The upcoming amateur draft is doing more than allowing the Orioles to restock the farm system.

It’s also influencing trades.

The Orioles sent high-leverage reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays this morning for a Competitive Balance Round A pick, the 37^th overall in the draft. They parted ways with a pitcher under team control through the 2028 season, though out of minor league options, in exchange for a selection that won’t make an impact for at least a couple of years.

Doing so comes across as an indication that the Orioles are punting on 2025 while 10 games below .500 today and needing to pass seven teams to reach the last Wild Card. But it’s a little more complicated than surface observations.

“I think it’s a step in that direction,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. “I mean, there’s no way around that.”

The Orioles have traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays this morning for Tampa Bay's No. 37 pick, in the competitive balance round. FanSided's Robert Murray was first with the Baker trade.

Baker said he felt "shock" after receiving the news, perhaps in part because he's under team control through the 2028 season. He was preoccupied with the "logistics," getting to Boston and "doing my job there."

"I'm sure more thoughts will come to me as the day goes on," he said.

Baker leaves with a 3.52 ERA and 1.096 WHIP, emerging as one of the club's top relievers.

Unfortunately for Baker, his last outing with Orioles on Tuesday resulted in a pair of two-run homers in the eighth inning that erased a 6-2 lead against the Mets.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Selected the contract of C David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 91.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired a Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 37) in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher BRYAN BAKER. 

Baltimore now holds seven of the top 93 selections in this year’s Draft. The first three rounds will take place on Sunday, July 13, at 6 p.m. ET. Rounds 4-20 are on Monday, July 14, at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Baker, 30, was 3-2 with two saves and a 3.52 ERA (15 ER/38.1 IP) with nine walks and 49 strikeouts in a team-high 42 games this season. Over four seasons with the Orioles from 2022-25, he went 12-9 with a 3.73 ERA (73 ER/176.1 IP). Baker was originally claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on November 8, 2021.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Appointed LHP Grant Wolfram from Triple-A Norfolk as the 27^th man for today’s doubleheader.

The Orioles haven’t announced their starters for the weekend series against the Marlins that closes out the first half, but interim manager Tony Mansolino confirmed that rookie Brandon Young gets the ball on Sunday, and left-hander Trevor Rogers is certain to face his former team the previous afternoon.

This will be a first for Rogers, taken by Miami with the 13^th-overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Carlsbad High School in New Mexico.

The Marlins dealt him to the Orioles at last year’s deadline for prospects Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby, who make their respective returns to Camden Yards this weekend. Stowers arrives as a first-time All-Star. Rogers was optioned after only four starts, against the Guardians, Blue Jays, Nationals and Mets. His five starts this year, spread out between May 24 and Sunday, came against the Red Sox, Rays, Rangers twice and Braves.

“It’s gonna be a little strange,” Rogers said earlier this week. “That’s the only team I was with for seven years and they gave me a shot, so I’ll always be thankful for them. A lot of memories, a lot of good teammates over there, a lot of good people over there. So I’m excited to see those people.”

Rogers was an All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up to the Reds’ Jonathan India in 2021, the height of a career that dropped him on his head – and down to Triple-A Norfolk after the trade.

The Orioles and Mets won’t play tonight due to inclement weather. The result is a split-admission doubleheader Thursday with Game 1 scheduled for 12:05 p.m. and Game 2 at 5:05 p.m.

This is the sixth postponement for the Orioles, who are 10 games below .500 and 7 ½ back for the last Wild Card.

Charlie Morton will start the first game and Tomoyuki Sugano will start the second. Both teams can call up a 27^th man.

Gates for Game 1 will open at 11 a.m., and gates for Game 2 will open at 4 p.m. Tickets for tonight will be valid for Game 2. Original ticket buyers for tonight who can’t attend on Thursday should visit Orioles.com/Weather for options.

The first 10,000 fans attending the first game will receive the Yacht Rock Cap.

The Orioles remain 7 ½ games behind in pursuit of the last Wild Card spot after last night’s 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Mets. Thirteen games separate them from the first-place Blue Jays.

There’s still a chance, but it’s barely a flicker.

Tomoyuki Sugano is trying to get back to the form that produced a 3.04 ERA through 12 starts. He’s registered an 8.87 ERA and 2.149 WHIP in his last five outings to leave his overall numbers at 4.44 and 1.307 in 93 1/3 innings.

Sugano has allowed seven home runs in his last four starts over 18 innings.

Jackson Holliday is the designated hitter tonight. Holliday has recorded an RBI in three straight games (five RBIs total) after collecting one in the previous nine games.

Last night’s game at Camden Yards moved the Orioles a little closer to the trade deadline and identifying as buyers or sellers. The players drawing interest from other clubs mostly are pending free agents and easy to figure out. They know how it works, their names appearing in various articles and outlets. Tune it out or let it become a distraction.

Tony Mansolino is experiencing another first as interim manager – handling a clubhouse that could undergo many changes before Aug. 1.

He executed a positive spin on the subject during yesterday’s media scrum, before a four-run lead disappeared in the eighth in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Mets.

“In a lot of ways, I think all those stories are kind of making my job easier because it’s motivating these guys,” he said. “A lot of these guys don’t want to go anywhere. They like it here, so as every story kind of comes across the desk a little bit or something gets tweeted or however it’s put out there - I don’t really pay attention to a whole lot of it myself – I know it kind of creates a lot of motivation for these guys.

“There’s a lot of chatter in there about trying to stay here, trying to get this thing going, so it’s kind of making my job a little bit easier in some ways.”

Bryan Baker turned to watch the flight of another baseball heading for the center field fence. He stood with his hand on his hip, certain of the outcome. Pete Alonso knew it, too, carrying his bat most of the way to first base before flipping it in celebration.

A pair of two-run homers off Baker in the eighth inning made a 6-2 lead disappear, and the Orioles would be tested to get back up again, knowing how every loss rips into their hopes for a playoff push and increases the likelihood that the front office sells at the trade deadline.

They couldn't get back on their feet. 

The Mets scored a run against Yennier Cano in the top of the 10th inning and defeated the Orioles 7-6 before an announced Hawaiian shirt crowd of 35,200 at Camden Yards.

Juan Soto had an RBI single off Cano. The Mets loaded the bases with one out and couldn't pad their lead, but it didn't matter. Huascar Brazobán kept the automatic runner, Jackson Holliday, at second base.

Cade Povich has received a second opinion on his left hip and he threw in the bullpen a few days ago. He’s scheduled for two ups in another session this afternoon.

The resumption of an injury rehab assignment is getting close. The Orioles happily will take positive news.

Povich was pulled from his first assignment at Triple-A Norfolk in late June due to recurring soreness in his hip. He hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since tossing 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings on June 15.

“Everything’s feeling good,” he said today. “I think we kind of had the idea that when I went to Norfolk everything was pretty good. In the first inning, just tried to make a play. It was kind of a freak thing. My foot kind of caught and twisted in a way that I think put a little pressure on the hip. So it could have been the same thing, it could be something a little different, but we’re just trying to work back and everything’s feeling good right now.”

Povich saw a hip specialist in Nashville to get his second opinion.

Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said initial projections have catcher Gary Sánchez missing eight to 10 weeks with a right knee sprain.

Sánchez, who’s on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sunday, met with doctors earlier today.

“There’s always a scenario where it could go really good for Gary and it can be a little earlier,” Mansolino said, “but I think initial estimates are probably that.”

Sánchez missed more than six weeks with right wrist inflammation. He was 18-for-61 (.295) with five home runs since returning to the active roster.

“It is gonna be tough,” Mansolino said. “He’s been swinging the bat so good. He’s carried us. He hit a lot of big homers, carried us in a lot of ways."

With the All-Star break nearly here, the Orioles are hoping to get healthy as they battle to keep up in the race for an American League wildcard playoff berth. Although the O’s are behind last year’s home run pace, every crack of the bat lifts the hearts of everyone in Birdland. 

And that unmistakable crack of the bat also lifts the spirits of the Maryland Lottery’s Contestants of the Game. The Home Run Riches Contestant of the Game promotion, a perennial favorite for baseball and Lottery fans alike, is in full swing. 

While each home run pushes the team closer to success, each dinger also puts cash into the pockets of Contestants of the Game, who are selected in monthly drawings through August. Each winner receives $500 for being selected, and is designated as the Contestant of the Game for an upcoming Orioles matchup. They’ll also win an additional $500 for each home run or $5,000 for each grand slam hit by the Orioles during their designated game. 

So far this year, the Orioles have hit 104 home runs and 3 grand slams awarding Contestants of the Game $111,500 in prizes. Raymond Mitchell from Germantown and Rich McFadden from Edgewood each won $6,500 this year, thanks to Orioles grand slams.

Last season, the Orioles hit a total of 228 home runs and seven grand slams leading to $229,500 in prizes for the Contestants of the Game. 

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• RHP Luis F. Castillo has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

Ryan O’Hearn will have to make new friends at the All-Star Game.

The reserves and pitchers were announced today and none of the other Orioles are joining O’Hearn at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Second baseman Jackson Holliday, who went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer today in a 2-1 win over the Braves, advanced to Phase 2 of voting but didn’t have his name called.

Holliday is batting .260 with 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .724 OPS in 82 games and has emerged as the everyday leadoff hitter. He’s only the fourth Oriole with multiple four-hit games before turning 22, joining Manny Machado and Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.

Closer Félix Bautista, outfielder Ramón Laureano and shortstop Gunnar Henderson also appeared to have a chance at an All-Star selection.

ATLANTA – The last time the Orioles swept an opponent, Trevor Rogers was still pitching for Triple-A Norfolk. 

At the time, Rogers had just one big league start in 2025. It came against the Red Sox in late May, with 6 ⅓ innings of shutout baseball. 

Who knew if the lefty could make that dominant start a habit? 

He’s done just that, and today, he led the Orioles to a sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Today, the O’s came out on top 2-1.  

Rogers was dominant throughout the contest, with the Braves’ first runner in scoring position coming in the bottom of the fifth inning. He struck out six and induced weak contact, of both the ground ball and fly out varieties. 

ATLANTA – The Orioles’ catching situation didn’t seem like it could go from bad to worse. 

Famous last words. 

On June 21, Adley Rutschman hit the injured list with a left oblique strain, with an expected return after the All-Star break. Just two days later, Maverick Handley collided with Jazz Chisholm and went on the concussion injured list. He has yet to resume baseball activities. Same with Chadwick Tromp, who hit the IL on July 1 with lower back tightness. 

Now, it’s Gary Sánchez who heads to the IL, with a moderate right PCL strain. There’s no timeline for his return just yet. 

Sánchez had previously missed a significant amount of time with a wrist injury before returning on June 14. Since then, though, his offensive production has been a huge boost in the absence of Rutschman. 

The Orioles go for their fourth sweep this morning in an 11:35 a.m. Roku game against the Braves.

Their record against the National League improved to 7-13, and they’re 1-6 in interleague series.

A win today would bring them to nine games below .500 for the first time since June 20 in New York.

Catcher Gary Sánchez left yesterday’s game with right knee discomfort and is out of today’s lineup. He underwent an MRI and the Orioles summoned David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk for their medical taxi squad.

Running thin again at the position, the Orioles acquired catcher Alex Jackson from the Yankees today in exchange for international bonus pool space and a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Selected the contract of C Alex Jackson from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 70.
• Placed C Gary Sánchez (right knee sprain) on the 10-day Injured List.
• Transferred INF/OF Jorge Mateo (left hamstring strain) to the 60-day Injured List.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired minor league catcher ALEX JACKSON from the New York Yankees in exchange for international bonus pool space and a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Jackson, 29, is batting .226/.308/.463 (37-for-164) with seven doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 31 runs scored, and 34 RBI in 44 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He’s thrown out 26.3 percent (10-of-38) of stolen base attempts for the RailRiders.

The former No. 6 overall pick by the Seattle Mariners in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft has appeared in 124 major league games between the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays while slashing .132/.224/.232 (40-for-302) with 12 doubles, six home runs, 30 runs scored, and 24 RBI. Jackson has caught 29.1 percent (16-of-55) of would-be base stealers in his MLB career.

After signing a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds on November 8, 2024, he was acquired by the Yankees along with right-handed pitcher Fernando Cruz in exchange for catcher Jose Trevino on December 20, 2024. Jackson has been part of five trades in his career, including to the Marlins from the Braves in exchange for outfielder Adam Duvall on July 30, 2021.