A trade O's fans may eventually be quite thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving, Birdland! I hope everyone gets to be with their family today, but we know that in 2020, that is probably not happening for everyone. Let this be the last Thanksgiving like this one.

But here is a wish for all of Birdland to be healthy and happy on this holiday. I'm thankful for the wonderful community of Orioles fans that frequent this blog daily.

As it relates to the Orioles, the club may be very thankful at some point for the return they got in the Manny Machado trade. For just two months of Machado - he was a rental in his final year before hitting free agency - the Orioles got a package of five players from the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 18, 2018.

While Breyvic Valera is gone, he did briefly play for the Orioles in 2018. At this point, two players from that trade have now played for the club and two others were added recently to the 40-man roster. The other player has a good chance to join the Orioles as well, perhaps as soon as next season.

Machado helped the Dodgers to the 2018 World Series. But they lost to Boston as he went 4-for-22. On Feb. 21, 2019, the San Diego Padres signed Machado to a 10-year deal worth $300 million through 2028. That deal includes an opt-out after the 2023 season.

Here is another look at the four players that remain from that trade that was pretty much the actual start of the Orioles' rebuilding efforts.

Yusniel Diaz: He should make his big league debut in 2021 and was just added to the 40-man roster. Just days before that trade, Diaz hit two homers in the All-Star Futures Game in Washington. He ended the 2018 season ranked as the O's No. 1 prospect. When we last saw Diaz play in 2019, he was limited to 76 games at Double-A Bowie, but he ended the year batting .299 with an .842 OPS over his last 28 games. O's executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias has been a fan of this guy and has talked him up often. It's a pretty safe bet he makes his major league debut next year and the O's outfield then gets even more crowded. He's a player that can impact games with his glove, arm and bat.

Dean Kremer: Kremer, who led the minor leagues in strikeouts in 2018, got his call-up and made his major league debut Sept. 6 against the Yankees. He gave up just one run and one hit over six innings. He posted a 1.69 ERA and an opponent average of .145 in his first three starts, where he fanned 20 in 16 innings. He showed a cutter that was a real weapon, getting a whiff percentage of 35 percent on that pitch. He showed poise and solid mound presence and it was a strong debut in the big leagues. He's got a great shot to start 2021 in the rotation.

Rylan Bannon: He was also added to the O's 40-man last week and Elias said he had no doubt that if he had not been added he would have been lost in the Rule 5 draft. Bannon might even have a shot to break camp next spring with a starting spot in the infield. His odds could increase there if Hanser Alberto is non-tendered. Bannon was the Dodgers' eighth-round pick in 2017 after he was the Big East Conference Player of the Year as an Xavier junior. In 2019, over 110 games at Double-A Bowie and 20 at Triple-A Norfolk, he batted .266/.345/.421. Late in the year, he hit .317 with an .893 OPS in 20 games for Norfolk. Over his career in the minors, spanning 291 games and just over 1,000 at-bats, he's hit .280/.375/.481 with 63 doubles, 10 triples, 43 homers, 161 RBIs and with an OPS of .856.

Zach Pop: After Tommy John surgery in May of 2019, Pop said he's a "full-go" now in this story from September. He resumed light throwing last year in mid-November and had advanced from 45 to 60 to 75 feet and was throwing off a flat mound in March. After the trade, he went to Double-A Bowie and began the 2019 season with the Baysox before he was shut down. In 22 games with Bowie over those two seasons, he went 2-1 with a 1.97 ERA and a 0.969 WHIP. In 32 innings, he allowed just 21 hits and no homers. So some really promising numbers for Pop, who can throw a mid-90s fastball and also features a solid slider and good groundball rates. A native of Canada, he could be a future back end bullpen pitcher for the Orioles. In his minor league career, he is 3-3 with a 1.34 ERA. Over 80 1/3 innings, he allowed 48 hits with 25 walks, 80 strikeouts and a 0.909 WHIP.

So will O's fans be thankful for this trade?