CHICAGO – For years, the Orioles’ rebuild afforded them the opportunity to find diamonds in the rough. 

You know the story here. Cedric Mullins wasn’t a highly touted prospect as a 13th-round pick out of Campbell, but became Baltimore’s everyday center fielder. John Means was selected in round 11. Anthony Santander was a Rule 5 draft pick that turned into an All-Star. Ramón Urías was a waiver claim. 

For the last few seasons, dart throws like that wouldn’t have found much playing time in Baltimore. Even top prospects like Coby Mayo have had to wait patiently for more playing time. 

But after a deadline in which the Orioles traded away nine big leaguers, the final two months of the 2025 season give the O’s roster a familiar feeling: opportunity. 

“Weird to think that I’m sitting at the most service time down there now,” Keegan Akin joked about the O’s bullpen. 

The Nationals offense waited too long to get going last night against the Brewers, scoring seven of their eight runs over the last four innings. But it doesn’t matter when the offense produces if the Nats don’t get better pitching.

Mitchell Parker gave up eight runs on 12 hits in four-plus innings Friday night, as four relievers joined him in combining to surrender 16 runs and a club-record 25 hits. They really only can improve from there.

Jake Irvin will be tasked with leading the charge. The right-hander is 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in 22 starts. And he’s coming off an impressive outing in his hometown against the Twins, in which he tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball. Irvin faced the Brew Crew in Milwaukee in the last game before the All-Star break, giving up three unearned runs with five strikeouts in five frames.

Opposing him is Brandon Woodruff, the veteran right-hander who also faced the Nats right before the break. The 32-year-old is 2-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 0.716 WHIP in his four starts since returning from injury. When he faced Washington three weeks ago, he gave up two solo home runs to rookies Daylen Lile and Brady House but struck out 10 in 4 ⅓ innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

The Orioles filled the last opening on their 26-man roster this morning by activating left-hander Dietrich Enns. He’s in the bullpen for this afternoon’s game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Enns is wearing No. 71.

Today’s lineup has the same nine players but the order and positions are altered.

Jeremiah Jackson, who collected his first major league hit yesterday, is the right fielder instead of designated hitter, a role filled today by Tyler O’Neill. Mayo is batting sixth instead of seventh.

Dylan Carlson remains in center field, with Colton Cowser in left.

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 12^th, pitcher Tanner Smith in the 15^th, and first baseman Victor Figueroa in the 18^th.

The post-trade-deadline portion of the 2025 Nationals season began tonight with a dud that neither offered much new hope for an August bounceback nor answered one of the great unknown questions now confronting this team: Who’s the closer now?

Interim manager Miguel Cairo chose to keep that information private when asked this afternoon, promising we’ll all find out together the next time the Nats take a lead into the ninth inning. It certainly didn’t happen tonight during a 16-9 thumping at the hands of the Brewers that felt like it was decided by the middle of the third, with the home team scoring five runs in the ninth to make it look a bit closer.

Mitchell Parker was battered around by the same Milwaukee lineup that put a hurting on him earlier this month at American Family Field, the left-hander charged with eight runs on 12 hits in four-plus innings.

That left the remnants of a Nationals bullpen that lost its three most reliable arms in the last 48 hours to cobble together five innings before this game could be completed. The four relievers who pitched tonight collectively gave up eight runs of their own to turn this one into a complete laugher (aside from those in the crowd of 25,194 who booed during the later innings).

The 25 hits allowed by the Nats shattered the previous club record of 22, set on five different occasions over the last two decades.

The Nationals filled the four roster holes that opened up over the final 36 hours leading into the trade deadline with four players from Triple-A who already were on the organization’s 40-man roster.

The Nats recalled outfielder Robert Hassell III, left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara and right-handers Orlando Ribalta and Ryan Loutos from Rochester, adding all four to the active roster before tonight’s series opener against the Brewers.

Hassell replaces Alex Call, who was traded to the Dodgers on Thursday for two minor league pitchers. The 23-year-old (a key acquisition in the 2022 blockbuster Juan Soto deal) makes his second big league stint after batting .218 with one homer, eight RBIs and a .497 OPS in 21 games in late May and early June. He returned to form once back at Triple-A, batting .336 with six homers, 25 RBIs and a .954 OPS in 33 games.

“Everything worked well for me,” he said of his recent performance. “I’m happy to be back.”

Hassell joins an already crowded Nationals outfield that currently features James Wood, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile and should get Dylan Crews back soon. (Crews, who made his rehab debut with Rochester on Tuesday, is off tonight but is scheduled to play six innings for the Red Wings both Saturday and Sunday as he gets back into shape more than two months after suffering an oblique strain.)

CHICAGO – The message from interim manager Tony Mansolino and the players remaining in the Orioles clubhouse is clear: Yes, the trade deadline may have shaken things up, but the goal of winning a baseball game each day remains the same. 

The Orioles, with their young core still in place, believe they still have the talent to do just that. The names on the lineup card, particularly in the middle, have changed a bit, and Mansolino will need to get creative with a bullpen missing many of its established arms. 

But as Mansolino said pregame, there’s no time for licking wounds. There’s baseball to be played out in Chicago. 

Trevor Rogers was more than up to the challenge. The O's offense, though, couldn't find a rhythm in a 1-0 loss to the Cubs.

The lefty tossed the first complete-game loss for the Orioles since Chris Tillman did it back in 2013. 

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Orlando Ribalta from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday and recalled outfielder Robert Hassell III, right-handed pitcher Ryan Loutos and left-handed pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara from Triple-A Rochester on Friday. Nationals Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo made the announcements.

Hassell III, 23, returns to the Nationals for his second Major League stint of the season. He hit .336 with a .435 on-base percentage and a .519 slugging percentage in 33 games since returning to Rochester on June 16. He recorded six doubles, six homers, 25 RBI, 23 walks, 23 strikeouts, seven stolen bases and 26 runs scored during that stint.

Hassell III made his Major League debut on May 22 and appeared in 21 games with the Nationals during his first big league call-up. He hit .218 with a double, home run, eight RBI, one walk, one stolen base and six runs scored while appearing in both center field and right field.

Loutos, 26, pitched to a 2.16 ERA (2 ER/8.1 IP) and a .107 opponents’ average (3-for-28) with eight strikeouts and three walks in eight games since returning to Triple-A Rochester on July 6. He appeared in eight games out of Washington’s bullpen from June 14 through July 5, going 1-0 with an 9.82 ERA in 7.1 innings.

Ogasawara, 27, returns to the Nationals after going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (2 ER/10.0 IP) with seven strikeouts in his last two starts with Triple-A Rochester. In eight Minor League starts this season, Ogasawara is 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 10 walks between the FCL Nationals, High-A Wilmington and Triple-A Rochester.

The Nationals who take the field tonight against the Brewers are going to look quite different from the Nationals who last took the field here more than a week ago. Six players were traded prior to the July 31 deadline, including arguably their three most reliable relievers. What remains is going to have to exceed expectations over the season’s final two months to avoid a complete collapse.

And the initial challenge is about as tough as it’s going to get, with the best-in-baseball Brewers in town this weekend. The Nats already were swept earlier this month in Milwaukee. They’ll hope for better results this time around, with Mitchell Parker on the mound for the series opener. Parker was roughed up by the Brewers last time, giving up seven runs (six of them coming in the third inning alone).

A Nationals lineup that actually remains intact – only bench players Amed Rosario and Alex Call wound up getting dealt – will try to get something going against Milwaukee starter Jose Quintana. The veteran lefty is doing what he always does, owner of a 3.50 ERA and 1.336 WHIP in 15 starts to date. He’s not flashy, but he gets the job done.

Reminder: Tonight’s game is only on Apple TV+. It’ll be Alex Faust, Ryan Spilborghs and Tricia Whitaker on the call.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Apple TV+
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center field

CHICAGO – The usual nametags weren’t anywhere to be found in the visitor’s clubhouse this afternoon. 

There’s no Cedric Mullins, who patrolled center field in Baltimore for parts of eight seasons. Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Urías won’t be digging into the infield dirt in Wrigley Field this weekend. The bullpen has about half of its normal arms. 

Things feel different. 

The Orioles’ farm got significantly better over the last month with an influx of talent from both the MLB Draft and trade deadline. That impact won’t be felt in the big leagues until those prospects either develop into major league talent themselves or are traded for established veterans. 

For now, the Orioles will be playing the rest of the 2025 season with a different cast of characters. It’s a good thing that Baltimore finds itself in “The Friendly Confines” with so many new faces. 

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.”

CHICAGO – The trade deadline has come and gone, and what a busy day it was. 

For most of us, anyway. Kevin Brown and I were stuck in an airport vying for a plane to Chicago for about six hours. 

The Orioles were certainly busy, though, trading away Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano and Charlie Morton, adding to their previous deals sending Ramón Urías, Andrew Kittredge, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Bryan Baker out of town. 

On a lengthy edition of “The Bird’s Nest,” Annie Klaff and I broke down all of the deals in great detail. You can listen to the full episode here.

The biggest prospect returns came in the form of arms Boston Bateman and Juaron Watts-Brown, who joined the O’s top 30, according to MLB Pipeline, at spots six and nine, respectively. 

The Orioles filled the remaining openings on their roster this morning by selecting the contract of outfielder Jordyn Adams from Triple-A Norfolk and infielder Terrin Vavra from Double-A Chesapeake and recalling infielder Luis Vázquez from Norfolk.

The trio joins infielder Jeremiah Jackson and reliever Yaramil Hiraldo, who were recalled last night.

Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and Ramón Laureano will be by their absences from today’s lineup against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Jordan Westburg has nine hits and seven runs scored over his last three games. He's likely the starting third baseman.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers has registered a 1.49 ERA and 0.786 WHIP in eight starts.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled INF Luis Vázquez from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Selected the contract of OF Jordyn Adams from Double-A Chesapeake. He will wear No. 80.
• Selected the contract of INF Terrin Vavra Double-A Chesapeake. He will wear No. 54.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 35 players.

After a frantic final 48 hours, the dust has settled and the trade deadline has passed. The Nationals had their most active late-July since 2021, with interim general manager Mike DeBartolo making five deals involving six veterans traded away for 10 prospects in return. They didn’t make any earth-shattering moves, but swap out a sizeable group of players who didn’t figure into the club’s long-term plans for a larger group of young players who could some day.

Now, what’s left after all that? A host of questions that still need answering. Which we’ll attempt to do right here in our morning-after explainer …

WHY DIDN’T THEY TRADE JOSH BELL OR PAUL DEJONG?
Because, quite frankly, there weren’t any takers. DeBartolo said he attempted to make deals that would have given both veterans an opportunity to play on contenders before becoming free agents, but “ultimately nothing came together.” So while the five other vets on expiring contracts (Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Amed Rosario, Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia) did get traded, Bell and DeJong did not and remain with the club as the calendar shifts to August.

HOW SERIOUS WERE THEY ABOUT TRADING MACKENZIE GORE?
Obviously, not serious enough to actually pull the trigger on what would’ve been the team’s biggest deadline deal since the blockbuster that brough Gore to D.C. in the first place three years ago. DeBartolo said two weeks ago he would listen to any offers that came his way from other clubs, but he viewed the 26-year-old lefty as a key part of their core group of young players they’re ultimately trying to win with. And he stayed true to his word. Though there were calls from a number of interested parties, none was willing to meet the exceptionally high price DeBartolo established for his ace. So Gore remains a National.

DID ALEX CALL REALLY FETCH THE BEST PROSPECT RETURN OF ANYONE?
Based on MLB Pipeline’s rankings, yes. The two players the Dodgers sent in exchange for Call (right-handers Sean Paul Liñan and Eriq Swan) now rate as the Nationals’ 10th and 12th best prospects, with the two players they acquired from the Cubs for Soroka (outfielder Christian Franklin, shortstop Ronny Cruz) each one notch below in spots No. 11 and 13. How did that happen? Well, DeBartolo sold high on Call, who over the last two seasons produced a solid .297/.388/.432 slash line across 350 plate appearances in a part-time role. He also comes with a whopping four remaining years of club control and two minor league options as well. That’s probably why L.A. was willing to give up a couple of decent prospects in return.

OK, so now what?

The Orioles traded center fielder Cedric Mullins to the Mets yesterday for three minor league relievers, first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano to the Padres for six players drafted last year, and starter Charlie Morton to the Tigers for a left-hander also drafted last year, after they made earlier moves with relievers Bryan Baker, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez and Andrew Kittredge and infielder Ramón Urías. This isn’t an entirely new team, but it’s got a drastically different look heading into the weekend series against the Cubs.

The final count: Nine players traded and 17 received, including left-hander Dietrich Enns, who arrived for cash considerations and is expected in the visiting bullpen tonight at Wrigley Field. No one else among the newbies gets in without a ticket.

The bullpen is almost unrecognizable, and that perception is enhanced by Félix Bautista’s extended stay on the injured list. The inflammation in his right shoulder made an MRI inconclusive and it’s going to take a few more weeks to get a reading.

Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin should hold hands.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Yaramil Hiraldo from Double-A Chesapeake.
• Recalled INF Jeremiah Jackson from Triple-A Norfolk.
• C Jacob Stallings elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 33 players.

The Orioles had six openings on their 26-man roster after today’s flurry of trades at the deadline. They narrowed it to five with one last transaction.

Left-hander Dietrich Enns was acquired from the Tigers for cash considerations, another move that apparently came just under the wire.

Enns, 34, made seven appearances with the Tigers this season, including a pair of starts, and allowed 11 earned runs and 12 total with 23 hits, four walks and 15 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings. The two starts came on June 26 and July 3, his first appearances with Detroit, and he had mixed results – five scoreless innings with one hit allowed against the Athletics and seven earned runs (eight total) and eight hits in four innings in D.C.

Four of his five relief appearances were scoreless. The exception came on July 24 against the Blue Jays, with four runs allowed in 1 1/3.

Enns made 14 starts with Triple-A Toledo this year and registered a 2.89 ERA in 62 1/3 innings. He walked 15 batters, struck out 71 and surrendered only four home runs.

The Orioles tonight announced that they have acquired left-handed pitcher DIETRICH ENNS from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash considerations.

Enns, 34, is 1-1 with a 5.60 ERA (11 ER/17.2 IP) with 23 hits (2 HR), 12 total runs, four walks, and 15 strikeouts in seven appearances (2 GS) with Detroit after having his contract selected from Triple-A Toledo on June 26. In 14 starts with the Mud Hens this season, he went 2-2 with a 2.89 ERA (20 ER/62.1 IP). The Frankfort, Ill. native spent the previous three years overseas in Japan (2022-23) and Korea (2024). He’s appeared in 18 career major league games (3 GS) over parts of three years with the Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Minnesota Twins. He was originally selected in the 19^th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft by the New York Yankees out of Central Michigan University. The Twins acquired him, along with right-handed pitcher Zack Littell, in exchange for left-hander Jaime García on July 30, 2017.

The Orioles tonight announced that they have acquired minor league left-handed pitcher MICAH ASHMAN from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed pitcher CHARLIE MORTON and cash considerations.

Ashman, 22, is 4-3 with four saves and a 1.49 ERA (7 ER/42.1 IP) with 24 hits, 12 total runs, nine walks, one hit batter, and 50 strikeouts in 30 relief appearances between Double-A Erie and High-A West Michigan. He went 4-3 with a 1.60 ERA (7 ER/39.1 IP) in 28 games with the Whitecaps prior to his July 22 promotion to the SeaWolves. The Salt Lake City, Utah native made his professional debut last season, appearing in five games for Single-A Lakeland after being selected in the 11^th round of the 2024 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Utah.

Morton, 41, made 23 appearances (17 GS) for the Orioles, going 7-8 with a 5.42 ERA (61 ER/101.1 IP). He signed a one-year major league contract for the 2025 season with Baltimore on January 3, 2025.