Trade deadline could be intriguing but winter work may provide real drama for O's fans

The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching. And now that the draft is over, teams can turn their full attention to the just under two weeks leading up to that deadline.

You can sense the unease around Birdland.

Fans have been captivated by the 2022 Orioles and hope they make a surprising late-season playoff run. They get attached to the players who have performed well for their team and don’t want them traded. Not all fans feel this way, but many do.

Others realize that the bigger rebuilding plan that has been in place since the day Mike Elias arrived is still in place. It has just moved to the next steps. 

So what will that mean for the upcoming deadline and who will stay and go? We don’t know, and oftentimes the deadline produces numerous rumors but little action. This could turn out to be one of those years.

For me, a time that may prove even more important and hold more drama around Birdland will be this coming winter. What will the club do then with trades and signings?

The 2022 Orioles are a .500 club, and all along we said you can’t put a timetable on when the Orioles return to winning. We’ll know when we know. As for this year’s team, we wait to find out if they can stay in the playoff race. Perhaps the next seven games against the Yankees and Rays will tell us a lot.

For me, the second half of the year and how this all ends up will guide Elias into this winter.

How close are the Orioles? That might determine what moves the club makes this winter. Do they start to pursue a higher level of free agent? Will more pitchers show interest here now that the wall is moved back, as is the hope? Will the club begin trading some of its prospect capital for current big league talent and/or big-league-ready players that can help now?

It just seems pretty obvious that we are set up to experience a different winter in Birdland. One filled with excitement for a year when maybe the Orioles make a run from opening day on. Key additions to help that cause could be coming in the next week or two. But more likely the bigger moves will come in the offseason ahead.

It figures to be an offseason unlike recent ones around Birdland.