Thirty major league teams are on the deadline clock. Pencils down, as they say, at 6 p.m. EST.

How will Orioles manager Craig Albernaz write out his lineups when the homestand resumes on Tuesday?

Former infielder Delino DeShields once responded to a reporter’s attempts at a quick clubhouse interview by saying, “Sorry man, I’ve gotta bounce.” That’s the Orioles. They’ve gotta bounce between buyers and sellers. They sound committed to the exercise.

Catcher Jake Rogers arrives for a Double-A pitcher who wasn’t ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects. That’s buyer. Dean Kremer goes to the Twins for an 18-year-old outfielder who spent most of his summer in the Florida Complex League. That’s selling.

The fascination with the 2026 deadline from the Orioles’ perspective, and they aren’t alone, is the melding of these two philosophies. They are able to offer teams a right-handed hitting outfielder, multiple bullpen arms and a frontline starting pitcher. They are interested in finding a right-handed hitting outfielder, multiple bullpen arms and a frontline starting pitcher.

A disjointed season naturally came with a disjointed deadline.

Left fielder Taylor Ward might be gone before the Angels get here for a reunion Tuesday night. Trevor Rogers could be one of the TBA starters in the series or be gone. Andrew Kittredge also is a pending free agent and might be dismissed from bullpen duty.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” said first base coach Jason Bourgeois. “It’s one of those dates in the year that you hope stack your deck and be in a position to really make a move, and sometimes it’s uncertainty there. I’m not sure where we land on that point. I just try to focus on today’s game, prepare our guys to go. But I can tell it does build some anxiety in a clubhouse historically.

“Guys want to win, no doubt, and they want those guys surrounding them to be in a position to win, also. It brings anxiety, but yet, it brings some promising moves to be made, as well, knowing that the front office wants the best for us, and we’re looking forward to seeing what happens.”

Aren’t we all?

Catcher Adley Rutschman is the intriguing figure with the industry knowing that he’s no longer an untouchable. This isn’t the same as actively shopped, but the Orioles are expressing a willingness to trade him if the offer suits them. I heard this a month ago from scouts outside the organization and the talk has intensified as the deadline nears. More and more national outlets are posting articles about it in recent days, which indicates that the buzz has grown louder.

The high demand for catching and Rutschman’s free agency after the 2027 season are the logical reasons why president of baseball operations Mike Elias is softening his stance. He’s also talked to teams about Jackson Holliday, who isn’t even in his arbitration years.

I’m old enough to remember when Rutschman, Holliday, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo were untouchables. We might be down to Samuel Basallo.

Bourgeois appreciates how players are handling the anxiety and potential distractions that come with the rumors.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “As you can tell late in ballgames, we’ve been in it. The fight has been there, the belief has been there. I guess you say one pitch away or one hit away from really getting hot.”

Another dismal shutout loss yesterday to the Phillies, a third series dropped out of the last four, has the Orioles 2 ½ games behind the last Wild Card and, believe it or not, tied with the Tigers. Four teams are ahead of them.

I won’t recite the FanGraphs odds but I bet they’re lower now!

The constant teases can become torturous. This team is back and then it pulls the plug on any optimism that builds. The offense hasn’t scored in three of the last five games, with rain shortening yesterday to 5 ½ innings. The bullpen is showing cracks again after a stellar run of success.

The only reason why the Orioles haven’t lost their last four series is because the Tigers squandered a 7-0 lead Wednesday afternoon with Tarik Skubal on the mound in the seventh. The Phillies also have bullpen issues and that’s why they couldn’t protect a 4-2 lead Friday night. Otherwise, they would have swept the Orioles.

And yet, everyone in the clubhouse thinks this is a playoff team and eventually will have the record to prove it.

Look them in the eyes and they’re convincing.

“No doubt I do, especially with the Wild Card being the way it is,” Bourgeois said. “This year we had a tale of playing most teams that are ahead of us, and we feel like we compare to those guys just as much as we compare to anybody else with a chance to win. And that’s the important thing, just to believe and kind of handle where our feet are in this moment here in Baltimore.”

Their feet were pointed toward the rainy sky yesterday while flat on their backs. The weather was ugly, but so, too, was the performance.

“I’m just trying to go out there and compete and do what I can to help the team win,” Cowser said, “and wherever the cards fall, they fall.”

He didn’t mean the Wild Cards, but it worked just the same.