The Orioles took a big swing to address their needs in the starting rotation.

Earlier this afternoon, they completed a trade for Tampa Bay right-hander Shane Baz, the 12^th overall selection in the 2017 draft. The cost in prospects is steep, with the Rays receiving outfielders Slater de Brun and Austin Overn, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret and a Competitive Balance Round A pick.

MLB Pipeline ranks de Brun as the No. 6 prospect in the system, Bodine 10^th, Forret 11^th and Overn 30^th. The Orioles held the fifth selection in the A Round, which takes place between the first-round compensation picks and the second round.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias has sought at least two starting pitchers, with a willingness to spend money or consummate a trade. Baz is the first move, and another one is anticipated at or near the top of the rotation.

A big appeal of Baz, 26, is the three years of team control. He has a career 4.25 ERA and 1.227 WHIP in 54 starts over parts of four seasons, with 103 walks and 293 strikeouts over 286 innings.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor leaguers Caden Bodine (C), Slater de Brun (OF), Michael Forret (RHP), Austin Overn (OF), and a Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 33) in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.

Baz (pronounced bahz), 26, went 10-12 with a 4.87 ERA (90 ER/166.1 IP) with 158 hits (26 HR), 91 total runs, 64 walks, and 176 strikeouts in 31 starts for the Rays last season. He tossed a career-high 8.0 innings of scoreless ball on June 26 at Kansas City and completed at least 7.0 innings in five outings in 2025. His 9.52 strikeouts per nine innings and 24.6 percent strikeout rate both ranked in the top 20 of qualified major league pitchers last year. Baz has posted a 4.25 ERA (135 ER/286.0 IP) in 54 career starts, including a 3.06 ERA (27 ER/79.1 IP) in 14 games after returning from right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in 2024. The right-hander was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round (12^th overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Concordia Lutheran (TX) High School. He was acquired by Tampa Bay along with right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows from Pittsburgh in exchange for right-hander Chris Archer on July 31, 2018.

Bodine, 22, was selected in the first round (30^th overall) of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University (SC). He made his professional debut last season and is ranked as the No. 10 O’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

de Brun, 18, was selected in the Competitive Balance Round A (37^th overall) in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Summit (OR) High School. He’s ranked as the No. 6 Orioles prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Forret, 21, was selected in the 14^th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the State College of Florida. In 19 appearances (18 GS) last season, he posted a 1.58 ERA (13 ER/74.0 IP) between two levels and struck out 91 batters in 74.0 innings. The righty is ranked as the No. 11 O’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Center fielder Slater de Brun, chosen by the Orioles with the 37^th overall pick in this year’s draft, draws comparisons to Arizona’s two-time All-Star Corbin Carroll based on his tools and stature.

There’s also got to be a musical comp for de Brun, who’s a duel threat as a baseball player and musician/producer.

The 5-foot-10 de Brun carries big aspirations on and off the field. He goes by “Lil Slayyy” when he’s in music mode, putting out country singles like “Break My Heart” and “Find Me a Bar” – the irony, of course, being that he’s too young to get served.

“Music is like an outlet for me, it’s a creative outlet for me, and it helps me get my thoughts not on paper but out of my head,” he said last week at Camden Yards. “Also, I like when people listen to my music because it shows that I’m like a vulnerable person. I’m not just a baseball player but I’m more than that. So I think it probably brings more people around me, I would hope, and that’s why I like music.

“We have time on our hands right now in the afternoons in Sarasota, so there’s a lot of extra time in professional baseball and you’ve got to fill that doing productive things, and for me, that’s a very productive thing.”

The Orioles didn’t map out an extensive offseason plan for Ike Irish, their first pick in the 2025 amateur draft. He was able to determine necessary areas of improvement just by visiting Camden Yards last week.

Put a bunch of major league players around a 21-year-old in his first professional season and it becomes clear.

“I think it’s the big things, like you’ve got to get more physical,” he said during a media scrum in the Orioles’ dugout. “Just for myself, standing around these big leaguers, I’m a little smaller than they are, so get a little more physical. And then just fine-tune the talent and get better in all aspects of the game, because I have to.”

Irish obviously didn’t let his draft status go to his head.

The Orioles had four draft picks within the top 37 and chose Irish 19^th overall out of Auburn University, thrilled that one of the top hitters in the draft fell to them.

Only the top two minor league affiliates are playing regular season games at this point in the summer, so the Orioles brought their first four draft picks to Camden Yards yesterday – Ike Irish (19^th overall), Caden Bodine (30^th), Wehiwa Aloy (31^st) and Slater de Brun (37^th).

The group visited the clubhouse, weight room and other areas of the ballpark, took batting practice and watched the game from a suite. Smiles and waves accompanied their introductions to the crowd after the first inning.

Irish shared his early impressions of Camden Yards with the media while sitting in the dugout.

“The warehouse is pretty sick,” he said.

Maybe he can aim for it in a few years.

The Orioles have signed all of their 2025 draft picks within the first 10 rounds.

The overall total grew to 14 out of 24 today with center fielder Slater de Brun, the 37^th selection out of Summit High School in Oregon.

de Brun, 18, was the fourth of seven first-day picks for the Orioles, and his selection was lauded by the draft media experts. He batted .370/.586/.603 with nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, 26 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 29 games during his senior season.

The Oregon native is a left-handed hitter, 65-grade runner and 60-grade fielder, and the Corbin Carroll comps were prevalent leading up to the draft.

Only one of them can claim to be an aspiring musician who goes by Lil Slayyy” and has put out country singles like "Break My Heart" and "Find me a Bar.” de Brun can afford to buy a round for the house, but he isn’t old enough to partake.