Zach Eflin is back from the injured list to start tonight. And this could turn out to be a “hello, goodbye” sort of situation.
Eflin is one of the most prominent Orioles pending free agents, and as such, he’s a strong candidate to be dealt at next week’s trade deadline — if anyone wants him. At the moment, Eflin’s -0.4 WAR, 5.95 ERA, and two IL stints don’t hold much appeal to any contending team. But if he can rediscover his 2024 form in this start and his next, maybe a pitching-starved club will
decide to take a chance on him.
I keep mentioning that the Guardians are one of the worst-hitting teams in the league, but the Orioles’ pitching staff seems tragically unaware of this fact, as neither Tomoyuki Sugano nor Brandon Young could get through even five innings in their respective starts on Monday and Tuesday. (Young was optioned to AAA Norfolk today to make room for Eflin.) Will Eflin be the first O’s starter to actually take advantage of a weak opposing lineup? I think we all know the answer, but let’s watch anyway.
If you’re wondering whether Coby Mayo is starting tonight — the day after he reached base in all four of his at-bats and looked great at the plate — the answer is no, of course he isn’t, because nothing about this godforsaken 2025 Orioles season makes any sense. The most generous explanation for his absence is that the O’s are trying to showcase their veterans for potential trades before the deadline, but the more likely explanation is that this is an unserious franchise that doesn’t know what it’s doing.
Orioles lineup
DH Jackson Holliday
2B Jordan Westburg
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Ryan O’Hearn
RF Ramón Laureano
LF Colton Cowser
3B Ramón Urías
CF Cedric Mullins
C Jacob Stallings
RHP Zach Eflin
Guardians lineup
LF Steven Kwan
CF Angel Martínez
3B José Ramírez
DH Kyle Manzardo
1B Carlos Santana
RF Nolan Jones
2B Daniel Schneemann
SS Brayan Rocchio
C Bo Naylor
RHP Slade Cecconi
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