Good morning Birdland,
There is very little “real” news around baseball right now. The GM meetings take place next week, so perhaps some interesting nuggets will come out of that. But for now, we are in a holding pattern.
While big moves rarely occur during those meetings, they can lay the groundwork for seismic happenings later in the offseason. It has been reported that the Orioles are open to trading just about anyone on the roster, so you would assume that they will be particularly chatty.
Back
in the summer it was reported that the Orioles had discussed deals involving Jackson Holliday and Colton Cowser. This was prior to when the team ended up trading away Adley Rutschman and Taylor Ward, so perhaps they were just keeping options open. But little has happened since then to indicate that they should be committed to any one on this team. They have underperformed for more than two years. Change of some significance is needed.
While it has been reported that the team is open to dealing anyone outside of Pete Alonso, that doesn’t mean that everyone is equally easy to move. Gunnar Henderson, for example, would command a huge return. Yes, he has not lived up to his MVP-level talent recently, but he is still a Top 10 shortstop in MLB with two years of team control remaining. The likelihood he is dealt seems small. The same is true for guys that recently got extensions, like Samuel Basallo, Shane Baz, and Kyle Bradish. These are players you believe in, and you just gave them big raises. Moving on now wouldn’t make much sense.
Then there is a chunk of the roster that would be broadly unappealing in a trade of any import. Tyler O’Neill, Ryan Helsley, Jeremiah Jackson, Christian Franklin, and Rece Hinds, among others, aren’t going to be particularly interesting to good teams. They could be traded, sure, but that would be more about clearing space on the roster than attempting to get better in 2027.
Of course, there is a group of moveable players with upside that could be involved in a bigger deal. This group probably includes guys like Cowser, Blaze Alexander, and Coby Mayo. Not perfect players by any means, but with skillsets that would help most teams. If the Orioles want to upgrade in the outfield or on the mound, they may be able to package a major league talent like that with some minor leaguers to get a deal done, even if it hurts them in other ways.
But the type of player that seems most likely to be traded away is the one that might just need a new kind of scenery. They have been given some playing time, but it’s not working out. They are viable on the big league stage, but underwhelming. And the team might feel like they have some internal options to step in already. That is the bucket where Holliday would seem to fit.
The team has infield options in-house to replace Holliday. Alexander or a returning Jordan Westburg could probably step in at second base. At the same time, he has top prospect pedigree and has flashed enough to be worth something in a trade. Holliday alone won’t net the O’s an upgrade somewhere else on the roster, but he could be a reasonable starting point in a deal.
The Orioles do seem poised to move a big name player this offseason. There is no guarantee it will be Holliday. But he certainly seems like the most obvious candidate.
Links
Could Holliday be an O’s trade candidate this winter? | MLB.com
Yes, he could and maybe should be. He has been a fine player for the Orioles, serviceable. But he is yet to really look like a star, and maybe never will be.
Looking at Orioles’ priorities for November | Baltimore Baseball
I do not expect much to get done in November, not just in Baltimore but everywhere. Teams don’t really know what the rules are going to be for 2027 yet, so how can then make moves of any significance? Seems tough!
Ranking all 30 MLB rosters as the offseason gets going | MLB.com
Pretty much middle of the road. Not a shock, really. And honestly a decent starting point for a club looking to bounce back in 2027.
Scouting Players From Asia: 2026-2027 Offseason Update | FanGraphs
The Orioles have not been too active in this market under Mike Elias’ guidance. But they did sign Tomoyuki Sugano a couple of years ago, and had Shintaro Fujinami for a bit, so it can be helpful to get familiar with these names.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Roansy Contreras turns 27 today. He pitched in one game for the Orioles in 2025.
- Dariel Álvarez is 38 years old. The outfielder played in 14 games for the O’s between 2015 and ‘16.
- Kris Benson is 52 today. He spent one season with the Orioles in 2006, tossing 183 innings and accumulating a 4.82 ERA.
- The late Bob Hale (b. 1933, d. 2012) was born on this day. From 1955 through ‘59, he was a bench bat for the O’s.
This day in O’s history
1989 – Gregg Olson becomes the first relief pitcher to win AL Rookie of the Year. He finishes ahead of Tom Gordon and Ken Griffey Jr. in the voting.
2023 – Mike Elias is named major league Executive of the Year after the Orioles finish the season with the best record in the American League.
