A final summary and some leftovers from the trade deadline

The immediate takeaway from the Orioles’ work at the trade deadline is how they went hard after quantity and also feel like they improved the quality of their rotation and bullpen and the depth of their right-handed hitters.

They really didn't skimp on the quantity.

They were as busy adding players as the Marlins were subtracting them. The flurry over the last 15-20 minutes made the evening a blur. Blizzard conditions in 90-degree heat.

The Orioles didn’t get overly aggressive and go for the trade kill, keeping top prospects who would have netted an elite starter. And I’ll say again that they weren’t dealing those guys, no matter how many rumors swirled and reports surfaced about aggressive pursuits.

How aggressive are talks if they don’t include Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo or Colton Cowser?

“You never really fully say (untouchable), but more or less, every time a ranking came out, Holliday, Basallo and Mayo were ranked higher and higher and higher and you got three very young kids that are consensus top 15 prospects in all of baseball,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. “The value on that makes it really hard to find something to trade them for that makes any sense, and the types of players that you would even fathom having discussions with those guys didn't even get traded. So it really didn't come up.”

There you go.

Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers never were categorized as untouchable. Past Orioles teams would have held onto them until knuckles turned white, but the level of talent has reached a point where they were blocked. The Marlins got two good young hitters who had nothing else to prove in Triple-A and deserve a chance at regular playing time in the majors.

Norby must wait. The Marlins optioned him yesterday morning and want him to play third base. For his sake, I hope it’s a crash course.

(I'll miss talking to him about the Vikings, and really, all things Minnesota sports. He's got a broadcasting career waiting for him after baseball.)

How’s this for a harsh coincidence or irony? The opposite of the one Alanis Morissette choses. The Orioles trade Norby and lose Jordan Westburg a day later to a fractured right hand.

Jackson Holliday was removed from Triple-A Norfolk’s lineup after the trade. Would he have stayed with the Tides if Norby stayed with the Orioles? Holliday hit his first major league home run yesterday and it was a grand slam onto Eutaw Street.

Elias said yesterday that Holliday has “some runway in front of him” because of the vacancy at second base, and that was before Westburg’s injury. Holliday could be here to stay.

“That was my goal last time and it’s definitely my goal this time,” he said, smiling. “To come up here and help this team win and hopefully make a long playoff run.”

Rather than judge the starting pitcher trades individually, lump them together and give a final grade. To acquire Zach Eflin from the Rays for three players outside Baseball America’s top 10 prospects list – Mac Horvath was 10^th on MLB Pipeline – looked like a major win for the Orioles. A middle-of-the-rotation arm with postseason experience that doesn’t walk batters and can get deep into games. But Norby and Stowers seem like a steep price for Trevor Rogers, though he also fills a need, including a left-hander to replace John Means, and is under team control through 2026.

Combine the deals and see how you feel about them.

The Orioles acted quickly to snatch Eflin and the Rays were willing partners.

“We ended up getting a little bit of a jump on the market, but this isn’t something I can do unilaterally, and fortunately Erik Neander and the Rays rolled up their sleeves, too,” Elias said. “They had quite an agenda and made a bunch of trades. I think it was helpful for both parties to get to the table a few days early and sit down and make a really strong trade for both sides. We went right to kind of our max tolerance, and they were realistic too. We gave up a lot and I think we’re going to be haunted by one or two of those players, but again, that’s the game.

“Eflin was right at the top of the list for fits for us. He’s not a rental. We’re gonna need him next year. And also, arguably, especially when you factor in him being an Oriole in 2025, too, this was the top starter move this deadline, so it worked out really well. I thought he looked great the other day and I’m confident he’s going to pitch well, but whatever happens, I’m really happy with that decision to kind of jump on him several days early and I think the Rays are really happy with their side of the trade too.”

Controllability factored into Elias' discussions with other executives. He would have taken a rental, with a championship in 2024 the ultimate goal, but the 2025 rotation also must be addressed with Means a free agent recovering from elbow surgery, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells unavailable for at least a large chuck on next season and Corbin Burnes testing free agency.

It isn’t my money but I’d make a serious effort to keep Burnes unless the cost becomes unreasonable, which is likely to happen. There’s big risk in long-term deals for pitchers, but the same holds true for aging, power-hitting first basemen. Anyway ...

Rogers could start tonight in Cleveland. The spot is listed as TBA and he’d be working on an extra day of rest. Dean Kremer, Eflin and Burnes are the other starters for the four-game series that goes head-to-head Saturday with WWE SummerSlam at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

To fairly evaluate Elias’ work at the deadline, and you've probably been wrestling with it, you must take into account how much healthier he made the rotation next season. But he also must hope to get more out of Rogers than he did with Cole Irvin, who was designated for assignment Tuesday.  

Irvin will be missed in that clubhouse and he had his moments with the Orioles, but he never cemented a role. He had a hot start this year and couldn’t sustain it, and I’ll always wonder if the move back to relief wrecked him.

Speaking of the bullpen, Elias did more to bolster it beyond trading for power arms Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto. The rotation ran out of room for Albert Suárez, and his ability to cover innings in relief is a huge gain.

Right-handers hit .182/.272/.278 against Domínguez in his career. Left-handers hit .199/.297/.269 against Soto. Manager Brandon Hyde certainly can use that to his advantage.

Danny Coulombe’s left-handed spikes can’t be filled, but Soto softens the blow a bit. The Orioles have fingers and toes crossed that Coulombe returns in September after surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow.

“Things are going to plan,” Elias said. “That said, September’s kind of a close call with October, and there’s not a lot of margin for error, and he’s going to have to come back and pitch a little bit, too, and I’m sure he’ll start in the minor leagues and we’ll see where we’re at. But right now, our plan and our hope is to have Coulombe back prior to the end of the regular season and I’m hopeful he’s in form for the playoff roster. But I think the Soto addition helps ensure us against some outcomes where, hopefully that doesn’t happen, but some outcomes where he misses that time frame.”

The new relievers also bring some closing experience. Craig Kimbrel worked in another lower-leverage situation yesterday, tossing a scoreless eighth inning with a walk and two strikeouts.

“He’s going to be right in the thick of things,” Elias said. “This is one of the best ever to do it. He’s at an age and experience level in his career where he’s not 24 years old anymore, but he’s still one of the leaders in saves in all of baseball. He’s gone on an extended run of excellence this season. He’s got another one right around the corner. Players have ups and downs throughout the year. Every player on our team. You look at our star hitters, they’ve had ups and downs, and it seems like so far Craig’s ups and downs have been concentrated in a couple of really rough patches, and then just throwing blanks for 25 straight innings or whatever. So, lot of that is just randomness, and he could turn the corner starting today.

“So he's our closer long-term, but we do have a lot of reinforcement in the bullpen. There’s nights where Craig’s not available, or there’s going to be matchups that are better for some of the other pitchers, the lefties, what have you, and I think we have a lot more options than we did, too. So all things said, this is a really strong bullpen full of above-average major league pitchers in different shapes and sizes and profiles, and that’s what you’re looking for.”

The Orioles took Eloy Jiménez off the White Sox’s hands. They needed a right-handed bat after trading Austin Hays, but he’s more likely to serve as designated hitter against left-handers. He has a .304 average and .730 OPS against them this season.

This is a downgrade from Hays even with the other right-handed hitters who arrived at the deadline, but the Orioles really wanted Domínguez and the Phillies have wanted Hays for three years. That’s how the deal was made. But every time I hear about the need for a right-handed batter who hits lefties and is a plus-defender, well, I go back to Austin Hays.

I can’t really explain what happened with the Reds right at the deadline. Liván Soto, outfielder Austin Slater and cash for cash. It seemed so odd, but heads were spinning at that point. The media was just trying to keep up. Slater is a right-handed bat if he’s kept on the roster – he’s out of options – and Soto is at least a temporary countermove to Westburg’s absence.

Elias sneaked in a minor league deal by sending Triple-A outfielder Billy Cook to the Pirates for Class A right-hander Patrick Reilly. Cook can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield and he posted a combined .371 on-base percentage between Double-A Bowie and Norfolk.

“Pretty simply, it’s pitching for hitting,” Elias said. “Theirs is a system that’s a little more pitching-oriented and ours, we’ve got a lot of position players, and we’ve been talking a lot about a lot of different things, and we identified that Reilly was a guy that our scouts were high on. And Cook, I think they’re looking for some right-handed hitters over there, and we made the swap. I guess you could call it a little bit of a challenge trade in that regard, but I think we like demographic shift from hitting to pitching.”

Cook needs to be protected in the Rule 5 draft. That’s also got to be a factor.

Seven trades in five days. Nine new players brought into the organization. One goal in mind – win the World Series.

“This year’s team is a different team,” Elias said. “There’s a lot of the same players but different players hurt, healthy, and we had Félix Bautista until September last year. I think our deadline was a reflection of where our roster was in the moment of July 2024. But also, we were in a different position last year. We were tangling with the Rays with the division and now we’re tangling with the Yankees. And I think our team quality is better this year.

“I know our record, maybe we don’t get to 101 wins, maybe we do. But just the talent on this team and the impact on this team and the experience level of the players on this team is higher. I think this team is a better threat this year with the way it’s constructed and the way our guys are playing. And the ball’s gotta bounce and the chips gotta fall, but I think this team can get really deep in the playoffs and we want to go all the way.”

* The Sept. 20 game between the Orioles and Tigers at Camden Yards will air on Apple TV+.