Should Orioles think about trading Anthony Santander? / MAILBAG

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: One name that hasn’t been mentioned in our quest for a starting pitcher as trade bait is Anthony Santander.  He’s a free agent at the end of the season. Why lose him for nothing? The Orioles are flush with outfielders. Is his value such that we couldn’t get equal value in terms of a No. 3 starter for the rest of the season, perhaps a starter who will be lost to the trading team? From: John Flato

Answer: John, Anthony Santander shouldn’t be traded, and he won’t be. He’s an extremely valuable part of the Orioles’ lineup, and he’s playing excellent defense as well.

The Orioles wouldn’t be losing him for nothing. But not trading him, they keep a key player for the rest of the season and the postseason. They’ll likely give Santander a qualifying offer, and if he declines and signs elsewhere, the Orioles get a draft choice.

They could always decide to try to extend him, but I don’t expect that.

Even if they wanted to trade him, and they don’t, the teams that would want him are likely to also be contenders, and with starting pitching so prized, teams wouldn’t be surrendering starters for him, and a rebuilding team wouldn’t trade a starting pitcher for a power hitter who would play only two months for them.

Question: I would love to see Mike Elias acquire both Garrett Crochet from the White Sox and Mason Miller from the A’s. Another starting pitcher could be Kyle Gibson from the Cardinals. What do you think? From: Bob Whitmore (77 year old lifelong O’s fan)

Answer: Bob, I think it would be nearly impossible to acquire both Garrett Crochet and Mason Miller without gutting the Orioles’ minor league system. While I realize that the Orioles will probably have to lose one or two players they prize, they’re going to need these players in the next year or two.

Crochet had Tommy John surgery in 2021 and pitched only 12 2/3 innings in 2022 and is nearing 100 innings this year. While he’s terrific, and he has two years of team control left, the Orioles need a starter who can pitch through the postseason, and he may not be the guy.

Miller has five-plus years of team control, and I think Oakland’s asking price would be astronomical.

Gibson would be a more reasonable target, but St. Louis has gotten hot, and they’re in playoff contention. If they stay in the race, they wouldn’t trade Gibson, but if they don’t, he could be a name to watch.