, pitching for a Detroit club that is 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. While pitchers like Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal are in a similar range as Flaherty in terms of impact, they may be harder to pry loose.

Both of Skubal and Crochet are controllable for two years behind this season, meaning the price will be higher. Crochet also has the extra complication of his unclear path to the end of the season, as his limited workload makes it unclear what he can contribute. Some clubs may want to move him to a relief role but Crochet himself reportedly prefers to continue starting and would want to sign a contract extension prior to adjusting his routine.

With the question marks around Skubal and Crochet, it makes sense that the O’s aren’t crossing Flaherty off their list of targets, as the other options are less appealing. Kikuchi and Montas are having okay but not amazing years, to differing extents, while Snell has been inconsistent and also has the aforementioned contract complications.

Turning to the bullpen, though Domínguez is a nice addition, further upgrades make plenty of sense. Baltimore relievers have a collective 3.87 ERA this year, which places them 14th out of the 30 clubs in the majors. With Danny Coulombe on the injured list, their southpaw contingent is made up of Cionel Pérez, Keegan Akin and Cole Irvin. Akin has really good numbers this year but hasn’t been pitching in many high-leverage situations. Pérez has been given more meaningful assignments but with a subpar 4.40 ERA. Irvin was in the rotation before some struggles got him nudged into a long relief role.

Upgrading that group is plenty sensible and the O’s have already been connected to Tanner Scott of the Orioles. Other lefties that could be available include Andrew Chafin of the Tigers, Jalen Beeks of the Rockies, Taylor Rogers of the Giants and others.

In the outfield, the club leans heavily left-handed with Hays now out of the mix. Pache is right-handed but he’s mostly a defensive specialist, having hit .179/.243/.272 in his career. Anthony Santander is a switch-hitter but each of Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers hit from the left side, as does designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Getting another righty in there makes sense, especially if they end up moving on from first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. They are reportedly open to trading him and/or Mullins, though sending out Hays perhaps makes those scenarios less likely.

Rosenthal throws out veterans Tommy Pham and Kevin Pillar as a couple of righty-swinging outfielders that could make sense for the O’s, though guys like Brent Rooker, Luis Robert Jr., Lane Thomas, Miguel Andujar and Taylor Ward could also be available. The trade deadline is 5pm Central on Tuesday July 30.

Dombrowski Discusses Hays/Dominguez Trade

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The Phillies and Orioles completed an intriguing trade Friday that saw Baltimore land Seranthony Dominguez and Cristian Pache in exchange for Austin Hays, which represented something of a lengthy pursuit for Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.  The executive told reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber) that “I’ve actually tried to acquire him the last two trading deadlines, and [the Orioles] were asking for much more than we wanted to give.”

The O’s finally budged, perhaps due to both Dominguez addressing Baltimore’s bullpen needs, and Hays’ increasingly expendable nature within a crowded Orioles outfield.  An ice-cold start to the season and then a four-week IL stint due to a calf strain led to Hays’ playing time being reduced, though he has hit quite well in a more limited capacity over the last two-plus months.  Even with the first six weeks of the season essentially being a wash, Hays has gotten his offensive production back above league average, delivering a 102 wRC+ from a .255/.316/.395 slash line over 175 plate appearances.

Orioles Acquire Zach Eflin From Rays

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The Orioles have acquired right-hander Zach Eflin and cash considerations from the Rays in exchange for three prospects, per announcements from both clubs. Going to the Rays are outfielder Matthew Etzel, right-hander Jackson Baumeister and utility player Mac Horvath. Right-hander Vinny Nittoli has been designated for assignment by the O’s to get Eflin onto their roster.

Eflin, 30, has been a solid big league starter for many years, including his time with the Phillies and with the Rays as well. Since the start of 2018, he has allowed 4.01 earned runs per nine frames in over 800 innings. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 44.8% ground ball rate in that time were both close to league averages and he also limited walks to a tiny rate of 4.9%. Here in 2024, he has a 4.09 ERA in 19 starts. His strikeout rate is down to 18.9% but he’s also lowered his walk rate to 2.8%.

About a month ago, it was reported that the Rays could be looking to make some starting pitchers available, even if they weren’t sellers in the classically understood definition. They had a rotation consisting of Eflin, Aaron Civale, Taj Bradley, Zack Littell and Ryan Pepiot, with Tyler Alexander on hand as a depth option. On top of that group, they had Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen each getting back to health after significant elbow surgeries.

As the overall group became healthier, the Rays were seemingly open to subtracting, as doing so could allow them to address other parts of their roster, save some money, bolster their farm system or some combination of those goals, and still keep a fairly healthy rotation for the stretch run. The most logical candidates for such a trade were Civale, Littell and Eflin as the three of them were slated for free agency after 2025. Civale was flipped to the Brewers a few weeks ago and replaced in the rotation by Baz, with Eflin now moving on as well.

The Baltimore rotation has been in the opposite position, as it’s been getting less healthy as the season has gone along. Each of Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells required UCL surgery earlier this year, putting them out of action for the remainder of the campaign.

They still had a strong front two in the rotation with Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez, but there’s been far less certainty behind them. Prospects Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott were each given brief auditions but weren’t impressive. Dean Kremer has a serviceable 4.43 ERA but might be lucky to have that, considering his .227 batting average on balls in play. Albert Suárez has a 3.48 ERA but is a 34-year-old journeyman who is back in the majors for the first time since 2017. Cole Irvin has been moved between the rotation and bullpen due to inconsistent results. Bolstering that group is plenty sensible and it now looks much stronger with Eflin in it. Burnes is set to reach free agency after this season, so acquiring Eflin is also a notable move for Baltimore’s 2025 rotation.

In addition to the situation in Tampa’s rotation, an Eflin deal has seemed likely due to his contract. He signed a three-year pact with the Rays going into 2023, with the $40MM guarantee being backloaded. He was paid $11MM last year and is making that same amount here in 2024, with an $18MM salary for 2025. The Rays often trade their players before they reach free agency and slinking away from that large commitment in the final season of the deal always seemed possible.

The Rays are covering Eflin’s $1MM trade bonus but the O’s are otherwise absorbing the deal, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post and Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, both on X. That’s perhaps a notable development as the Orioles haven’t spent much money since their last competitive window closed. Per the data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the O’s had nine-figure Opening Day payrolls from 2014 to 2018 but haven’t been back to that level since then.

Some of the light spending has been due to the club rebuilding in recent years but their return to contention hasn’t led to a loosening of the pursestrings. The O’s haven’t given a multi-year deal to a free agent since Alex Cobb in early 2018 and the largest guarantee of any kind given out since then is the $13MM given to Craig Kimbrel on his one-year deal.

David Rubenstein purchased the franchise from the Angelos family earlier this year and it has been hoped that the ownership change would also lead to a change in spending habits. Perhaps the fact that the O’s are taking on an $18MM salary for next year is a sign that Baltimore will be operating differently from now on.

Turning to Tampa’s end of the deal, they are presumably saving at least a little bit of money while also adding three fresh prospects to their system. Baseball America just updated their list of the top 30 Orioles’ farmhands, with Horvath in the #13 slot and Baumeister at #18, through Etzel doesn’t crack the list.

Horwath, 23, was selected in the second round of last year’s draft. He’s hitting .232/.328/.417 in High-A this year for a 110 wRC+. He’s also stolen 26 bases while playing second base, third base and the outfield.

Baumeister, 22, was taken with a competitive balance pick last year, 63rd overall. He has made 18 starts at the High-A level this year with a 3.06 ERA and 29.5% strikeout rate, though a 14% walk rate. Etzel was a tenth-round pick last year and has slashed .289/.363/.445 for a 126 wRC+ between High-A and Double-A this year.

The O’s are 61-41 and tied for the best record in the American League but were heading into the stretch run with a flimsy rotation. They’ve strengthened it with a solid veteran, both for this year and next. They have subtracted from their farm system but it’s considered one of the best in the league and they held onto their top guys. Though the rotation is better than it was before this trade, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them add another arm. It’s also been reported that they could trade someone like Ryan Mountcastle or Cedric Mullins, though perhaps today’s trade of Austin Hays to the Phillies makes that less likely.

The Rays have added to their pool of young talent while shedding some payroll commitments, but still go into the final months of this season with a fairly solid rotation. Perhaps they are still hoping to compete but it also seems a more significant sell-off is in the cards. They traded outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Mariners yesterday and it’s possible that guys like Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes, Jason Adam, Pete Fairbanks and others could be available in the coming days.

Prior to this trade, Eflin was also connected to clubs like the Astros, Atlanta and the Cardinals. Those clubs will now have to look elsewhere for rotation upgrades in the coming days. Pitchers like Jack Flaherty, Yusei Kikuchi, Erick Fedde, Garrett Crochet, Tarik Skubal and others have been in rumors with varying degrees of availability.

Nittoli was just added to Baltimore’s roster less than two weeks ago and they will now have to either trade him or put him on waivers in the coming days. He has a 1.50 ERA in 12 big league innings this year between the O’s and the A’s.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported on X that the O’s would be getting Eflin. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the prospects going back to the Rays on X. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com relayed Nittoli’s DFA on X.

Orioles, Phillies Swap Austin Hays For Seranthony Dominguez

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve traded outfielder Austin Hays to the Phillies in exchange for right-hander Seranthony Dominguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. Baltimore is designating righty Levi Stoudt for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, the team announced. The Phillies filled their open roster spot by reinstating right-hander Michael Rucker from the 60-day injured list.

It’s a rare swap of major leaguers between a pair of World Series hopefuls. Hays will give the Phillies a more impactful right-handed bat in their outfield mix than they had in the glove-first Pache. Hays isn’t having his best season but was a 2023 All-Star and has pounded left-handed pitching both in 2024 and throughout his career. Dominguez, similarly, is having a down season but sports a much better track record. He’s still a hard-throwing reliever with high-leverage experience and has at times operated as the Phillies’ closer.

Hays, 29, is hitting .255/.316/.395 this season in 175 plate appearances. He missed nearly a month with a calf strain earlier this season, and it’s certainly possible that injury impacted his production; Hays hit just .111/.200/.111 in 50 trips to the plate prior to that IL stint but has returned with an excellent .313/.363/.509 slash in 125 subsequent plate appearances.

That slash is perhaps partially attributable to the fact that Hays has been platooned more than in seasons past, thanks to the emergence of lefty-hitting outfielders Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad in Baltimore. Between that pair, center fielder Cedric Mullins, right fielder Anthony Santander and first basemen/designated hitters Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle, the O’s are dealing from a wealth of corner depth in this swap. Hays has been exclusively a corner outfielder this year and hasn’t played center field with any regularity since 2020.

Prior to this season’s rough start (and the emergence of those young top prospects), Hays has been a fixture in the Baltimore outfield. The former third-round pick was a top-100 prospect himself and from 2019-23 tallied 1886 plate appearances with a strong .264/.317/.441 batting line (109 wRC+). Hays doesn’t walk much (career 5.9%) but strikes out at a 21.5% clip that’s slightly below league-average. He’s typically posted average or better grades in left field, though his marks this season are down across the board. Again, however, that’s not necessarily a surprise for an outfielder who’s battled a lower-leg injury that impacted his speed and mobility.

Hays will give the Phillies a productive platoon partner to pair with lefty-swinging Brandon Marsh in left field. Both Marsh and Hays (in a pinch) can handle center field as well, though it’s likely that defensive standout Johan Rojas will continue to patrol that position regularly — barring an additional outfield acquisition from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Hays has bludgeoned lefties at a .328/.394/.500 clip in 72 plate appearances this year and touts a lifetime .272/.328/.463 output against southpaws.

The Phillies will be able to control Hays through the 2025 season if they choose, though he’d be an expensive part-time player if they plan to platoon him all season in 2025. He’s earning $6.3MM this year in his second arbitration season and will be due one final raise this winter — likely to a number north of $8MM — before qualifying as a free agent in the 2025-26 offseason.

Turning to the Orioles’ end of the deal, they’ll first and foremost add an experienced reliever in the form of the 29-year-old Dominguez. He’s been tagged for a 4.75 ERA this year in 36 innings but entered the 2024 campaign with a career 3.31 earned run average, 27 saves and 52 holds. Dominguez has been uncharacteristically homer-prone this year and thus struggled to strand runners, but his velocity (97.5 mph average fastball), strikeout rate (25.5%) and walk rate (7.6%) all remain strong. This year’s walk rate is actually a career-low, and Dominguez’s 25.5% strikeout rate isn’t terribly far off the 27.5% mark he carried into the season.

As is often the case with relievers, Dominguez’s pedestrian earned run average is skewed by a small number of meltdowns. He’s been tagged for four earned runs on two separate occasions this season, accounting for 42% of his earned runs in those two trips to the mound (just 5.2% of his total appearances).

That clearly doesn’t make the bottom-line results any more palatable, but it’s preferable to have a reliever who’s had a handful of awful outings as opposed to one who’s prone to giving up a run or two every other time out. With Craig Kimbrel currently in a rough patch and Danny Coulombe on the 60-day injured list, Dominguez could find himself in some leverage situations.

Like Hays, Dominguez can be controlled through the 2025 season — but the choice is at the team’s discretion. He’s playing out the second season of a two-year, $7.25MM contract that covered his final two arbitration seasons and includes a club option for what would’ve been his first free-agent year. The O’s will hold an $8MM club option over Dominguez that comes with a $500K buyout — effectively rendering it a net $7.5MM decision. If he can rebound to his prior form following the swap, that could prove to be a palatable price point even for what’s typically been a frugal Orioles club (albeit under their now-former ownership).

Baltimore will also add Pache to its bench mix. It’s an offensive downgrade, as the 25-year-old is hitting only .202/.288/.269 in 118 plate appearances and carries a .179/.243/.272 slash in parts of five MLB seasons. That said, Pache is a lights-out defender who’s been credited with a dozen Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average in just 1334 career innings in the outfield. He’s a plus-plus defender in center field, offering the O’s a more true fourth outfielder than Hays did, but he can certainly play strong corner defense as well.

Pache is out of minor league options, so he can’t be sent to the minors without first being designated for assignment and exposed to waivers. As such, he’ll need to stick on Baltimore’s roster. For a team that’s a near-lock to make the postseason, this type of outfielder — light hitting, plus defense, good speed — is a particularly useful asset.

Pache is earning just north of the league minimum this season. Dominguez is being paid $4.25MM and has the $500K buyout on his option. The swap is close to cash-neutral, but the Phillies will be taking on about $297K in additional payroll. When factoring in their luxury tax status, the trade will cost them about $481K overall.

As a result of this swap, the 26-year-old Stoudt will  be designated for assignment for the third time this season. He’s bounced from the Reds, to the Mariners (his original organization), to the Orioles via a series of waiver claims. Stoudt allowed 11 runs in 10 1/3 innings during last year’s MLB debut with Cincinnati. He was one of four players the Mariners sent to the Reds in the Luis Castillo blockbuster two seasons ago.

A former third-round pick, Stoudt ranked among the top 20 prospects in both the Mariners’ and Reds’ systems from 2021-23. He’s worked primarily as a starter in the minors, but the O’s put him in their Double-A bullpen after claiming him. He’s posted a 4.26 ERA in 12 2/3 innings in that role but also walked 12.1% of his opponents, continuing some longstanding command issues. The Orioles can trade Stoudt until Tuesday’s deadline. Failing that, he’ll likely be placed on outright waivers.

Orioles Have Reportedly Shown Interest In Jameson Taillon

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The Orioles are among the teams that have expressed some interest in Cubs starter Jameson Taillon, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale connected two other AL East teams — the Yankees and Red Sox — to Taillon over the weekend.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer admitted recently that the front office was prioritizing next season and beyond in its deadline dealings. That more or less rules them out of the bidding on impending free agents and suggests they’re open to offers on their rentals. It doesn’t mean they’re planning to aggressively market players under contract or team control beyond this season.

Taillon is under contract through 2026. The Cubs could certainly hold him even if they’re conceding it’s unlikely they’ll make a playoff run this season. The veteran righty is set to make $18MM in each of the next two years, though, so Chicago could prefer to offload that commitment and look to reallocate the money to other areas of the roster next offseason.

Getting out from the Taillon contract seemed unlikely just a few months ago. His first season in the Windy City wasn’t great, as he struggled to a 4.84 earned run average through 154 1/3 innings. His run prevention has improved here in 2024, with his ERA down to 2.96.

His underlying rate stats haven’t changed as drastically, however. He had a 21.4% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate last year, with those figures at 19.1% and 5.1% in 2024. He’s allowed fewer home runs and his batting average on balls in play has dropped from .292 to .275, helping his strand rate climb from 64.6% to 76.4%. FIP, which credits pitchers for home runs or the lack thereof, has Taillon going from last year’s 4.61 to this year’s 3.77. But SIERA, which normalizes home run rate, has given Taillon a lesser shift from last year’s 4.34 to this year’s 4.23.

Whether Taillon has significant changed from last year or not, he has a track record of being a decent rotation stalwart. He now has over 1,000 innings in his career with a 3.90 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 42.3% ground ball rate.

The Cubs could hang onto him for the remainder of that contract but there’s also logic in making him available, as the long-term rotation picture still looks good even without Taillon in it. They could go into next season with Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks in four spots, with guys like Hayden Wesneski, Ben Brown and Caleb Kilian in the mix as well. Cade Horton, the club’s top prospect, is current dealing with a subscapularis strain but could be back on the mound later this year and in line for his major league debut. Prospects like Brandon Birdsell and Connor Noland have also reached the Triple-A level.

For the O’s, they are tied with the Guardians for the best record in the American League despite some rotation challenges. Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells all required season-ending UCL surgery earlier this year, knocking three arms out of Baltimore’s rotation mix.

Currently, they have Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Albert Suárez as the core four in their rotation. Burnes and Rodriguez make for a solid one-two but Kremer is mostly a back-end guy. Suárez is having a nice season with a 3.48 ERA, but he’s a 34-year-old journeyman in the big leagues for the first time since 2017. They’ve given brief looks to prospects Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott without much success.

Adding to that group should be an obvious target for Baltimore. They’ve also been connected to a high-upside option in Garrett Crochet but it’s fair to wonder if that’s possible or likely. It’s also possible to see both Crochet and Taillon co-existing in this rotation next to Burnes and Rodriguez.

Speaking of Burnes, he’s an impending free agent, which will open a massive hole in next year’s rotation. General manager Mike Elias has admitted that adding controllable starting pitching would make sense for the club, perhaps making the extra two seasons on Taillon’s deal part of the appeal for them. Levine’s report adds that Taillon’s contract allows him to block trades to ten teams, but it’s not known which teams are on that list.

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