Bryan Baker didn’t have time to contact anyone yesterday morning after learning that he was traded to the Rays. He joked about tearing off the Band-Aid after media dispersed from his locker area. He had to embrace teammates first, consent to an interview and receive more hugs as news circulated through the clubhouse. He’d get around to the phone calls later.

Eventually, it became more real. Baker was packing his bags. He was the first to go.

The Orioles managed to shake Bake.

"It's been everything," he said of his time with the Orioles. "They gave me my opportunity to get established in the big leagues and obviously getting close to everybody in this room and developing on the field and off the field. It's been four of the best years of my life for sure."

“He’s been awesome,” said shortstop Gunnar Henderson. “I’ve really enjoyed having him. He’s been a great teammate and an amazing pitcher out there, as well. Hate to see him go but happy for his opportunity. And yeah, wish him nothing but the best.”

The only two previous times the held the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft, the Nationals knew well in advance who they would be selecting. Shoot, the whole baseball world knew they’d take Stephen Strasburg in 2009 and Bryce Harper in 2010, two of the most-hyped prospects in draft history who would go to enjoy stellar careers in their own separate ways.

This time around, nobody seems to really know who the Nats are going to pick. In a year with no clear-cut consensus No. 1 guy, the player’s identity very well may remain a mystery right down to the wire at 6 p.m. Sunday when the 2025 Draft begins in Atlanta.

The pool of potential candidates has been deep since the moment the Nationals surprisingly won the Draft Lottery in December, despite owning the fourth-best odds of any team in the mix at a mere 10.2 percent. The club’s amateur scouting department has spent the last seven months scouring the country, getting dozens of firsthand looks at perhaps a half-dozen or more players under consideration.

The group finally gathered in the war room at Nationals Park last week to begin deliberations, only to be impacted by a stunning grenade drop Sunday evening when the club’s owners fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez.

The timing of Rizzo’s firing shocked many, because it came one week before a draft he was supposed to be intimately involved in. Does his dismissal change the way the team will approach this all-important pick? Not necessarily.

ST. LOUIS – Wednesday night’s offensive explosion may have created an uplifting moment for a Nationals club reeling from a week of turmoil. But anyone who predicted that lopsided win over the Cardinals would serve as a springboard for bigger and better things to come hasn’t been watching this team enough all year long.

The 2025 Nats can be defined by many things, but high on the list is inconsistency. The results of one game rarely have any carryover effect into the next one. And boy was that on display tonight during an 8-1 lambasting at the hands of the Cardinals.

Overwhelmed yet again by Miles Mikolas, the otherwise struggling St. Louis right-hander who somehow has owned this particular opinion for some time now, the Nationals put forth one of their weakest offensive showing of the season. They finally scored their lone run in the top of the eighth, finishing with four hits, three walks and five total bases.

As such, they trailed from the get-go and never seriously threatened to come back, certainly not after the Cardinals torched the bullpen for six late tack-on runs to finish off the series victory and send the Nats (38-55) off to Milwaukee to close out the first half of a season that few will want to remember.

"Take a deep breath and understand the talent in this room is able to win baseball games on a daily basis," right-hander Michael Soroka said. "That's what we get to: Looking back on the good things we did in this first half. And I think there is a good amount. It's just a matter of being consistent with it." 

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Returned 27^th man LHP Grant Wolfram to Triple-A Norfolk after today’s doubleheader.

ST. LOUIS – Dylan Crews’ path back to the active roster took another big step Wednesday when the Nationals outfielder began throwing for the first time since suffering an oblique strain seven weeks ago.

Crews participated with his fellow outfielders prior to tonight’s game against the Cardinals in defensive drills and shagged fly balls during batting practice. He was purposely being cautious with his throws, but he felt comfortable enough to make a lunging, backhanded grab of a line drive hit to his right, a good test for his core muscles.

Though he isn’t taking BP on the field yet, Crews has been hitting in the batting cage for the last week, further signs of his progress.

“He’s feeling good right now,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “Yesterday he threw from the outfield. He’s been hitting in the cages. It’s a good sign. Yesterday I talked to him and asked how he’s feeling, and he said he’s feeling great. Just waiting to see this protocol he has got to follow with the trainers, but hopefully he can come back sooner than later.”

Crews hurt himself May 20 on a check swing, tugging at his right side. He was shut down from anything resembling baseball activity for more than a month while the oblique muscle healed, and has been slowly ramping up his rehab since cleared to begin.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Colin Selby from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned C David Bañuelos to Triple-A Norfolk after Game 1 of today’s doubleheader.

ST. LOUIS – It’s been an eventful week, to put it mildly. The Nationals have been in chaos mode since Sunday, and only on Wednesday did things start to feel a bit closer to normal again. Tonight, though, presents an opportunity to not just feel normal again but feel good about themselves. With a win over the Cardinals, the Nats would complete a series victory.

That’s easier said than done, of course. The offense needs to put together quality at-bats like it did during Wednesday night’s 8-2 win at Busch Stadium, and that group needs to do it against an opposing pitcher who has owned them for a while. Miles Mikolas has not been an effective starter in several years, but he has thoroughly dominated the Nationals over the last three seasons, posting a 1.95 ERA and 1.012 WHIP in five total starts. In 79 starts against everyone else since 2023, the right-hander has a 5.28 ERA and 1.324 WHIP. There’s your challenge for tonight.

On the mound, Michael Soroka wants to bounce back from a ragged July 4 start against the Red Sox, one in which he allowed the first five batters he faced in the top of the fifth to reach (and ultimately score after he was pulled). Seven total runs were charged to the right-hander that night. As always, he needs to show he can finish what he started, though it will be interesting to see how Miguel Cairo manages his start as opposed to Davey Martinez.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 7:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 90 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Josh Bell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
3B Paul DeJong
RF Daylen Lile
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young

Washington Nationals left-handed pitching prospect Alex Clemmey has been selected to represent the organization in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park in Atlanta on Saturday, July 12. The 26th All-Star Futures Game features the top Minor League prospects competing as part of All-Star Saturday.

Clemmey, 19, is the Nationals No. 4 prospect according to Baseball America, and the No. 5 prospect in the organization according to MLBPipeline.com. He leads the Nationals Organization and ranks third in the South Atlantic League with 88 strikeouts. Those 88 strikeouts are also the most by any player in Minor League Baseball under 20 years old, 12 more than the next closest teenager. He also leads all Nationals farmhands with 12.25 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, which is good for fourth in the South Atlantic League and 11^th in all of Minor League Baseball (min. 60.0 IP).

A second-round pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Bishop Hendricken High School (RI), Clemmey was acquired as part of the trade that sent Lane Thomas to the Guardians on July 29, 2024. He is 4-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 15 games this season with High-A Wilmington this season and has limited opposing hitters to a .213 average against in 64.2 innings of work.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound lefty helped the Fredericksburg Nationals to the league title in 2024 with five strikeouts in 4.0 innings of two-hit, one-run ball in the Championship Series.

The 2025 All-Star Futures Game will air live exclusively on MLB Network and will be simulcast on MLB.tv, MLB.com and on the MLB app at 4 p.m. ET. on July 12. 

The Orioles have reached the point in their season where a quality start from a veteran on a one-year contract raises hopes and also the chances of another trade.

Charlie Morton remains on an upward trajectory after a disastrous beginning with his new club, holding the Mets to one run in six innings this afternoon in the Orioles’ 3-1 victory over the Mets before an announced Game 1 crowd of 25,262 at Camden Yards.

Gunnar Henderson’s first-career pinch-hit homer, a two-run shot off reliever Ryne Stanek in the eighth, made the difference and improved the Orioles to 41-50. A sweep would get them eight games below .500 for the first time since May 6.

"It’s good, especially with what happened the other night," said interim manager Tony Mansolino, referencing Tuesday's blown 6-2 lead in the eighth. "I think I probably had a pretty bad attitude there after the first four or five innings, just kind of watching how our offense was performing there for a little bit. And I think (Cody) Asche did too. We kind of all had bad attitudes, the coaches there for a few innings and probably so did the whole dugout as a whole, jokingly of course.

"But it’s nice to struggle for a little bit in the game, and Gunnar comes off the bench and pinch-hits a homer, and just to feel the energy and eruption in the dugout and change some of our unfortunate bad attitudes there for a few innings."

The upcoming amateur draft is doing more than allowing the Orioles to restock the farm system.

It’s also influencing trades.

The Orioles sent high-leverage reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays this morning for a Competitive Balance Round A pick, the 37^th overall in the draft. They parted ways with a pitcher under team control through the 2028 season, though out of minor league options, in exchange for a selection that won’t make an impact for at least a couple of years.

Doing so comes across as an indication that the Orioles are punting on 2025 while 10 games below .500 today and needing to pass seven teams to reach the last Wild Card. But it’s a little more complicated than surface observations.

“I think it’s a step in that direction,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. “I mean, there’s no way around that.”

The Orioles have traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays this morning for Tampa Bay's No. 37 pick, in the competitive balance round. FanSided's Robert Murray was first with the Baker trade.

Baker said he felt "shock" after receiving the news, perhaps in part because he's under team control through the 2028 season. He was preoccupied with the "logistics," getting to Boston and "doing my job there."

"I'm sure more thoughts will come to me as the day goes on," he said.

Baker leaves with a 3.52 ERA and 1.096 WHIP, emerging as one of the club's top relievers.

Unfortunately for Baker, his last outing with Orioles on Tuesday resulted in a pair of two-run homers in the eighth inning that erased a 6-2 lead against the Mets.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Selected the contract of C David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 91.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired a Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 37) in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher BRYAN BAKER. 

Baltimore now holds seven of the top 93 selections in this year’s Draft. The first three rounds will take place on Sunday, July 13, at 6 p.m. ET. Rounds 4-20 are on Monday, July 14, at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Baker, 30, was 3-2 with two saves and a 3.52 ERA (15 ER/38.1 IP) with nine walks and 49 strikeouts in a team-high 42 games this season. Over four seasons with the Orioles from 2022-25, he went 12-9 with a 3.73 ERA (73 ER/176.1 IP). Baker was originally claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on November 8, 2021.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Appointed LHP Grant Wolfram from Triple-A Norfolk as the 27^th man for today’s doubleheader.

ST. LOUIS – First things first: Luis García is not Luis García Jr.

The former is the Nationals’ new 38-year-old reliever, signed on Tuesday. The latter is the Nats’ 25-year-old second baseman, the organization’s longest tenured player having signed as a teenager in 2016. Whose father, Luis García, is the 50-year-old former infielder who played eight big league games for the Tigers in 1999.

Got all that? Good. Just remember this particular article is about Luis García, the 38-year-old reliever, and everything will be fine.

Name confusion aside, the Nationals are happy to have this García as part of their bullpen now, hoping the veteran right-hander can help take some burden off the young arms who have been thrown to the wolves this season, a few of them surviving but several of them having been eaten alive.

“It really helps,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “He’s got some experience. We’ve got a lot of young kids, a lot of young pitchers in the bullpen. It’s a good mix to have another veteran out there who can help with the young players.”

The Orioles haven’t announced their starters for the weekend series against the Marlins that closes out the first half, but interim manager Tony Mansolino confirmed that rookie Brandon Young gets the ball on Sunday, and left-hander Trevor Rogers is certain to face his former team the previous afternoon.

This will be a first for Rogers, taken by Miami with the 13^th-overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Carlsbad High School in New Mexico.

The Marlins dealt him to the Orioles at last year’s deadline for prospects Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby, who make their respective returns to Camden Yards this weekend. Stowers arrives as a first-time All-Star. Rogers was optioned after only four starts, against the Guardians, Blue Jays, Nationals and Mets. His five starts this year, spread out between May 24 and Sunday, came against the Red Sox, Rays, Rangers twice and Braves.

“It’s gonna be a little strange,” Rogers said earlier this week. “That’s the only team I was with for seven years and they gave me a shot, so I’ll always be thankful for them. A lot of memories, a lot of good teammates over there, a lot of good people over there. So I’m excited to see those people.”

Rogers was an All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up to the Reds’ Jonathan India in 2021, the height of a career that dropped him on his head – and down to Triple-A Norfolk after the trade.

ST LOUIS – On day one, Miguel Cairo stayed on course and managed as if he was merely filling in for Davey Martinez. On day two, he decided to veer just a bit into the wild and try something different. And then was rewarded for it.

With a couple of lineup tweaks designed both to get more right-handed hitters into the lineup against an opposing starter with reverse splits and to keep bench players more engaged, Cairo watched his Nationals cruise to an 8-2 victory over the Cardinals, his first as interim manager.

"It was good," Cairo said. "It was good for my friend Davey. This one was for him, because he's the one that put this team together and believed in these players and put the coaching staff together. So this goes to him."

That tweaked lineup, featuring Amed Rosario in the third spot and Alex Call in the sixth spot against St. Louis starter Andre Pallante, jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.

It didn’t hurt, of course, to also have MacKenzie Gore on the mound, the All-Star left-hander turning in another stellar performance to close out his breakthrough first half in style.

The Orioles and Mets won’t play tonight due to inclement weather. The result is a split-admission doubleheader Thursday with Game 1 scheduled for 12:05 p.m. and Game 2 at 5:05 p.m.

This is the sixth postponement for the Orioles, who are 10 games below .500 and 7 ½ back for the last Wild Card.

Charlie Morton will start the first game and Tomoyuki Sugano will start the second. Both teams can call up a 27^th man.

Gates for Game 1 will open at 11 a.m., and gates for Game 2 will open at 4 p.m. Tickets for tonight will be valid for Game 2. Original ticket buyers for tonight who can’t attend on Thursday should visit Orioles.com/Weather for options.

The first 10,000 fans attending the first game will receive the Yacht Rock Cap.

ST. LOUIS – Trevor Williams has a partial tear of his elbow ligament, one that will require a surgical procedure that will sideline the Nationals' right-hander until at least early next season, possibly most of the season.

An MRI taken of Williams’ elbow revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. Because it’s not a full tear, doctors believe it can be treated with an internal brace procedure, the relatively recent, less-invasive surgery that allows a pitcher to return in approximately nine months. Williams will be operated on next Thursday by Alabama orthopedist Jeffrey Dugas, who did caution the 33-year-old he might actually need to perform Tommy John surgery if the ligament appears to be more damaged once he sees it firsthand.

If the internal brace procedure is all that’s required, Williams was told he could return to pitch next April or May. If the ligament has to be reconstructed via Tommy John surgery, he would miss most – potentially all – of the 2026 season.

“It’s unfortunate that’s what it is,” he said. “But I’m glad that we’re going to be able to fix it and get it right.”

The news comes as a blow both to Williams, who made only 30 combined starts the last two seasons due to arm issues, and to the Nationals, who re-signed him to a two-year, $14 million contract over the winter.

ST. LOUIS – Tuesday was not a normal day for the Nationals, who were adjusting to life with a new manager and general manager, then had to go out and play for the first time under that new arrangement (after waiting out a 2-hour, 19-minute rain delay, by the way). The result was a lackluster 4-2 loss to the Cardinals. Could tonight feel more normal for everyone? You would certainly hope so, now that the dust has settled.

The best thing the Nats have going for them is MacKenzie Gore on the mound. The recently named All-Star takes the mound for what will be his final start of the first half. He’s on a full week’s rest after throwing 111 pitches last time out. And his next appearance (should Dave Roberts choose to use him) would come six days from now in Atlanta in the Midsummer Classic.

Interim manager Miguel Cairo wrote out a lineup card Tuesday night that could’ve been penciled in by Davey Martinez, with everyone in their usual spots. That’s not the case tonight. Even though the Cardinals are starting right-hander Andre Pallante, Cairo is using a couple of guys who typically start against lefties: Amed Rosario (batting third and playing second base) and Alex Call (batting sixth and playing right field). Is that a matchup thing, or is that perhaps an attempt to put a better defensive lineup out there with his ace on the mound? We’ll ask him shortly.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 7:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 87 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Amed Rosario
DH Josh Bell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
RF Alex Call
3B Brady House
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young