Hello, friends.
The Orioles continue their confusing lurch towards the trade deadline. There are eight days remaining and seven games to be played between now and then. Are they the most incompetent bunch of jokers who ever took a baseball field? Sometimes it feels that way. Are they in fact possessed of a strong starting rotation that could help them overcome other deficiencies? That’s a yes. We saw both of these over the course of last night’s game, one that, unlike Friday, the O’s found a way to come out
ahead in the end. Check out Stacey’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals.
This is the wild card picture after yesterday’s games: The Orioles sit 2.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the third wild card spot. The Red Sox have, regrettably for me and perhaps also for you, moved up to WC2 for the moment. The Orioles will have to pass the Guardians, Twins, Astros, and Mariners to get into a playoff spot. They leaped over a couple of those teams with their recent seven-game winning streak and fell right back down when they dropped three of four afterwards.
What’s Mike Elias supposed to do with all of this? The team has a dire need for at least one good reliever, probably two. Based on his track record, he will respond to this need by getting Shintaro Fujinami- or Gregory Soto-level relievers who do not improve very much. I hope that he will surprise me.
The rotation has stabilized into something that should be good enough, though part of that does depend on whether Dean Kremer reverts to his prior season form over a longer timeframe. Then there are several underperforming spots in the starting lineup, but these spots are mostly occupied by players in whom the Orioles are, for better or worse, committed to this season. Like, could they upgrade over players like Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, or Jackson Holliday? Yes. Do I think Elias is ready to pull the plug on any of them? No.
It’s not a great situation. There are times it’s downright painful watching these guys. I was in the stands on Friday night and I still can’t believe that botched Holliday toss to try to get one out in extra innings that set in motion a chain reaction that saw the Orioles give up four runs in the inning. It’s got to be one of the worst plays I’ve ever personally witnessed. I didn’t list him in the previous paragraph, but they also need to get more from Gunnar Henderson, offensively and defensively, and there’s not a backup plan for what if they don’t.
In all, the Orioles are too close to give up on this thing and they have too many problems to seriously go for it. One way I think they can try to thread that needle is if Elias is able to target players who have control beyond the 2026 season. Those guys will cost more if they are guys who are worth having. It’s a price the Orioles are going to have to pay if they’re going to be reticent to pay for free agents. The O’s need to field the best team they can in what is likely to be the last season where Adley Rutschman is around.
The way the Orioles play in the finale against the Braves is not going to definitively settle what they should or will do. It’s just that if they lose, the hole that they’re in gets a little bigger. They probably need to go 34-23 at a minimum. That feels like a tall order even after they finally got the big winning streak. It’s good that they did that, it’s just that they also need another one.
The series concludes with a 1:35 scheduled start this afternoon. Shane Baz and Reynaldo López are the scheduled starting pitchers.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Injury updates on Bassitt, Rutschman, Basallo (School of Roch)
Not having any kind of timetable on the two catchers is not great to begin with and it feels worse each time I watch one of the substitute catchers bat. There are also some words here about Creed Willems that could mean anything as far as calling him up soon or later or never.
Orioles infield prospects and a pair of lefty pitchers move up prospect rankings (The Baltimore Sun)
The Sun highlights some recent upward movement in rankings for several Orioles prospects. Hopefully this translates to upward movement in what level of the minors they’re playing in soon. I’m not so sure that either Joseph Dzierwa or Wehiwa Aloy are benefiting from where they are.
‘26 1st round pick Booth always hoped to be drafted by Orioles (Orioles.com)
Booth, who said on MASN last night that he prefers to go by EJ, made a great first impression with anybody who was paying attention at his introduction to the organization yesterday.
After growing up in Mississippi, draft picks Eric Booth Jr. and Kevin Roberts Jr. stay together with Orioles (The Baltimore Banner)
Not to be lost as the draft picks made their first impressions was fellow Mississippian Kevin Roberts Jr. I don’t knwo if he prefers to go by KJ.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2024, the Orioles made two trades, sending three prospects to the Rays for Zach Eflin as well as a swap that sent Austin Hays to the Phillies for Seranthony Domínguez. Neither of these worked out in the long run quite how the Orioles probably hoped.
There are a number of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2023-2025 infielder Ryan O’Hearn, 2018-22 reliever Paul Fry, 2013 two-gamer Alex Burnett, 1988-91 pitcher José Bautista, 1962 outfielder Pete Ward, 1964-65 infielder Norm Siebern, and 1958-62 pitcher/baseball Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856), psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875), novelist Aldous Huxley (1894), filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (1928), Rolling Stones musician Mick Jagger (1943), actress Helen Mirren (1945), actress Sandra Bullock (1964), and The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen (1993).
On this day in history…
In 1775, the Second Continental Congress established an office that is the ancestor of today’s US Postal Service. The first Postmaster General was Ben Franklin.
In 1847, the nation of Liberia declared independence from the United States. The area had been settled over the previous decades by over 15,000 free African Americans. The US did not officially recognize this until 1862.
In 1948, the United States Armed Forces were desegregated following Executive Order 9981, issued by President Truman.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 26. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
