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ARLINGTON, Texas – Another check on the trade interest generated by the Orioles still finds teams targeting their bullpen and All-Star first baseman Ryan O’Hearn. Nothing has changed or should be deemed as surprising.
Any club in the market for relievers is keeping tabs on Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge. The $9 million option on Kittredge’s contract could be a deterrent in some organizations or bring appeal due to the controllability.
I had one scout suggest that the cost might be too rich for his team’s ownership, but that certainly won’t be true with others.
I’ve also heard Keegan Akin’s name come up with a few teams. He’s got another year of arbitration eligibility and can be used in long relief and as an opener.
Akin surrendered a game-tying three-run homer to Adolis García in the 10th inning Monday night and went on the 15-day injured list yesterday with shoulder inflammation. He’s allowed four earned runs and five total with nine hits in his last four appearances covering 4 1/3 innings and has raised his ERA from 2.67 to 3.32.
Soto had a miserable outing Tuesday, surrendering three runs on a hit batter, two walks, three wild pitches and Justin Foscue's two-run double. Foscue was 0-for-44 before coming up as a pinch-hitter, the longest dry spell in Rangers history. But Soto had a 3.30 ERA before the game and was scoreless in 11 of 12 appearances. He’s averaging 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings and has allowed only two home runs. That’s a big arm for the back end of a bullpen.
There’s also the matchup factor. Left-handers are hitting .167/.268/.333 against him.
Domínguez has taken off since incorporating a splitter. He’s carrying a 3.15 ERA in 35 appearances, with 45 strikeouts and only three home runs in 34 1/3 innings. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since Game 2 of a May 24 doubleheader, a streak of 15 appearances in a row.
But there’s also the 20 walks this season. That’s one strike against him, so to speak.
Teams are doing their homework, as usual, checking on makeup as well as stuff. That requires more effort than sitting in the stands and taking notes. They’re calling around to find out how players blend in the clubhouse and whether a potential newcomer could destroy chemistry.
Of course, teams will check on the availability of closer Félix Bautista, but the perception seems to be that he’s untouchable. It never hurts to ask, though.
The Orioles won’t tear down. They won’t look past 2026. If they sell, they’ll still try to make a run at a championship next season. A mountainous piece like Bautista doesn’t figure to be moved.
O’Hearn would love to stay but he’s got only himself to blame for becoming such an attractive trade target. He painted the bullseye.
There aren’t any questions about his character, and contenders in need of another bat, particularly from the left side and for the middle of a lineup, have him circled. It doesn’t hurt that he can play first base and the corner outfield.
The Reds make sense and there’s a possible match, but probably not the one proposed by Jim Bowden, the former Cincinnati general manager and a current contributor to The Athletic. Bowden suggested a deal that would send pitchers Chase Petty and Adam Serwinowski and shortstop Sammy Stafura to Baltimore – three of the top 12 prospects in the Reds’ system.
You’d have to think that the Orioles would pounce on that offer for a two-month rental. You’d also be right to think that the Reds would never consider it.
The Orioles still have seven teams ahead of them for the last Wild Card and haven’t made up the ground necessary to become an obvious buyer. And they can’t wait until right before the deadline to decide. Deals take time to consummate.
“They obviously have a lot of talent, and some of them are handling it better than others, as it always works,” said a scout from another organization. “But you’ve got to have pitching, man, and they’ve had some injuries. You may look back up and it’s a hell of a club in August and September, but you just don’t know if it’ll be too late.”
* The news on Tuesday that Jorge Mateo will miss eight to 12 weeks with a strained left hamstring appears to cement Luis Vázquez’s spot on the roster. He barely plays, with only two starts and nine plate appearances, but he delivered a big RBI single Monday night in the 11th inning.
Vázquez is a plus defender at shortstop, the best that former Oriole Ryan Flaherty has ever seen, according to interim manager Tony Mansolino. But no one spoke a word about Vázquez’s pitching.
Who knew?
Vázquez made his mound debut on June 21, has faced 11 batters – yes, more than his total plate appearances – and tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings in three outings. He needed only one pitch to record the final out Tuesday after replacing Soto.
It was tracked as a 33 mph slider. Whatever.
The three appearances are one short of Steve Wilkerson’s club record set in 2019. Pat Valaika (2021) and Ryan McKenna (2022) are next with two.
“It’s not what we want to do, by any means,” Mansolino said.
The game doesn’t always leave a manager with an alternate choice. The bullpen runs dry. The rules allow teams down by eight runs to get creative and live to fight another day.
The Orioles have put a position player on the mound five times, two short of the club record set in 2019, according to STATS. They did it four times in 2021 and three in 2023 and 2022.
