The Orioles are expected to make even more big moves this week
Tuesday’s deadline is coming, and the O’s are still connected to a number of names.
It’s already been a busy trade deadline for Mike Elias and the Orioles. The front office has—at least moderately—addressed the team’s needs in the bullpen and the rotation. Zach Eflin and Seranthony Domínguez both make the Orioles better, although there remains room for improvement.
Apparently, Elias agrees. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported over the weekend that the Orioles were still working the phones in search of deals. Rosenthal stopped short of saying that the O’s were targeting specific players, but rather that they had a few archetypes in mind, and then went on to name some options.
MLB Trade Rumors added on the reporting to help flesh out the list of potential fits. Specifically, they tossed around a few left-handed relievers, something that Rosenthal indicated the Orioles wanted but—for whatever reason—he did not expand on.
As a thought exercise, let’s examine all of those names further:
Jack Flaherty, RHP, Detroit Tigers
Flaherty checks a lot of boxes for what the Orioles are said to be searching for. The 28-year-old is on an expiring contract, so the cost to get him should be relatively low. On top of that, he has been one of the AL’s better pitchers this season. Over 18 games he has a 2.95 ERA and has struck out 133 over 106.2 innings. There’s no signs of slowing down either. Flaherty has a 1.53 ERA and .427 OPS against in July.
The problem, though, is rather obvious. The Orioles traded for Flaherty a year ago. He came to Baltimore, looked good in his first start, and then struggled (6.75 ERA over 34.2 innings). Now, the current version of Flaherty appears far more impactful than the version the O’s added last deadline, and the idea comparing the two could be flawed. But if Flaherty were to struggle again, it would sting extra.
Yusei Kikuchi, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Two intra-division trades in one deadline? Teams don’t seem to care about that too much anymore. And if the Orioles aren’t scared of giving prospects to the Rays of all teams, then they should be fine with dealing to the Blue Jays.
Kikuchi’s topline numbers are rough: 4.75 ERA, 85 ERA+, 1.340 WHIP. But under the hood there are things to like. The 33-year-old lefty is striking out 10.1 per nine innings, walking 2.3 per nine innings and has experienced some brutal batted ball luck (.340 BABIP). His 3.64 FIP and 3.39 xFIP indicate that some positive regression should be coming his way.
Blake Snell, LHP, San Francisco Giants
Snell has had a weird season. He didn’t sign with the Giants until late in the spring (March 19), debuted on April 8, struggled, missed a month from late April to late May, came back for three starts, and then was out again from early June to early July. But he has looked like his vintage self since this recent return. Over four starts he has 0.75 ERA and has racked up 30 strikeouts in 24 innings.
Rosenthal reports that Snell is planning to opt out of his contract after this year. That could make him more enticing on the trade market, and despite his topsy-turvy campaign he has a clear pedigree. But there is risk. If Snell gets injured he could elect to take his player option for 2025, worth $30 million. The Orioles have room to spend, but you can understand that they would prefer to spend on players that actually, well, play.
Frankie Montas, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
This is the least exciting and probably least expensive player named in the report, at least in terms of prospect cost. This is not the Montas that finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting back in 2021. The 31-year-old righty owns a 5.01 ERA, 4.91 FIP, and 85 ERA+ this season. It’s not great. In this case, there aren’t even peripherals to get excited about.
If the goal is to get someone that just eats innings, Montas can probably do a job, although he is averaging less than five innings per starter (19 starts, 93.1 innings). But this is not someone to slot in-between Grayson Rodriguez and Eflin in the rotation. Montas might not even jump in front of Dean Kremer. It would simply be a warm body that you feel only slightly better about than the rookie duo of Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott this season.
