CHICAGO – The trade deadline has come and gone, and what a busy day it was. 

For most of us, anyway. Kevin Brown and I were stuck in an airport vying for a plane to Chicago for about six hours. 

The Orioles were certainly busy, though, trading away Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano and Charlie Morton, adding to their previous deals sending Ramón Urías, Andrew Kittredge, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Bryan Baker out of town. 

On a lengthy edition of “The Bird’s Nest,” Annie Klaff and I broke down all of the deals in great detail. You can listen to the full episode here.

The biggest prospect returns came in the form of arms Boston Bateman and Juaron Watts-Brown, who joined the O’s top 30, according to MLB Pipeline, at spots six and nine, respectively. 

Having already broken down Watts-Brown, let’s talk Bateman, the 6-foot-8, 240-pound lefty that the O’s acquired, among five other prospects, from the Padres in exchange for O’Hearn and Laureano. 

Bateman was selected by the Padres in the second round of last year’s draft, and it took an overslot deal to sign him out of high school. The big lefty has posted a 4.08 ERA this year, but with close to 10 strikeouts per nine innings and solid command, there’s plenty of upside to dream on. He’s just 19 years old, has a 60 grade on his curveball, and can touch 97 mph with his heater. 

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Bateman is considered the best pitching prospect in the Orioles system by season’s end. 

Another intriguing arm, Anthony Nunez, was acquired from the Mets in a deal that sent Mullins to New York. Nunez, a former two-way player, has only just begun to pitch full time. In that stretch, though, he’s been impressive. This season, the right-hander has posted a 1.58 ERA across High-A and Double-A with 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Granted, Nunez is a reliever, which limits his upside as a prospect, but relievers are valuable, too.

That was surely the thinking in acquiring Micah Ashman from the Tigers in exchange for Morton. The 6-foot-7 22-year-old lefty has been equally impressive this season, posting a 1.49 ERA in mostly High-A action with over 10.5 strikeouts per nine. What’s most impressive about the young left-hander is his walk rate at under two batters per nine innings. 

The talent didn’t just come in the form of arms, though. Two position players join Pipeline’s top 30 as well in No. 21 Cobb Hightower, another piece of the Padres deal, and No. 23 Wilfri De La Cruz. 

Hightower, a middle infielder, was San Diego’s third-round pick last season. His stock has been rising during an impressive month of July in Single-A, showcasing an advanced plate approach with a .372 on-base percentage and a dozen walks with just 18 strikeouts. 

De La Cruz, the return for Kittredge, is even further away than the 20-year-old Hightower. An international signing in last year’s class, De La Cruz was ranked as the 13th-best international prospect on MLB Pipeline, signing for $2.3 million, which would’ve been an Orioles record. The switch-hitting shortstop has loads of upside and at least a 50 grade in every one of his tools. 

Another intriguing prospect acquired from the Mets was Raimon Gómez, a flamethrowing right-hander that has reached 104.5 mph on his fastball. He will need to improve his command to move up in the system, but then again, so did Félix Bautista. Not making any lofty comparisons there, though. 

Tyson Neighbors, also acquired from the Padres, has a 1.85 ERA in 32 relief appearances between High-A and Double-A this season with over 13 strikeouts per nine innings. His teammate in High-A, Brandon Butterworth, has shown flashes of much-improved power this year, too. 

All in all, the industry seems to agree that the Orioles got a lot of quality talent back at the deadline, with Bateman being the headliner. Of course, nobody in the organization wanted to be in this position. But the front office has seemingly made the most of it.