Orioles first-round draft pick Eric Booth, an outfielder from Oak Grove High School in Mississippi, has signed for $7,324,700. The slot value for the seventh-overall selection was $7,327,200.

Booth receives the third-largest bonus in franchise history after infielder Jackson Holliday ($8.19 million) and catcher Adley Rutschman ($8.1 million.)

Baseball America ranked Booth, 18, as the top outfielder in the draft. He has 80-grade speed and ran the fastest 60-yard dash at 6.33 seconds at last year’s East Coast Pro showcase.

Booth is a plus defender in center field and he batted .481 (37-for-77) with a .669 on-base percentage and .922 slugging percentage as a senior. He had a commitment to Vanderbilt University.

MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis was first with terms of Booth’s agreement.  

The deadline for teams to sign their draft selections is July 27 at 5 p.m.

Last night’s 3-2, come-from-behind victory over the Astros extended the Orioles’ winning streak to five games. They haven’t won six in a row since May 30-June 5, 2025.

Taylor Ward’s two-run homer in the eighth inning kept the Orioles on a roll entering the second half. The bullpen tossed five scoreless innings after Dean Kremer allowed two runs.

The day begins with the Orioles in fourth place and two games out of the Wild Card. They’re two behind the third-place Red Sox, who have won 11 straight.

The Oriole passed the Astros in the Wild Card standings, with three teams now ahead of them.

“Every win matters, especially as we come closer to the deadline,” Kremer told the media. “I feel like this is just the beginning where we kind of find our stride, and hopefully things continue to look that way.”

“The baseball season’s a long season, and it constantly tries to trick everyone, and us, into overreacting,” manager Craig Albernaz said in his media scrum. “That’s something that we have to be diligent to showing up every day and take each day and be prepared to win.”

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is making his Orioles debut today at third base. Adley Rutschman is leading off and serving as designated hitter. Dylan Beavers is in right field and Colton Cowser is in center.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers allowed seven runs in 30 2/3 innings in June for a 2.05 ERA and has surrendered one run in 11 innings this month. Left-handers are hitting .172/.240/.287 against him this year.

Rogers has allowed three runs in 12 1/3 innings in two career starts against the Astros. Jeremy Peña is 3-for-7 against him.

Samuel Basallo is paired again with Rogers. The lefty has a 2.98 ERA in 11 starts with Basallo behind the plate.

Ward is hitting .400 when ahead in the count and chases just 9.6 percent of the time.

Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti has posted a 4.50 ERA in 15 starts. He’s walked 44 batters in 81 innings.

Arrighetti had a 1.34 ERA through May but it’s made a steady climb. He allowed six runs in six innings against the Guardians, eight runs in three innings in Detroit, and most recently, eight runs in four innings in D.C.

Arrighetti allowed 0.38 home runs per nine innings in April and May, but the number increased to 2.57 since June.

The right-hander has allowed two runs in 11 2/3 innings in two career starts against the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson is 3-for-6 with a double and homer against him.

Arrighetti has a 3.22 ERA in six home starts this season and a 5.52 ERA in nine road games.

For the Orioles
Adley Rutschman DH
Gunnar Hederson SS
Taylor Ward LF
Pete Alonso 1B
Samuel Basallo C
Dylan Beavers RF
Colton Cowser CF
Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B
Jackson Holliday 2B

Trevor Rogers LHP

For the Astros
Jeremy Peña SS
Yordan Alvarez DH
Isaac Paredes 3B
Jose Altuve 2B
Christian Walker 1B
Yainer Diaz C
Cam Smith RF
Zach Dezenzo LF
Lucas Spence CF

Spencer Arrighetti RHP

More on late trade

The Orioles announced shortly before midnight that they acquired outfielder Rudy Martin from the Royals for cash considerations, selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned him. Chris Bassitt was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man.

Martin, 30, is a left-handed hitter who plays all three outfield positions. The Royals drafted him in the 25th round in 2014 out of Lewisburg High School in Mississippi. He’s never played in the majors.

Martin is a career .252/.358/.387 hitter in nine seasons, and he’s stolen 227 bases in 277 attempts. He swiped 78 bases in 81 attempts with the independent York Revolution in 2024, after spending 2022 in the Nationals organization and 2023 in the independent American Association.

Martin appeared in a combined 64 games this year with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha and batted .284/.414/.441.