BALTIMORE—A day after the shocking trade that sent catcher Adley Rutschman from the Orioles to Boston, there were stunned players in the Orioles’ clubhouse on Tuesday.
The Orioles enter Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels with a 54-58 record, 2 ½ games out in the wild-card race.
“If you’re expected to do something and you fall short, there’s consequences to that,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “We’ve lost some good talents, but we’ve gained some as well … Yes, we’re 2 ½ games out, but there’s a lot of things we could have done a lot better. We still have a great team and personnel. Making the playoffs and making a run, that’s still expected.”
Not only did the Orioles trade their three-time All-Star catcher, they also moved outfielder Taylor Ward to the Seattle Mariners and reliever Tyler Wells to the Tampa Bay Rays. Reserve catcher Jake Rogers, who was only with the team for last weekend’s series against Philadelphia, went to the Red Sox along with Rutschman.
“Guys getting traded is always tough,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Coming into the deadline, high hopes and expectations. Now you get to the trade deadline and you lose three great players and also great people that are in that clubhouse.”
Tuesday would have been Dean Kremer’s turn to start, but he was traded to Minnesota on Friday night. Left-hander Cade Povich, who hasn’t started for the Orioles since May 7th, will start against Angels. Povich had been on the injured list with elbow inflammation and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Carlos Narváez, who was traded to the Orioles in the Rutschman deal, is catching and batting ninth. Christian Franklin, who came to the Orioles in a deal with Washington, is making his major league debut, playing left field and batting seventh.
“I saw the rumors,” Narváez said. “I wasn’t thinking of that. This is a new chapter.”
Right-handed reliever Alex Hoppe, part of the return for Ward, has yet to report. Right-hander Codi Heuer, who came from Milwaukee, and outfielder Rece Hinds, who arrived from Miami, were both optioned to Norfolk on Monday night.
Elias, Albernaz talk to players
President of baseball operations Mike Elias and Albernaz spoke to the team on Tuesday.
Elias explained the rationale for the team’s moves and encouraged them.
“It was very honest,” Alonso said. “The harshness of yesterday, obviously is fresh for a lot of guys.”
Alonso has been through many trade deadlines with the New York Mets. This was his first with the Orioles.
“You have to trust Mike,” Alonso said. “As players we could have done a better job to help support him.”
Albernaz spent part of Monday with his family in Owings Mills watching the Ravens practice.
“You lose close friends and guys that you come up with and guys you build relationships with, but also acknowledge that this is a part of the game. Trades happen all the time,” he said.
Albernaz wants to make sure the Orioles remember they’re still in contention for the postseason.
“Within that clubhouse, there’s a lot of confidence in there that we can still make a push here,” Albernaz said. “There’s 50 games left. There’s a 50-game sprint to the finish line. What can we do these next 50 games to give ourselves a chance? To sneak into the playoffs or not. So it’s 50 games, what can we do to maximize our ability and our chances to win.”
Cowser misses Rutschman
Outfielder Colton Cowser was ready to watch a movie with Rutschman on Monday but didn’t get the chance because Rutschman found out just before the film was about to start that he’d been traded.
“You look inward and you think, there’s probably a lot more that we as players could have done to prevent something like that from happening,” Cowser said. “You can be at fault as a player, wanting to keep a lot of your best friends here.”
Rogers gets to stay
Left-hander Trevor Rogers, who said repeatedly that he hoped to stay with the Orioles, got his wish. Rogers, like Ward, will be a free agent after the season.
“When I saw Wardy go, I was like, ‘OK, it’s most likely going to happen,’” Rogers said. “I stayed by my phone l day, and thankfully, I’m really happy … It was an interesting day to say the least.”
Notes: Closer Félix Bautista, who’s rehabbing from rotator cuff and labrum surgery, threw his first live batting practice on Tuesday. … Catcher Samuel Basallo, who’s on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, could play in rehab games in the next two weeks. … Starter Chris Bassitt, who’s thrown two rehab starts for Norfolk, was in the clubhouse. Bassitt is scheduled to continue his rehab assignment with the Tides later in the week. … Reliever Ryan Helsley, who’s on the 60-day injured list with right elbow discomfort, began a throwing progression over the weekend. … Reliever Cameron Foster’s rehab assignment has been paused due to bilateral knee discomfort. … The Orioles released outfielder Michael Siani, who had one at-bat earlier this season. … Infielder Willy Vasquez, who was at Double-A Chesapeake and was with the Orioles during major league spring training, has also been released. … Catcher Chadwick Tromp elected free agency instead of accepting an assignment to Norfolk.
Orioles-Angels lineups
Orioles
Dylan Beavers-RF
Pete Alonso-1B
Gunnar Henderson-SS
Christian Encarnacion-Strand-3B
Jackson Holliday-2B
Coby Mayo-DH
Christian Franklin-LF
Colton Cowser-CF
Carlos Narváez-C
Cade Povich-LHP
Angels
Zach Neto-SS
Mike Trout-CF
Nolan Schanuel-1B
Vaughn Grissom-2B
Denzer Guzman-3B
Moisés Ballesteros-DH
Travis d’Arnaud-C
Jose Siri-RF
Wade Meckler-RF
Grayson Rodriguez-RHP
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