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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.”
Baker was born in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. and attended the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. He appeared in three consecutive games earlier this season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings, proving again that he can stand the heat.
The issue last night was the historic outdoor ballpark in Boston. Baker made his Rays debut and took the loss after allowing three runs in the seventh inning.
This is a trade that makes sense for both parties. The Rays get a controllable, high-leverage reliever. The Orioles receive a coveted draft pick, the 37th overall.
“It’s always been a really good staff top to bottom,” Baker said. “They clearly know what they’re doing in terms of developing arms and figuring out how to get guys out at the big league level. So I’m excited to learn over there for sure.”
Though Baker would prefer to stay, he jumps into a pennant race that the Orioles are chasing. Tampa Bay holds the second Wild Card. The Orioles are 6 1/2 back for the final spot.
“It’s been tough getting off to that start and maybe not necessarily playing to the level that we expected to,” Baker said. “I think these guys are getting closer and closer, but it’s been tough after those last two years of making playoff runs and winning a lot of games. It’s definitely been different this year for sure.
“I’m gonna miss it over here for sure. I’m always excited for any opportunity to throw a baseball, so I’ll be ready to go.”
A 12 ½ minute dugout media session with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias provided important background information on the trade, especially why the Orioles surrendered a pitcher who doesn’t hit free agency until after the 2028 season, and how Baker comes across as an exception.
Elias referred to it as acting on a “one-off” opportunity.
“It’s not a player that we were shopping or anything like that,” Elias said. “The opportunity came, we had a motivated partner, we had a deadline coming up with the draft, and we thought it was a really good return and we said, ‘Yes.’”
Trading Baker seems to indicate that the Orioles finally have identified as sellers, but they keep one foot in buyer territory. Maybe it's a stretch, but they aren't giving up on 2025.
“I still believe strongly that this team has a shot,” Game 2 winner Tomoyuki Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sukarai.
“It’s definitely possible,” Elias said. “It’s mathematically possible. The games have to happen, and we’ll hope that we are.”
The expectation remains that some pending free agents could depart, but the Orioles have won five of their last six games and eight of 12. Teams aiming for bullpen upgrades are trying to match up with them, and Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto garner serious interest. Teams wishing to add a bat are scouting Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and Ramón Laureano.
“I don’t want to talk globally about who we may or may not trade,” Elias said. “We’re still trying to play hard, trying to win as many games as possible. As we saw (yesterday), we had a player that was not in an expiring situation and was part of our plans. But the trade made more sense than not doing the trade in our judgment, and so we did it. I think that’s how we’ll approach all of our trades.”
There wasn’t a sound reason to believe that the Orioles would consider launching a rebuild reboot, but Elias grounded it anyway.
Does he still intend to compete in 2026?
“Yes.”
What do a successful next few weeks look like for the Orioles?
“I’d like to win as many of those games as possible,” Elias replied.” I hope we do the right thing in the draft room with our process, do the best we can, line the board up well and hope it falls the way that we want, and I hope we have good luck on top of that on draft night. And to whatever degree that we make trades, I hope that we evaluate the talent well and do moves that are positive for the organization over the long term.
“This is something that was not our plan to be trading players off the major league team right now in July, but we’re responding to the situation. But we’ll see what the next few weeks bring.”
Interim manager Tony Mansolino will hold a team meeting after the break to set forth goals for the second half. He’s got an open door to individuals who want to speak with him now, but the group talk comes later.
“For me, as I started writing down notes on what I want to say to those guys, this (deadline) topic will be part of it, but, they're professionals in there, they understand how this thing goes,” Mansolino said. “You have the Detroit Tigers last year and kind of what they did. So that's been kind of a general theme as people have talked, just the idea of, kind of how they handled the trade deadline last year and what they did in the second half, and we witnessed it in person, because they beat us up in the second half last year.
“So as I look through that roster and look at that lineup, regardless of who kind of gets traded or who doesn't, or who comes in possibly, which is still a possibility, it's still a pretty good lineup. It's a really good lineup. As I look at that bullpen right now and see some of the names down there, still a pretty good bullpen, and I still have a lot of confidence in the fact that we can win games with what we have.”
As if to prove his point, the Orioles swept their first doubleheader in nine years. Mansolino reminded the media afterward that “there’s still time” in spite of the trade and suggested that the team’s obituary is already written. He’s dead-on with that assumption in a few outlets.
“I don’t think they need motivation,” he said of his players. “I’ve said it from Day One, since I’ve started doing this, I don’t feel we’ve lacked motivation. And I think it’s evident from how they bounce back from tough losses and playing good teams and the whole deal right now.
“I don’t read anything. I’ll be honest with you. I never have. I especially won’t now as I sit in this seat. As to what the players read, I have no idea. Maybe it does motivate them, maybe it doesn’t. But my read on those guys is they have shown up and they have wanted to win and they want to stay here and they don’t want to go anywhere.
“Seeing kind of Bake’s reaction this morning as he was told, it was a lot of shock and surprise and maybe some initial disappointment for him that he wasn’t going to be with us. So I think there’s a lot of guys who feel that way, and I think that, in and of itself, is their motivation.”
