Shane Baz has gone through a trade previously in his baseball life. Just never like this one.

The Pirates selected Baz with the 12^th overall pick in the 2017 draft and sent him to the Rays a year later as the player to be named in a package for Chris Archer. He hadn’t pitched above rookie ball.

The second experience lands him in the Orioles’ rotation for his fifth major league season. They sent four top 30 prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to Tampa Bay. He isn’t a throw-in in the early stages of professional development.

The expectations and stakes are much higher.

“It’s always kind of surprising,” he said today in a video call with the local media. “Same kind of deal. I felt kind of the same as the first time I got traded. You’re never really expecting it. I didn’t have any inside on it or anything like that. But you know, I think the excitement took over, just being able to join such a good team and I think what the front office is doing is really exciting.

“The coaching staff seems really great. And yeah, just the excitement took over and I’m kind of just excited to get to work now. I would just say I was really, really excited from the start.”

Baz already has spoken to new manager Craig Albernaz and the returning trio of pitching coach Drew French, assistant Mitch Plassmeyer and pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek.

“I talked to Alby for a little bit,” Baz said. “I was around him with Tampa a little bit in the minor leagues. I never played for him, but just kind of you'll see him in spring a lot, stuff like that. I just really like his demeanor. He seems really competitive and I love that. Just a really approachable guy, and he seems like he’s going to be awesome. I’m excited just to be able to play for him.

“And then obviously, Drew French and Ryan Klimek and Mitch Plassmeyer, I’ve connected with all those guys. I’ve had little conversations about what I can do better and just what they think. I just want to be as coachable as I can and really form a little team of guys that are obviously really, really smart and talented in what they do, and I know that they can help me. I’m gonna bust my butt for them every single day.”

Baz stressed that he holds no “ill will” toward the Rays. It’s just business and nothing personal.

“They treated me amazing,” he said. “I feel like I was really more of a homegrown Ray, just being there since 2018. So I’ve been around so many people there and I loved every minute of it. I have a ton of respect for so many people, not only players and coaches, but like the front office guys who I had great relationships with. I think it was a great opportunity for me. I think I was really lucky to be there.

“I think it just was an opportunity organizationally and stuff like that. I think there’s a lot of different stuff at play. I’m just excited that a team wanted me and was willing to give up stuff for me. And yeah, I’m just going to give it everything I have.”

Knowing the American League East should help to ease the transition to a new team.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a chance to face a lot of guys just last year and the year before, guys that are all over the division, and just getting the chance to kind of see how my stuff stacks up against certain guys here and there and trying to game plan a little smarter, and stuff like that. I think it’s a good thing for me," Baz said.

“I’m really familiar with a lot of places in the division and I’m kind of comfortable pitching in all the ballparks and stuff like that. I won’t be going anywhere for the first time. That can be kind of hard sometimes. But no, it hasn’t felt like a big jump right now just because it’s the offseason.”

Baz has seen plenty of the Orioles, whether on the mound for his three career starts or watching from the dugout.

“It’s always a really tough lineup to plan for. Really, really hard,” he said.

“They’ve had a great rotation the past couple years, a great bullpen. I think it’s just a team with a ton of fire power really all over the place. I’ve gotten the chance to play with a couple guys there now and they reached out and were super excited and very welcoming. It sounds like they loved it a lot, so yeah, I haven’t heard a bad thing. It’s all been really promising stuff and I think it’s a really, really good opportunity this year to have a good team.”

Baz was the first of two starters acquired by president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias. Zach Eflin returned on a one-year deal with a mutual option. Baz could slot in the middle of the five-man pack after missing 2023 while recovering from ligament-reconstructive surgery in his right elbow.

A return to a normal schedule required the usual amount of patience and care. Baz made 14 starts in 2024, posting a 3.06 ERA and 1.059 WHIP, and 31 last year, which gave the Orioles confidence in his durability.

“I think that was obviously my biggest goal going into last year,” he said. “You can’t succeed unless you’re on the field and healthy. I was just really blessed to be able to go through 2024 and kind of get back into it, and it kind of felt like I was comfortable going into last year. It’s everything. It gives you the chance to learn. It gives you the chance to fail a little bit and just makes you realize how you can get better as a pitcher. And yeah, I think I got a lot of that last year.

“I think it’s going to help me a lot this year, obviously doing everything I can to make sure my body is ready for this year and just trying to be smarter in every way. I think it’s going to help me a lot.”

The final numbers in 2025 are skewed by the Rays’ relocation to George M. Steinbrenner Field for home games, necessitated by damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton to Tropicana Field.

Baz registered a 3.86 ERA and 1.214 WHIP in 15 road starts, with opponents batting .227/.312/.373. He had a 5.90 ERA and 1.457 WHIP in 16 home starts and opponents batted .271/.338/.489.

“I’m never going to make an excuse and I’ll never blame my performance on something or blame a bad game on something,” he said. “I just had a few rough starts there, and I think that was kind of it. It’s going to be really, really cool to have Camden and calling that my home park. Not just the park, but the fans and the history there and stuff like that, I think is going to be really, really cool.”

So is becoming teammates again with Eflin, who pitched for the Rays while his friend recovered from the Tommy John procedure.

“He actually sent me a text right before, I guess, the news broke,” Baz said. “It was just exciting to hear. I would say he’s one of my favorite guys I’ve ever played with, and not only away from the field is he awesome and kind of just a great person who would do anything for you, but whenever you’re in the dugout, being a younger starting pitcher, I didn’t have a ton of experience when we had him in Tampa. He would talk anything with me, from pitch design to routine to pitch selection and kind of challenge you and help you.

“It’s really cool to have a guy who’s so experienced at the time helping me, and I’m just excited to be around him again and help each other get better. I love him. I love the guy.”

More easily forgotten is the relationship between Baz and Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. They played for the American League in the 2021 Futures Game.

Rutschman was behind the plate for Baz’s clean second inning.

“I think I went punch out, punch out, first-pitch out and it was quick, and it seemed like we were on the same page the whole time. So yeah, it was cool,” Baz said.

“It just seems like he's got a lot of attention to detail and really knows the guy that's throwing to him and what he's trying to do. Obviously, played against him a lot and he's tough to pitch against, so that's going to be nice that he's going to be on my side. … I feel like just in that one inning, I could tell the kind of guy he is and he's just really working with you and busting his butt.”