Zach Eflin wasn’t ignorant to the trade rumors. He heard and read them. His soon-to-be former club kept him informed.

Eflin was in the know and on a flight to Baltimore.

This morning’s media clubhouse access allowed for introductions as Eflin stood in front of the locker that belonged to injured pitcher John Means. He already met his new teammates and threw a bullpen session. He expects to start Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

“Super excited and just grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I’ve heard nothing but incredible things about this locker room and, obviously, playing against them the last year and a half you see the youth and how much the guys care about each other and how hard they play. It’s something that we’ve always admired over in Tampa, so it’s really exciting to be in this position and be able to play with these guys.”

The Orioles sent minor leaguers Jackson Baumeister, Mac Horvath and Matthew Etzel to the Rays for Eflin, who finished sixth last year in American League Cy Young voting. Eflin is under contract for $18 million next season and the Rays decided to shop him.

The Orioles activated new starter Zach Eflin and assigned him uniform No. 24. Eflin threw yesterday and is a candidate to start one of the games in Monday’s doubleheader.

Reliever Bryan Baker was optioned after yesterday’s game.

The Orioles will try to avoid a sweep this afternoon with Colton Cowser leading off and playing left field. Gunnar Henderson is batting third. Henderson has committed an error in three consecutive games.

Cedric Mullins is in center field again after his two-run double and two-run homer yesterday. His 430-foot shot was the third-longest of his career.

Adley Rutschman is on the bench. He’s 9-for-68 (.132) this month.

Jorge Mateo walked through the clubhouse yesterday with a brace on his left elbow and wearing a signed Russell Westbrook NBA jersey. Connor Norby sat on the opposite side of the room, far away but still directly tied to Mateo.

Norby has received his major league opportunities with Mateo on the seven-day concussion injured list in June and 10-day IL with the elbow dislocation. He had two different lockers set up at Camden Yards but didn’t play in a game the first time, optioned after the team finished a road trip and sent back to Triple-A Norfolk after being on the 24-hour taxi squad.

The No. 5 prospect’s first hit was a home run in Toronto on June 3. He singled and scored on June 8 at Tropicana Field and homered again Thursday as part of a two-hit day in Miami.

Five games played and none in Baltimore until Friday night against the Padres, when Norby started again at second base and batted ninth. He went 0-for-3 but appreciated the moment. It couldn’t be ruined.

Maybe his third locker is the charm.

The Orioles are in such a funk right now that they can’t catch a break or a popup.

Gunnar Henderson and Ramón Urías converged on a ball today in the second inning that should have stranded two runners in scoring position. Kyle Higashioka skied a four-seamer with the count full and Dean Kremer appeared to escape the jam.

A routine play except when a team is scuffling in pretty much every facet of the game.

Henderson and Urías collided, the ball popped out of the third baseman’s glove and the Orioles were down by two runs.

Urías couldn’t backhand Xander Bogaerts’ 102.1 mph grounder down the line in the third inning that was ruled a double and scored Jurickson Profar, another runner crossed in the fourth on Henderson’s throwing error, and the Orioles stayed behind until the finish in a 9-4 loss to the Padres before an announced crowd of 30,008 at Camden Yards.

Jorge Mateo has his left elbow in a brace and no further updates on his health.

Mateo suffered a transient dislocation Tuesday in a collision with shortstop Gunnar Henderson during a 6-3 loss to the Marlins. He needs to undergo further testing but the Orioles are waiting for the swelling to go down.

“It was a difficult moment when I saw and felt my arm bend that way,” Mateo said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Yeah, just a difficult moment for me, for the team, for my family.”

Surgery is a possibility but the medical staff is collecting more information.

“We still don’t have anything concrete,” Mateo said. “We’re still waiting for the team to ultimately make a decision and see what happens from there.”

Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle are on the bench this afternoon and Connor Norby is at second base, as the Orioles continue their series against the Padres.

Colton Cowser is in left field and Heston Kjerstad is the designated hitter.

Adley Rutschman is catching. He’s 8-for-64 (.125) this month.

Anthony Santander, who’s in right field, has hit six home runs in his last eight games and leads the club with 29, one more than his 2023 total.

Cowser has a career-high seven-game hitting streak. He’s 10-for-24 during that stretch.

A normal day at Camden Yards would have led the visiting media to Manny Machado’s locker. He would have been the most interesting story. And eventually, I would have remembered that Connor Norby was making his home debut.

But mostly Manny.

Machado’s arrival in Baltimore, his second in a Padres uniform, is bound to conjure memories of his departure. Rumors surfacing of his pending trade to the Dodgers during the 2018 All-Star game in D.C. For me, a text message from a team official stating that the deal wasn’t done despite reports to the contrary, and he was right.

Machado knew that he was a goner and had a member of the public relations staff summon the beat writers to a private area at Nats Park for goodbyes and a group photo. Away from the other writers who surrounded his locker and got nothing substantial.

I’ll never forget Machado thanking us for understanding that he was “different.” He wasn’t always the easiest player to cover, but he appreciated the relationship that developed.

The Orioles traded for another starting pitcher and might not be done. The rotation was targeted as an area of need. Surgeries and struggles left them no choice.

Grayson Rodriguez wanted to provide the latest example that the top portion is in good hands, and he did it for a while. Corbin Burnes registered his 17^th quality start yesterday in Miami and Rodriguez carried a shutout into the sixth tonight, but Jurickson Profar hit a game-tying, two-run homer and manager Brandon Hyde went to his bullpen.

Another area that's under some construction.

Burnes and Rodriguez remain a formidable one-two punch, but the Orioles had to get off the canvas again like they did yesterday in extras. They managed it briefly and went down again, this time unable to scramble back to their feet.

The defense let down reliever Burch Smith in the sixth. The Orioles tied the game in the eighth, but Craig Kimbrel surrendered a two-run homer to Profar with two outs in the ninth in the Orioles’ 6-4 loss to the Padres before an announced sellout crowd of 43,692 at Camden Yards.

The trade deadline doesn’t arrive until Tuesday at 6 p.m., but the Orioles got aggressive today. They found the opportunities to strike and didn’t let them pass.

They latched onto a starter under team control beyond 2024 who didn’t cost one of their top prospects. They strengthened their bullpen and added a plus defender for the outfield.

The total cost was outfielder Austin Hays and minor leaguers Jackson Baumeister, Mac Horvath and Matthew Etzel.

Hays went to the Phillies for reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. The Orioles later announced that they acquired Zach Eflin from the Rays.

Eflin will report this weekend. Domínguez and Pache arrived at Camden Yards this afternoon.

The Orioles made their move for a starting pitcher on a busy day of roster shakeups.

An industry source confirmed that right-hander Zach Eflin, 30, has been acquired from the Rays for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, outfielder Matthew Etzel and infielder/outfielder Mac Horvath. MLB Pipeline ranks Horvath as the No. 10 prospect in the system and Baumeister at No. 17.

Eflin, who’s under team control for $18 million next season, has posted a 4.09 ERA and 1.164 WHIP in 19 starts with only 13 walks in 110 innings. He went 16-8 last season with a 3.50 ERA and 1.024 WHIP in 31 starts and finished sixth in Cy Young voting in the American League.

This is the controllable starter that the Orioles sought without surrendering one of their top prospects. And they might not be done.

The Padres made Eflin the 33^rd-overall pick in the 2012 draft and traded him to the Dodgers two years later. He was flipped to the Phillies the next day in the Jimmy Rollins deal.

The Orioles are playing a home game tonight for the first time since the dramatic walk-off win against the Yankees on July 14. They’re 30-22 at Camden Yards and 31-19 on the road.

The Padres are making their first visit since 2019, which again brings Manny Machado back to Baltimore. They won both games.

Only the Giants have gone longer without returning to Baltimore, edging the Padres by 24 days.

Heston Kjerstad is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center. Connor Norby is playing second base and batting ninth.

Kjerstad now dresses at the locker that used to belong to Austin Hays, who was traded today to the Phillies for reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. Domínguez and Pache didn’t have lockers set up this afternoon and the Orioles didn’t announce another roster move.

The Orioles made a significant change to their outfield, surrendering one of their longest tenured players, and fortified the bullpen earlier today by consummating their first trade approaching Tuesday’s deadline.

Austin Hays was dealt to the Phillies for reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. Minor league pitcher Levi Stoudt was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Hays was a third-round pick in the 2016 draft out of Jacksonville University who made his major league debut the following September and started in last year’s All-Star Game. He’s battled injuries throughout much of his career and played in 63 games this season, slashing .255/.316/.395 with 13 doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs in 175 plate appearances.

The part-time role was a tough adjustment for Hays, who played in 557 games with the Orioles over parts of seven seasons, but Colton Cowser’s emergence as a regular and the shuffling with Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers limited his opportunities.

The Phillies might platoon Hays with Brandon Marsh before he enters his final year of arbitration eligibility.

The first road trip of the second half produced a 3-3 record for the Orioles, who fumbled a three-run lead in the ninth yesterday and won 7-6 in the 10th. They lead the Yankees by two games in the American League East during a stretch when they could have plummeted down the standings.

Maybe it isn’t the best division in baseball anymore.

Corbin Burnes remains one of the best pitchers and a very smart trade acquisition despite costing DL Hall and Joey Ortiz and likely being a rental. He was the stopper again yesterday before Craig Kimbrel’s blown save, holding the Marlins to three runs – the last scoring after he exited - in a season-high 7 1/3 innings for his 17^th quality start. He’s so good, his ERA actually went up from 2.38 to 2.45.

Burnes made his major league debut in Miami on July 10, 2018 and he recorded a six-out save.  He won a Cy Young Award three years later and could make it two this season.

That’s your Game 1 starter. That’s what they look like.

These things have a way of working themselves out. It’s more than just a catchy phrase suitable for stitching on a pillow.

Connor Norby was blocked at second base until he wasn’t. Injuries open doors and Norby is walking through one of them.

Jorge Mateo’s elbow injury is going to keep him off the active roster for an extended period. It’s called a “subluxation,” which is a partial dislocation. It corrected itself somewhere between Gunnar Henderson’s leg and the ground last night as they pursued a ball headed toward center field.

The Orioles haven’t determined whether Mateo needs surgery, but at least it isn’t a full dislocation. I’m not a doctor, but partial doesn’t seem quite as serious. However, it's a lot more than a mere 10-day absence.

In the meantime, here’s Norby, the No. 5 prospect in the organization who hit .297 with 21 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 57 RBIs and a .908 OPS in 80 games with Triple-A Norfolk but couldn’t get an extended stay in Baltimore. In pre-Mike Elias years, he would have been playing every day after probably receiving the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year Award. But it’s 2024 and the system is much deeper, making it harder for players like Norby to climb out of it.

The Orioles close out their road trip this afternoon in Miami, trying to avoid being swept by a team with the worst record in the National League, and get ready for another reunion with Manny Machado, whose only previous return to Camden Yards happened in 2019.

Their roster was adjusted again yesterday but didn’t involve a trade. Chayce McDermott had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk, reliever Bryan Baker was optioned and pitcher Jonathan Heasley was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. The move with Baker was made late Tuesday night.

Right shoulder inflammation prevented Heasley from pitching since June 11, when he started against Memphis and allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. He surrendered six runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 in his previous start at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he was really good in May with 16 scoreless innings with the Tides.

Heasley also made one appearance with the Orioles that month and allowed four runs in one inning against the White Sox in Chicago. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Monday.

The injury should make it easier for Heasley to clear waivers and be outrighted if the Orioles want to hold onto him.

Let’s begin the day by trying to figure out what the Orioles are doing with their rotation. And why.

Chayce McDermott was on the 24-hour taxi squad yesterday in Miami and the Orioles withheld an announcement on tonight’s starter. Albert Suárez started last night, and he limped off the mound with assistant athletic trainer Patrick Wesley in the third inning after a 102 mph ground ball slammed off his lower right leg. Corbin Burnes is listed for Thursday afternoon and that’s set in stone, but tonight remained TBA prior to first pitch.

Oh, the drama.

(Burnes has gone at least six innings while allowing no more than four earned runs in his last 15 appearances, the longest streak by an Oriole since Dennis Martinez in 1978, per STATS).

The choices seemed to come down to McDermott tonight or maybe Cole Irvin returning to the rotation and McDermott having his contract selected and going into the bullpen. The 40-man roster is full, so space would need to be cleared.

The Orioles are moving Chayce McDermott from the taxi squad to Wednesday night starter in Miami, and they also are summoning infielder Connor Norby as a possible recall from Triple-A Norfolk.

Manager Brandon Hyde told the assembled media that McDermott would make his major league debut Wednesday as the new fifth starter. That seemed to be the plan all along. The spot was listed as TBA and there was no other reason to fly McDermott to South Florida.

What happened to Jorge Mateo was unexpected and led to Norby’s trip to Miami.

According to an industry source, Norby is joining the Orioles in case Mateo goes on the injured list after his collision tonight with shortstop Gunnar Henderson a ground ball up the middle in the third inning.

Mateo’s left arm bend backward at the elbow, a gruesome image captured on MASN. He was in obvious pain as he laid on the ground and eventually came out of a game that the Orioles lost 6-3.

The 2025 schedule is much kinder to the Orioles, in case you hadn’t perused it. Four days off in April, four in May, three in June, three in July along with the All-Star break, three in August and four in September.

They began the second half by winning two of three games in Texas and were off yesterday. Seems early after the break, but they won’t complain.

The offense remains hot and cold. The Orioles staggered into the break, scored a combined 17 runs in the first two games against the Rangers and were shut out Sunday for seven innings before Anthony Santander’s two-run shot.

Asked about the two-night outburst after the season was paused, co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said, “I think it’s a chance for guys to take a little bit of breath, like realize how much success we’ve had in the first half. And the recent struggles that we had are a thing of the past and we can come back from that.”

The past tends to bleed into the present. The Orioles went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 Saturday and were 0-for-6 Sunday with seven left on base.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The grind of the first half finally caught up to the mailbag. It lacked energy. It stranded questions.

The break came at the ideal time.

Let's get to the latest edition of the beloved 2008 original while the Orioles are enjoying an off-day - after playing only three games to begin the second half.

There are worse places to be than Miami. I had my fun during those South Florida spring trainings. Let someone else have a turn.

The post-break doesn’t bring serious changes to the mailbag. Same rules as the first. I don’t need to improve the clarity, shorten the length or adjust the style.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles won’t begin the second half with a sweep.

Former Orioles minor league catcher Jonah Heim hit a three-run homer off Dean Kremer today in the fourth inning and the Rangers avoided an early crash to post a 3-2 victory before an announced crowd of 31,808 at Globe Life Field.

The Yankees lost again today to remain two games behind the Orioles in the American League East.

An offense that built 4-0 leads in the first and second innings the past two nights couldn’t hurt left-hander Andrew Heaney, who entered with 10 losses but also a 3.79 ERA. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded five during his five scoreless innings.

Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer off David Robertson in the eighth after Adley Rutschman walked to reduce the lead to 3-2. Santander’s 27^th left him one behind team-leader Gunnar Henderson, and he totaled eight RBIs in the series.