Could Orioles' bullpen entice a division rival?

Would they dare?

Would the Orioles toss a life raft to a rival’s drowning bullpen rather than offering a glass of water?

OK, the Yankees aren’t in such dire straits, since they still have Clay Holmes closing, but an important bridge to him collapsed Friday night on the mound at Camden Yards. Michael King fractured his right elbow and was lost for the remainder of the season.

Aroldis Chapman retired one of four batters, throwing two wild pitches, surrendering Anthony Santander’s prodigious three-run homer, and hearing more boos from the Yankees’ contingent after his removal. He has a 5.75 ERA and is averaging 7.5 walks per nine innings.

Can’t be trusted.

King was money.

The trade deadline arrives on Aug. 2 and the Yankees most certainly are in the market for a reliever or two. The Orioles are sellers, though willing to pivot slightly for a pitcher under team control beyond 2023. And they are in an unusual position since the rebuild began.

They have a bullpen that’s really good, and the industry has noticed.

Power arms. High-leverage types. A group loaded with waiver claims that has a 3.12 ERA to tie the Braves for fourth in the majors after four scoreless innings last night.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias won’t avoid trading within the division if there’s a match, if he can get back talent for the pipeline. He sent starter Andrew Cashner to the Red Sox in 2019. On much lesser notes, he gave the Blue Jays international bonus slot money earlier that year for outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. and accepted cash from the Rays last summer for reliever Shawn Armstrong.

Elias is less motivated to move a player who isn’t a pending free agent, but he’ll certainly do it.

Bullpens are volatile, and that’s why relievers tend to get traded while their value is high. Because there could be a dramatic fall.

No one is predicting a collapse from closer Jorge López, but he’s an All-Star this season, has never been better - he notched his 18th save last night - and the business side says the Orioles must listen to offers, as they would for anyone.

Former executive Dan Duquette swung the deal for Yankees prospect Dillon Tate a week short of the 2018 deadline, the last remaining piece from the Zack Britton trade. The sides hooked up a year earlier, with the Orioles purchasing the contracts of pitcher Yefry Ramírez and infielder Rubén Tejada, acquiring pitcher Matt Wotherspoon for international bonus slot money and obtaining reliever Richard Bleier for a player to be named later or cash, but this one was much bigger.

Not 10-player trade big in 1976, and definitely not 17-player big in 1954, but still substantial given Britton’s stature.

(My least favorite was the 1977 trade that sent my favorite player, Paul Blair, to the Yankees for outfielders Elliott Maddox and Rick Bladt. I was devastated. But I digress …)

Tate is a chip again, putting together his finest season now that he’s settled into a bullpen role and improved his command and consistency. Think the Yankees would like to have him back?

It would be the first trade between the teams under Elias.

To borrow a tired industry term, the Orioles will “listen on” López and Tate. They’ll do it with Joey Krehbiel and Bryan Baker, and yes, Félix Bautista. But you better come in heavy for Bautista.

That’s a special arm wielding nasty stuff, including a triple-digits fastball and filthy sinker – used in tandem Friday to strike out the side, and again last night while retiring the side in order with two strikeouts - and he’s only a rookie. But Elias won’t hang up the phone if a team calls about Bautista. He won’t screen incomings from the Yankees.

Ask for something substantial and see if anyone bites. If not, there’s no reason to settle. Just move on from the conversation.

The bullpen has become an area of strength for the Orioles, as crazy as it feels to type those words – especially after the late-spring trade of Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott that was supposed to cause a collapse. It’s a huge reason why the Orioles are so much better in 2022.

It’s also providing an avenue for Elias, always thinking big picture during the rebuild, to perhaps help the organization further down the road.