Unlike the New York Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles haven’t done anything over the past few decades to show their fan base that they’re interested in winning the World Series. Yes, the Orioles have some of the best young talent in Major League Baseball. Yes, the Orioles might have a decent future if they play their cards right.
But, at the end of the day, if the ownership doesn’t keep their guys around and continues to be cheap with free agents, they shouldn’t expect much to change.
The Orioles are currently 10-15 and have played brutal baseball to start the year on both sides. They currently have the 14th-ranked slugging percentage and the 24th-ranked batting average in the league. Their pitching staff has been brutal, too, holding the worst team ERA in the league at 5.25.
With the Yankees needing arms, the Orioles might not want to move any of their top players to New York. However, if the Yankees are willing to part with some of their top prospects, it could help the Orioles make other moves in the future, which might interest them.
Depending on whether they fall out of contention, anything could be possible.
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If that’s the case, someone like Zach Eflin makes perfect sense for this Yankees team.
David Schoenfield of ESPN believes he could be traded at the deadline, adding that with how bad the Orioles’ starting pitching has been, there’s a chance they could fall out of the playoff picture relatively soon.
“With the Orioles, it’s possible the starting pitching disintegrates enough that they slowly fade out of the playoff picture — after all, they currently have seven potential starters on the injured list, including Eflin, who is out because of a right lat strain.
“They might be in a similar situation to the late 1990s/early 2000s Astros, who made the playoffs six times in nine seasons and had a winning record every year of those nine except 2000, when they went 72-90. The Orioles have a long list of free agents, including starters Kyle Gibson, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, but Eflin is the best of that group and the one with the most trade value,” he wrote.
Acquired by the Orioles from the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline last year, Eflin has been excellent during his time in Baltimore. He’s posted a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings this season, something the Yankees would love to use at the top of their rotation if the Orioles would be willing to move on from him.
