The Orioles all but punted on the 2026 season by shipping away Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, and Tyler Wells. They declined to deal Trevor Rogers, but did not acquire any significant major league help. With Rutschman on the injured list, Ward failing to hit the long ball, and Wells unable to steady an unstable bullpen, there’s a case to be made that the team is not significantly worse than it was yesterday. That being said, Baltimore dealt away some good players to teams positioned above them in the Wild
Card hunt.
Camden Chat has already recapped the majority of today’s moves, and there will be plenty of content over the following days. For now, we’ll assign a grade to each trade.
FanDuel dropped Baltimore’s odds of making the playoffs to +680 after the trade deadline. Additionally, you can bet the Orioles to miss the playoffs at -1300. Odds can be found here.
Alright, let’s rip the bandaid off…
- Orioles Receive: RHP Kyson Witherspoon, CF Enddy Azocar, C Carlos Narváez, RHP Anthony Eyanson and Player To Be Named Later
- Red Sox Receive: C Adley Rutschman, C Jake Rogers and cash
- Grade: C-
They say C’s get degrees, but nobody really likes getting a C. If the Orioles were going to trade away Adley Rutschman—especially in the division—they needed to get a haul. Said haul featured Boston’s two best pitching prospects, an outfield prospect, an MLB catcher, and a PTBNL or Cash.
It doesn’t mean that you have to like it. The Orioles drafted Rutschman with the first overall pick in the 2019 draft. The backstop debuted in 2022. He never won a playoff a game. Somehow, the same executive was still in position to deal Rutschman away in 2026.
Rutschman felt like the keystone for a long-term rebuild. Mike Elias threw around terms like “liftoff” and “10-year window.” The Orioles won the division in 2023 and made the playoffs again in 2024. They crumbled last season and threw in the towel at the trade deadline this season.
Many felt the writing was on the wall after the Orioles inked 21-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo to an eight-year contract extension, but Baltimore made it work with two talented backstops this season. They could have made it work next year (Rutschman’s final season of control) too, but the Orioles took advantage of a seller’s market at catcher.
The Red Sox were clearly comfortable paying an in-the-division type of tax. MLB Pipeline immediately slotted the 21-year-old Anthony Eyanson as Baltimore’s top prospect. They ranked Kyson Witherspoon at six and CF Enddy Azocar at seven. Carlos Narváez was worth 2.8 WAR last season and will not become a free agent until 2031.
The deal also sent recent acquisition Jake Rogers and money to Boston. You can read Mark Brown’s initial reaction here.
Elias deserves all the heat in the world for letting things get to this point, but the significant return from Boston stopped me from busting out a failing grade. Trading Rutschman to a division rival with over a year of control is despicable. That being said, injuries have become a bit of a problem for the 28-year-old, and the 2027 season looks murky at best with a lockout looming.
- Orioles Receive: RHP Alex Hoppe, RHP Brock Moore and RHP Harrison Kreiling
- Mariners Receive: OF Taylor Ward
- Grade: D+
Who the heck are these guys? Taylor Ward was marketed as one of the best right-handed bats on the market. In exchange for the future free agent, Baltimore received Hoppe (5.79 ERA in MLB), Kreiling (a 24-year-old pitcher with minimal experience after recovering from Tommy John), and Moore (a 26-year-old with a 5.56 ERA at Double-A. If there’s one thing to take away, it’s that the trio throws hard. MASN’s Brendan Mortensen noted that Hoppe’s fastball velocity ranks in the 93rd percentile and that Moore has a 42.1 K%.
This deal is an extension of the front office’s decision to give up on former top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez. Baltimore sent their former first-round pick to LA in exchange for less than one year of Ward. Ward never hit dingers, but he did get on base at a steady clip. Rodriguez has nearly an 8.00 ERA over 10 games with LA this season, but he’s under team control until 2030.
Would you have traded Rodriguez for a struggling reliever and two prospects ranked outside of Seattle’s Top 30 last offseason? To make matters worse, the Mariners are only a half game above Baltimore in the Wild Card race. This move represented the first indication that Baltimore would punt on the season despite sitting less than three games from a playoff spot. There are some parallels to the Cedric Mullins deal from 2025, but Ward was billed as more valuable asset than Mullins.
- Orioles Receive: RHP Michael Forret
- Rays Receive: RHP Tyler Wells
- Grade: C+
Context matters here. Last season, the Orioles sent reliever Bryan Baker to Tampa in exchange for the 37th-overall pick. Baltimore selected high school outfielder Slater de Brun, but eventually sent de Brun, recent draft pick Caden Bodine, right-handed pitching prospect Michael Forret, outfield prospect Austin Overn, and the 33rd-overall pick in the 2026 draft to Tampa Bay for Shane Baz. Baltimore proceeded to sign Baz to a five-year contract extension.
Baz has pitched well (3.86 ERA), but the Orioles have struggled to win the games that he starts. Meanwhile, Tampa quickly developed Baker into an All-Star closer. The Rays know how to get the best out of pitchers, and it feels like they’ll find a way to extract the most value out of Wells.
The Orioles deserve credit for plucking Wells out of the Rule-5 draft, but they struggled to find a concrete role for the 31-year-old. Wells spent time as a starter, closer, and multi-inning reliever. What’s his best position? The Rays will probably find it.
Meanwhile, the Orioles get back a piece from the Baz deal. MLB Pipeline ranked Bodine as the Rays third best prospect, while Forret slotted in at number eight. Is this Elias trying to outsmart the Rays after they stole back de Brun? Forret holds real value, but it’s difficult to imagine this front office got the best of Tampa.
- Orioles Receive: OF Jhomnardo Reyes
- Twins Receive: SP Dean Kremer
- Grade: B
The Orioles sent Dean Kremer to the Twins after a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Phillies. At the time, it felt like Baltimore couldn’t afford to have a struggling Kremer taking the ball every fifth day while they chased down a playoff spot. The team would either hand Kremer’s starts to Chris Bassitt, or it might even make a deal to acquire a starting pitcher.
With added context from today, this was simply another instance of the Orioles swapping big league players for future value. Baltimore dealt away 1.5 years of Kremer in exchange for an 18-year-old outfielder.
MLB pipeline had Reyes slotted as Minnesota’s 20th best prospect, but the former international signing has been trending upward. The Twins gave the lefty a six-figure bonus in 2025, and he slugged his way through rookie ball before making a recent debut at Low-A. At the end of the day, the Orioles had had enough of Kremer, while Reyes looks like an intriguing piece to monitor for the distant future.
- Orioles Receive: OF Christian Franklin
- Nationals Receive: RHP Joe Glassey
- Grade: Incomplete
It’s incredibly difficult to assign a grade to a deal that involves two unknown prospects. Franklin will be placed on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old has played all three outfield positions but mostly profiles as a corner outfielder. Will Baltimore give Franklin a look before Heston Kjerstad or Enrique Bradfield Jr.?
- Orioles keep Trevor Rogers
Leading up to the deadline, Mike Elias suggested that the Orioles would not position themselves as buyers or sellers. The team did plenty of selling, but the closest thing to “buying” was simply not trading away Trevor Rogers.
Rogers has insisted that he wants to stay in Baltimore long term, and perhaps the Orioles believe they can make that a reality. The organization handed out extensions to Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish, but Rogers will become a free agent at the end of the season.
The decision to keep Rogers around could pay off if he signs a new deal with the organization, but Elias could look foolish if he leaves at the end of the season. Rogers will be eligible for a qualifying offer after 2026, but there’s been speculation that a new CBA could eliminate qualifying offer compensation as early as this offseason.
- Orioles extend Yennier Cano
The Orioles signed Yennier Cano to a two year extension that included a club option for 2029. The move essentially handed Cano guaranteed money during his arbitration years and ensured a team option for 2029.
Cano was already under team control, but the new deal likely deterred Baltimore from parting with the reliever at the trade deadline.
