Trade deadlines are supposed to address questions and deficiencies with the roster for a team in buyer mode. There are always questions, however. The work gets done and explanations are sought. Why do this and that? Is the club actually better than the previous model?

And about those rumors.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with the media for about 23 minutes today in the home dugout. He’s pleased with the results, which netted starter Zach Eflin from the Rays for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, infielder Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel, reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache from the Phillies for outfielder Austin Hays, starter Trevor Rogers from the Marlins for second baseman Connor Norby – who was optioned to Triple-A this morning – and outfielder Kyle Stowers, outfielder Eloy Jiménez and cash from the White Sox for Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Trey McGough, outfielder Austin Slater, infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations from the Reds for cash considerations, and left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Phillies for Double-A pitching prospect Seth Johnson and High-A Aberdeen pitcher Moisés Chance.

According to a source, there won’t be a player-to-be-named later in the deal with Cincinnati. Straight cash.

“Trade deadline’s always tough,” Elias said. “It’s always bittersweet trading players for other players. It’s not a one-way street. You’re losing talent but you’re getting different talent that’s a different fit and more of a short-term concentration for the needs of the team. We added two starting pitchers that are going right in our rotation, we added two really hard throwers with success in the major leagues for a long time – one from the left side, one from the right side. And we added a couple of right-handed bats which were especially necessary in the outfield with Austin Hays being gone. So I think that the roster is very fortified.

The Orioles recalled Jackson Holliday this morning and he’s starting at second base to close out the series against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Left-hander Gregory Soto was activated and is wearing No. 65. Catcher Blake Hunt and infielder Terrin Vavra were optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Hunt is on the taxi squad.

Also, right-hander Levin Stoudt cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A Bowie.

Another slow day for the Orioles.

Holliday took ground balls at second this morning. He’s batting eighth.

The Orioles sit in first place and won’t stand pat.

They posted a 6-2 win last night over the Blue Jays after acquiring Seranthony Dominguez, Cristian Pache, Zach Eflin, Trevor Rogers, Eloy Jiménez, Gregory Soto, Austin Slater and Liván Soto, along with High-A pitcher Patrick Reilly, over the past five days.

They can’t get rebuilding out of their blood.

Speaking of blood, James McCann has avoided the injured list. He’s playable despite fractures in his nose. Of course he is. Who doubted this guy?

The Orioles recalled Triple-A Norfolk catcher Blake Hunt, but his stay could be brief.

As Corbin Burnes walked to the mound tonight to begin his warmups, the Orioles were dismantling their roster at the trade deadline. He didn’t seem to notice.

A game that could determine whether the club stayed in first place or slipped into second became oddly secondary to the news.

As time passed, the importance of the outcome came back into focus. Burnes remains the undisputed ace, notching his 18^th quality start in a 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays before an announced crowd of 21,710 at Camden Yards.

Anthony Santander belted his 31^st home run, a solo shot onto the top of the grounds crew shed in the fifth, Ramón Urías homered and had an RBI single and infield hit while unsure how the next few days will impact his status, and the Orioles improved to 64-44. They remain a half-game ahead of the Yankees.

Burnes was charged with two runs and four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Cionel Pérez let an inherited runner score in the seventh.

The roster reshaping by the Orioles isn’t over.

No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday is headed to Baltimore, multiple sources have confirmed. He could join the active roster before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Blue Jays or accompany the team to Cleveland before he’s officially recalled.

Holliday was removed from tonight’s lineup, as MASNsports.com reported earlier, following the Connor Norby trade that also sent outfielder Kyle Stowers to the Marlins in exchange for left-hander Trevor Rogers.

This will be Holliday’s second stint in the majors. An unpopular camp cut, Holliday had his contract selected on April 10 and he went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts before the Orioles optioned him April 26.

Holliday missed almost two weeks with right elbow inflammation and was eased back into action as the designated hitter before returning to second base. He’s batting .271/.431/.477 with 25 doubles, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs, 75 walks and 77 strikeouts in 73 games.

With about 15 minutes until the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias found his right-handed hitting outfielder to check another box.

The Orioles are trading for White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez, with Triple-A reliever Trey McGough leaving the organization in return, according to an industry source.

Jiménez missed a month of the season with a hamstring injury and has appeared in 65 games, batting .240/.297/.345 with nine doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs. He’s a career .270/.321/.469 hitter in six seasons since his debut in 2019. He finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting 31 home runs.

The following season brought a Silver Slugger Award during the COVID year.

The Orioles are inheriting the remainder of Jiménez’s $13 million salary. The contract includes club options for 2025 at $16.5 million and 2026 at $18.5 million with a pair of $3 million buyouts.

The Orioles announced today’s trade, with second baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers going to the Marlins for starting pitcher Trevor Rogers.

Rogers posted a 4.53 ERA and 1.528 WHIP this season in 21 games but has a 3.32 ERA in his last eight starts. He's under team control through 2026.

“It’s a left-handed starter,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “I haven’t talked with Mike (Elias) much about it at this point just because he’s still working really hard and it happened not that long ago, but from what I do know, he’s a guy that’s had nine or 10 really good starts his last times out, and always looking for starting pitching and hopefully he can help us down the stretch.”

Hyde isn’t ready to discuss his rotation or bullpen until the 6 p.m. deadline. He kept reminding the media about it.

Albert Suárez could shift to the 'pen with the rotation filled by Rogers, Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer. Triple-A Norfolk pitchers Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott could be used in relief down the road.

Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstad was a part of the Triple-A Norfolk team last year that ended up winning the Triple-A championship. He was with the Orioles when the Tides won that title in late September, but the lineup that night for the Tides included infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers, who were traded today to the Marlins for lefty pitcher Trevor Rogers.

That lineup also included Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Joey Ortiz.

It's easy to see how that team won a title.

Today Kjerstad is still an Oriole, but the other two are not.

“Norby and Stowers have been awesome. Not only great friends to me but great baseball players,” Kjerstad said this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse. “They’re going to go on and have great big league careers. They’ve been fun to watch play.

The Orioles found another starting pitcher before this evening’s trade deadline. It cost them a pair of major league-caliber players, including their No. 5 prospect.

Marlins left-hander Trevor Rogers, 26, was acquired from the Marlins for second baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers, according to multiple sources. Norby will be removed from the major league roster after appearing in five of the last six lineups. He sat for Game 1 of yesterday’s doubleheader and had a double in the nightcap for his first hit at Camden Yards.

Rogers was the 13^th-overall pick in the 2017 draft who’s gone 15-32 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.385 WHIP in 80 starts on some pretty bad teams. He’s posted a 4.53 ERA and 1.528 WHIP this season in 21 games but has a 3.32 ERA in his last eight starts.

Rogers appeared in only four games last season due to biceps, lat and shoulder injuries. He was an All-Star in 2021 and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting with a 2.64 ERA and 1.150 WHIP in 25 outings, striking out 157 batters in 133 innings.

The Orioles can field a rotation with Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Rogers, however the last two are aligned. They didn’t show a willingness to part with the top prospects in their system despite rumors tying them to Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet and Blake Snell.

The trade deadline clock is ticking louder. Pencils are down at 6 p.m., though deals tend to trickle in after it. A clean getaway from the incremental non-updates, rumors and speculation.

Who’s gonna miss it?

The Orioles are missing a second starter, reliever and right-handed hitting outfielder. They have one of each so far with Zach Eflin, Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is trying to find more matches.

The only players surrendered have been outfielder Austin Hays and mid-level prospects Jackson Baumeister, Mac Horvath and Matthew Etzel. MLB Pipeline ranked Horvath 10^th in the organization and Baseball America has him 13^th.

Elias has to climb up that list to get a top-tier arm, but other starters could slot in the middle of the rotation at a less painful cost.

Colton Cowser laid into a fastball, watched it soar to right field and raised his right leg. It probably won’t become his signature home run pose, but he was in the moment.

Jordan Westburg wasn’t as confident in the outcome of his fly ball the following inning until it landed in the bullpen area to tie Game 2. He went the more conventional route, with bat dropped and feet motoring.

The Orioles brought early power to the back end of the doubleheader, but lapses on the mound and in the field cost them a chance at a sweep.

Cade Povich didn’t make it through the fifth inning, the walks hurting him again, and the Orioles lost to the last-place Blue Jays 8-4. The twinbill drew an announced crowd of 22,272, with the nightcap starting late due to rain.

An 11^th loss in 17 games lowered the Orioles' record to 63-44. The Yankees are a half-game back for the division lead after hammering the Phillies 14-4.

Zach Eflin will pitch in front of much larger crowds and with a lot more at stake. He won't always watch his battery mate bleed at home plate and refuse to leave. Today’s debut with the Orioles unfolded in the mid-afternoon opener of a doubleheader, a makeup from the May 14 rainout. Empty seats were spread at every level throughout the ballpark.

The start still seemed like a big deal. The scene just didn’t match it.

Eflin allowed three runs over six innings and equaled his season high with seven strikeouts, Anthony Santander hit his 30^th homer, and the Orioles took everything the Blue Jays gave them in an 11-5 win at Camden Yards in a game that will be remembered more for James McCann’s toughness than the right-hander’s first outing with his new team.

The veteran pitcher liked his results overall and loved his catcher.

Eflin carried a shutout bid into the fifth and surrendered a three-run homer to Addison Barger, the rookie’s first in the majors. Barger entered the game after the Blue Jays removed Justin Turner and traded him to the Mariners. Just some of the weirdness from today.

Zach Eflin makes his Orioles debut today in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Eflin made his last Tampa Bay start against the Blue Jays in Toronto and allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He also faced them May 18 at Rogers Centre and allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings. His first start in 2024 also was against the Jays, at Tropicana Field, and he surrendered six runs in 5 2/3 innings.

George Springer, Cavan Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit home runs.

Eflin owns a 5.90 ERA and 1.487 WHIP in eight career games (seven starts) against the Jays. Guerrero is 6-for-16 with a double and two home runs.

The right-hander is making his third career start at Camden Yards. He’s allowed five runs in 13 innings there.

The increasingly unusual nature of baseball’s trade deadline, where teams can behave like buyers and sellers depending on which direction the wind blows, sets up the Orioles to do what used to be unthinkable. Shaking up a first-place roster like it’s a snow globe.

The club will undergo changes by Tuesday evening, but just how drastic is the mystery. Flurries or a blizzard?

Austin Hays is gone in a swap of players on the major league rosters. That didn’t used to be a common maneuver, two contenders engaging in this sort of activity. The Orioles reportedly are willing to move Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle in their ongoing pursuit of pitching and perhaps a right-handed bat.

Timing is everything, of course, and they played huge roles in yesterday’s 8-6 win. Mullins had a two-run double to give him six RBIs in his last four at-bats, and he made a spectacular catch to rob Manny Machado in the eighth. Mountcastle drove in four runs and scooped a Gunnar Henderson ball out of the dirt.

Maybe it became less likely that Mullins would be dealt after Hays went to the Phillies, but that’s just more speculation. And would parting with Mullins open the door for Kyle Stowers, a left-handed hitter like Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad? It didn’t seem possible for them to co-exist with the Orioles until recently.

The crowd erupted today in the top of the first inning when Padres leadoff hitter Luis Arraez lifted a popup that Gunnar Henderson ran down in foul territory. No collision or dropped ball. Fans hadn’t forgotten yesterday’s blunder.

Henderson ranged past second base in the second inning and made a sprawling stop and throw to retire David Peralta. The ovation this time was louder. Henderson and Jordan Westburg caught line drives, the former from Kyle Higashioka at 107.1 mph, and James McCann threw out Ha-Seong Kim trying to steal third base in the third.

The best was saved for last, with Cedric Mullins sprinting to the center field track and making a leaping grab of Manny Machado’s fly ball at full speed before crashing into the fence at the 410 foot sign. The palm of his glove faced upward, much like the mood of a team that has been battling frustration as well as opponents.

The Orioles didn’t completely fix their defense. Henderson sailed and bounced throws past Ryan Mountcastle, giving the shortstop five errors in four games. They didn’t completely solve their offensive issues, doing all of their scoring in two innings. And the pitching turned a comfortable lead into the slimmest of margins.

There’s more work to be done, but they accepted the result with smiles, formed the congratulatory handshake line and chose which music to blast.  

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.”