-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
The Orioles wouldn’t budge.
Talks with the Padres leading to the trade deadline took multiple shapes. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano could be dealt separately or packaged. Different prospects were discussed. The whole thing would have fallen apart if the Guardians accepted an offer for Steven Kwan.
To make it work for the Orioles, they had to get left-hander Boston Bateman. He was the potential deal-breaker.
I’ve heard that the Padres were reluctant to part with him. They tried other combinations to avoid losing their No. 4 prospect. The Orioles had to include Laureano, whose contract contains a $6.5 million option for next season. And they had to stay patient and stick to their demand.
The six minor leaguers who came to the Orioles are products of the 2024 draft – Bateman in the second round, infielder Cobb Hightower in the third, pitcher Tyson Neighbors in the fourth, shortstop Brandon Butterworth in the 12th, pitcher Tanner Smith in the 15th, and first baseman Victor Figueroa in the 18th.
The 2025 trade deadline is over and the Orioles are left to play the final 53 games of their season with a roster that’s undergone a serious makeover and a room full of players who aren’t kidding about their intent to keep winning.
Doing so just got a lot harder.
Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias did what he felt was necessary in trading away nine players and aiming mostly at the lower levels of the farm system with the returns. It wasn’t supposed to be this way in 2025, but the Orioles tried to spin a negative into something positive.
“As we saw yesterday, we had a very active trade deadline,” Elias said earlier today in a video call that lasted almost 27 minutes. “We were in a position to have to sell because of a very disappointing first half with this team. I’ve spoken about it. This is not how we envisioned this season going and it’s something that we’re taking a hard look in the mirror about, about how we got here. I think a lot of it was bad luck, but there’s also stuff that we need to improve on as an organization, and we’re going to do that. But this is a business where there’s a lot of competition and we fell short in the first half.
“I think the team has played really well lately and we’ve gotten healthier, and we’ve seen the style of play and some of the success that we were hoping for in the last few weeks on the field. But looking at our record, our front office and our entire operation made a decision to sell at the deadline, and I think in the context of that, we are very pleased with the talent that we’ve received in return. And I think along with our draft, this has been an enormous injection of talent into the Orioles organization over the month of July.”
The inevitable for first baseman Ryan O’Hearn became reality today.
The Orioles traded O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano to the Padres, an industry source confirmed. Six players are believed to be coming back to the Orioles, with The Athletic reporting the inclusion of left-hander Boston Bateman and infielder Brandon Butterworth.
A summer that brought O’Hearn’s first All-Star appearance, as the designated hitter for the American League, is changing his life again. And Laureano lasted only a half-season after signing a $4 million deal with a $6.5 million option.
Bateman was the No. 4 prospect in San Diego’s system, according to MLB Pipeline’s rankings, after his selection in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Adolfo Camarillo High School. He gets noticed for being 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, but also a 60-grade curveball and upper-90s fastball. He’s posted a 4.08 ERA and 1.317 WHIP in 15 starts in his first professional season, with 75 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings.
Butterworth, 22, was a 12th-round pick last year out of North Carolina State. He’s hitting .267/.327/.455 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs in 89 games with High-A Fort Wayne. He plays second and third base, but also has some experience in center field and left field.
Adley Rutschman celebrated his return to the Orioles tonight. If Cedric Mullins passes him going the other way, he’s doing it with a bang.
Mullins and Coby Mayo hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, Rutschman broke a tie with a two-run double in the third, and the Orioles kept unloading on Blue Jays pitching to win their third game in a row, 11-4, before an announced crowd of 20,176 at Camden Yards.
Zach Eflin lasted only 4 1/3 innings in what could be his last game with the Orioles, who improved to 48-58 with the trade deadline arriving at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Blue Jays have the best record in the majors at 63-44 but are 26-27 on the road.
Eflin wasn’t sharp and his luck wavered, but the Orioles supported him in every possible way. Runs were plentiful, and Mullins made a leaping catch at the center field fence to rob Nathan Lukes of a game-tying two-run homer in the fourth. Eflin stood frozen, the same look of disbelief that Trevor Rogers wore on Saturday after Mullins’ diving grab, and raised his cap.
Mullins landed with his back against the fence and with knees bent, as if sitting on an imaginary chair. He tossed the ball underhand to Ramón Laureano, who raced over from right field, and they jogged back to the dugout. One of them received a standing ovation.
Make it 26.
That’s how many different Orioles have gone on the injured list this season, two more than the total in 2021, seven more than in 2012 and 2008, and nine more than in 2024, 2018 and 2015. And we’re not taking into account the repeat visitors like Tyler O’Neill, Zach Eflin and Gary Sánchez.
Félix Bautista became the 26th yesterday, retroactive to Monday, with right shoulder discomfort. The only good news is that his surgically-repaired elbow is fine.
Trying to put a positive spin on 2025 can create shoulder and elbow pain. What else can possibly go wrong?
Don’t answer.
CLEVELAND – On Monday, the Orioles got out to a 3-0 lead before the Guardians even came to the plate. Ramón Laureano, a catalyst for the O’s all season, kickstarted the offense and drove in two of those runs.
Cleveland responded, though, pushing three runs of their own across in the bottom of the first. The Guardians went on to win that game 10-5, thanks in large part to a four-run seventh.
This afternoon, the Orioles got out to a 3-0 lead before the Guardians even came to the plate. Ramón Laureano, a catalyst for the O’s all season, kickstarted the offense and drove in two of those runs.
This time, the Orioles came out on top 4-3.
They did so behind an excellent start from Charlie Morton and a sharp bullpen, one that didn't feature the recently injured Félix Bautista.
CLEVELAND – Every time the Orioles knocked on the door in Cleveland tonight, the Guardians answered. It resulted in the Guards taking Game 2 of this four-game series by a final score of 6-3.
"First half of the game didn’t go so well for us tonight and I thought we hung in there and the at-bats were good and we put up a couple runs as the game went on," interim manager Tony Mansolino said after the game. "Just, we have not gotten our bullpen kind of going to the same extent we probably had it going when we were playing our best ball a few weeks ago."
The O’s put up runs in innings five, six and seven. The Guardians did the same, plus some runs early with Baltimore starter Brandon Young on the mound.
There’s not a big enough major league sample size to be confident in what kind of Young outing you’ll get.
Thus far, his big league outings could be classified as solid, ones that aren't spectacular but keep you in most ballgames. In all but one start, his last, Young allowed four runs or fewer. A typical line could feature four innings of work and three earned runs.
The roster makeover that’s anticipated at the trade deadline could create a stiffer challenge in selecting a Most Valuable Oriole.
Players must be in the organization to remain eligible in voting by media that covers the team, or at least talks about it, with maybe the occasional stops at the ballpark.
(I want transparency in the voting because each season brings at least one ridiculous ballot. But I digress …)
Ryan O’Hearn, the lone All-Star on the team, profiles as the favorite. However, he could be gone by July 31. He’s generating the expected interest and he’s a pending free agent, which makes him a strong candidate.
Ramón Laureano deserves to be on the three-man ballot. He gave the Orioles a 5-3 lead last night with his 12th homer, a two-run shot in the third inning. He certainly qualifies as one of the season’s biggest surprises, ranking second with a 2.2 bWAR, but will he get moved later this month?
CLEVELAND – The Guardians were knocking on the door all night.
The home team in red had every opportunity to break the door down in their eventual 10-5 victory over the Orioles. Inning after inning, Cleveland just couldn't deliver with runners in scoring position. That was, at least, until a breakout seventh inning.
Things did start out well for the visitors, though.
Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson thought that their 1-2-3 placement in the lineup referred to how many singles they should count to start the game. Holliday made one, Westburg made two, and Henderson made three.
Henderson made both three and one, actually. Three singles, one run, 1-0 Baltimore.
TAMPA – The Orioles took a quick lead again this afternoon with Jackson Holliday’s leadoff home run. They built on it in the third inning with Alex Jackson’s first homer since last July. They keep playing to win, as reflected by the lineups, but there’s no escaping the reality of their situation.
Today’s 5-3 victory over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field featured a 2-hour, 36-minute rain delay – longest of the season - prevented a sweep and left the Orioles 10 games below .500 at 44-54. They’re playing four this week in Cleveland before returning home. And each day that passes makes them wonder how much the clubhouse will change.
If it’s a distraction, the Orioles pushed it aside today. They led 4-0 by the third on Henderson’s 109.2 mph, two-run double off Ryan Pepiot. The only losses came later in the inning when plate umpire James Hoye ejected Ramón Laureano and interim manager Tony Mansolino.
Laureano thought he checked his swing on a strikeout, flung his helmet and protective padding at home plate and was tossed. Mansolino picked up the argument after Laureano walked away and received his first career major league ejection.
Ramón Urias entered the game at first base and Ryan O’Hearn moved to right field.
TAMPA – The Orioles got on a serious draft signing roll today, with two more players entering the organization.
The club reached agreements with left-hander Joseph Dzierwa, a second-rounder out of Michigan State, and right-hander JT Quinn, a Competitive Balance B Round selection out of Georgia.
Five of the Orioles’ first six picks have signed professional contracts.
Catcher Caden Bodine, the 30th-overall pick out of Coastal Carolina, will report to the Sarasota complex on Sunday and meet up with 19th-overall selection Ike Irish, a catcher/outfielder from Auburn.
Bodine, who began switch-hitting when he was 4 years old, wasn’t fazed by the Orioles taking another catcher before him.
The All-Star Game is a week from today, which is the unofficial halfway point of the season.
The Orioles are playing their 90th game tonight, against the Mets at Camden Yards, to begin their last homestand before the break. They can move eight below .500 for the first time since May 6.
Four days off before another trip to Tampa present an opportunity to process everything that’s happened and wonder exactly how they got to this point. How so many surprises attached to one team like barnacles.
* Rather than challenge for a division title, the Orioles are stuck in last place.
* Their two best starters are Trevor Rogers and Charlie Morton.
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.
The All-Star reserves and pitchers will be announced at 5 p.m. on ESPN, and the Orioles find out whether Ryan O’Hearn has company on his return trip to Atlanta, where they conclude a three-game series against the Braves with an 11:35 a.m. Roku start.
Most of the All-Star attention seems to be focused on second baseman Jackson Holliday, who advanced to Phase 2 in his bid to start for the American League but lost to the Tigers’ Gleyber Torres. Holliday stroked a game-tying, run-scoring single yesterday against the Braves but was in a 2-for-24 slump before the hit.
Holliday is deserving of a selection and would be a fun story as the 21-year-old former first-overall draft pick whose father, Matt, was a seven-time All-Star.
Ramón Laureano has entered the chat. He began yesterday batting .273/.341/.508 with 14 doubles and 10 home runs in 60 games, and he delivered a tie-breaking double yesterday in the 10th inning.
He also has those seven outfield assists.
ATLANTA – Last night’s Fourth of July contest between the O’s and Braves didn’t provide many fireworks. This afternoon, though, the clubs certainly made up for it, combining for five home runs in an extra-innings thriller.
The Orioles came out on top, 9-6.
After facing three elite starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Spencer Strider, it was just the performance the bats needed to get back on track.
"I feel like our guys have swung the bat good here for the last month, and I thought today was a pretty good indication of it," Tony Mansolino said after the game. "We faced a really good Major League bullpen, a lot of left-handed pitching, that thing that’s been tough on us here over the last year-and-a-half. And after 10 innings to walk out with nine runs, you have to be pleased."
Dean Kremer was on the mound for Baltimore, looking to continue his great stretch of starts since May 1. A big key was that he needed to avoid the big inning.
ARLINGTON, Fla. – What Ramón Laureano is doing wasn’t necessarily part of the original plan.
The Orioles signed Laureano late by offseason standards, agreeing to a $4 million deal on Feb. 4 that included a $6.5 million option. The Astros traded him in November 2017, the Guardians selected him on waivers in August 2023 and released him the following year, and the Braves let him become a free agent in November. His career wasn’t on the upswing.
Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias appeared set with position players and most certainly outfielders after signing Tyler O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million contract and promising many more at-bats for Heston Kjerstad. He also brought in Dylan Carlson a week ahead of Laureano for $975,000.
Carlson had three minor league options. Laureano had none. But Elias wanted to make the Orioles more competitive against left-handed pitching and also provide the manager with more freedom to maneuver outfielders for defensive purposes, and Laureano was packing a cannon for an arm. He earned the nickname “Laser Ramón,” a stroke of brilliance to professional wrestling fans, due to arm strength that ranked in the 89th percentile in baseball.
Elias also had a history with Laureano, who was drafted by the Astros in 2014.
ARLINGTON, Texas – Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup tonight for the fourth consecutive game with a sore left index finger.
Westburg could be available to pinch-hit, but the Orioles don’t want to risk worsening his condition. They also are hesitant to put him on the injured list. So, he sits.
Ramón Laureano is batting second as the designated hitter. Gary Sánchez is catching.
Dylan Carlson, recalled earlier today, is in right field and batting ninth.
Charlie Morton is playing long toss in the outfield to test his right elbow.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles might run out of catchers before they run out of time to convince the front office that they can contend in 2025.
A 10-6 win over the Rangers tonight at Globe Life Field featured another impressive start from Trevor Rogers, though falling short of his previous gem, and an emergency that also forced him to bat.
There also was a bouncing ball to follow that cracked a late lead, Gunnar Henderson's left-on-left, two-run homer against Robert Garcia in the 10th, Colton Cowser's 425-foot blast off Shawn Armstrong, and Adolis García’s 417-foot, three-run shot to left off Keegan Akin in the bottom of the 10th – accompanied by bat flip, scream and flex.
Luis Vázquez, batting in the pitcher's spot, delivered a go-ahead single off Hoby Milner in the 11th for his second major league hit, Ramón Laureano drove in a run with his third double and fourth hit, and Henderson followed with a two-run double. Akin was credited with the win after Andrew Kittredge retired the side in order.
File this one under more season insanity for the Orioles.
Moving Tony Mansolino into the manager’s office on an interim basis didn’t provide a permanent solution to the Orioles’ issues in 2025.
That’s a huge ask.
However, the club is 21-19 since he replaced Brandon Hyde, and most of the improvement is credited to an uptick in starting pitching and in health. The early record assuredly would have been better if the Orioles hadn’t failed in those areas. But nothing is sustainable this year except for the setbacks.
The rotation had produced only two quality starts in the last 16 games before Dean Kremer’s seven scoreless innings yesterday. The injured list is growing again, with starter Zach Eflin likely to join it a second time later today with lower back tightness. But the Orioles took two of three games from a Rays team that's challenging for first place in the American League East.
Mansolino was a popular coach on the staff and he remains that way in a new role unexpectedly thrust upon him.
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino hung the label of “day game Deano” on his starting pitcher this afternoon, though Kremer’s splits in reality are slightly better at night.
Mansolino turned out to be correct, whether by accident or some sort of premonition.
Kremer shut out the Rays on three hits over seven innings and the Orioles claimed the series with a crisp 5-1 victory before an announced crowd of 19,226 at Camden Yards.
The homestand ends with the Orioles splitting six games to leave their overall record at 36-47. They’ve gone 15-11 this month and are 20-13 since Game 2 on May 24.
"Every divisional series win is beneficial and advantageous down the road," Kremer said. "If we get into a spot where we’re competing for a Wild Card spot, we get to hold it over their head down the stretch. So it’s big winning all of our divisional games."
