Adding a veteran outfielder with postseason experience would be in Orioles’ best interest
In the final hour of the 6 p.m. July 30th trade deadline, the Orioles made a couple of additional moves that didn’t help the team in the final two months of the regular season.
They had already acquired a quality starting pitcher, Zach Eflin, from Tampa Bay for three prospects and a reliever, Seranthony Domínguez, from the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Austin Hays. Another outfielder, Cristian Pache, came along with Domínguez, but he was gone a week later.
Four days later, the Orioles acquired a younger starter, left-hander Trevor Rogers, from Miami for promising second baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers.
The Orioles lost three starters — Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells — to season-ending elbow injuries in June, and another, Grayson Rodriguez, who wouldn’t pitch after July 31st because of a right lat/teres injury.
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Getting additional starting pitching was a good idea, and with closer Craig Kimbrel faltering, the Orioles needed some back-end relief help.
Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias doubled down in that frantic final hour before the deadline, acquiring left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Phillies for pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moíses Chace, and making two quiet deals for what he hoped would be effective right-handed hitters.
Elias picked up designated hitter Eloy Jiménez from the Chicago White Sox for minor league reliever Trey McGough and outfielder Austin Slater and infielder Liván Soto from Cincinnati for cash considerations.
The Orioles had become a predominantly left-handed hitting team, and with the trade of Hays, who also hit right-handed, Elias was looking for some balance.
Hays’ time in Philadelphia hasn’t been inspiring. Because of a hamstring injury and a kidney infection, Hays played in just 22 games for the Phillies with a .256 average, two home runs and six RBIs.
Jiménez hit well initially for the Orioles, but with no power. He was just 1-for-24 (.042) in September and was taken off the roster in the final week of the regular season.
Slater hit .246 with a home run and eight RBIs in the last two months of the season while Soto was a decent fill-in infielder when Ramón Urías went on the injured list on September 1st with a sprained right ankle.
The acquisitions were clearly not impact players as Elias acknowledged in his season-ending press conference on Thursday.
“The main theme that’s pretty evident to me from this season regardless of the cause is that the offensive side of the team was not there to the degree that I expected in the second half,” he said. “As I said a few weeks ago, I think a lot of my moves and concerns had been toward the pitching side. That sort of ended up not being our shortcoming in the second half or in October, so that’s on me.”
There was some misfortune, too. A day after the trade deadline, Jordan Westburg broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch, and the Orioles could have used Norby, whom they traded the day before, at second base while Westburg was out.
Instead, the Orioles, who called up Jackson Holliday to replace Norby, used him more than they would have had Westburg been healthy. They also tried an overmatched Coby Mayo.
Later in August, the Orioles claimed infielder Emmanuel Rivera from the Marlins off waivers, and he became useful.
Rogers had a 7.11 ERA in four starts, and finished the season at Triple-A Norfolk.
Elias repeatedly referred to the Orioles young core: Holliday, Westburg, Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, Heston Kjerstad and Adley Rutschman, all of whom were drafted from 2019-2022. Holliday, Kjerstad and Mayo are expected to take on more prominent roles next year.
Drafting well, as Elias did, is terrific, but he’s yet to have a pitcher he drafted make the major leagues for the Orioles, though Brandon Young, an unsigned free agent in 2020, could make his debut next year.
It appears he traded well for Cade Povich, who improved markedly in September, and Chayce McDermott, who could be a piece on the 2025 Orioles, but Elias has always had to trade for top-of-the-rotation starters. Grayson Rodriguez was Dan Duquette’s final top draft pick in 2018.
It’s good to have that young core because they should be able to play together for several years and at a lower cost, but it’s clear that they could use more veteran leadership in the clubhouse.
Re-signing Rutschman’s backup, James McCann, would be a good start, and if Anthony Santander and his 44 home runs move on, Kjerstad will have to produce. Elias should try to sign the outfield equivalent of a Jordan Lyles or Kyle Gibson.
Having a veteran outfielder with leadership skills and postseason experience would be a big plus and might keep Elias from having to deliver a third straight postmortem after an early playoff exit.
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