It wasn’t just that the Orioles completed an improbable comeback against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, or that they managed to win a game started by the magnificent Tarik Skubal, who may have pitched his last game for the Tigers.
It was that with just three games remaining until Monday’s trade deadline, it made it easier for president of baseball operations Mike Elias to plow ahead with his hope to add to the club.
The Orioles are still not a .500 team after their wacky 10-9 win over the Tigers in 12 innings. They’re three games under .500, at 53-56. If they somehow manage to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, they’ll be at .500 for the first time since April 30th.
Wednesday’s game was not just wild. It was sloppy. They committed three errors and are still a flawed ballclub. So are the handful of other teams they’ve been jockeying for contention over the past two months.
When they won seven in a row and moved to within two games of .500, playoff contention looked real, However, they lost both their frontline catchers, Samuel Basallo and Adley Rutschman. Their absence might have contributed to the three one-run losses since the end of the winning streak.
After that run, the longest in nearly three years, the Orioles lost two of three in Boston and two of three against Atlanta before looking as if they’d lose two of three in Detroit.
After the win, their greatest comeback since June 30th, 2009, they can celebrate with a day off on Thursday.
That gives Elias more time to contemplate his upcoming moves. It seems unlikely the Orioles will repeat their 2025 fire sale when they unloaded eight players in seven trades in the days just before the deadline.
With those moves, they did restock the farm system with some promising prospects.
It won’t be like 2023 when the Orioles, on their way to an American League East title, added just one major league player, starter Jack Flaherty, a move that didn’t help them.
Maybe this year will be a repeat of 2024 when Elias was rightfully fearful that the team had flatlined.
That year, the Orioles made a dizzying series of trades, which had mixed results.
They acquired Trevor Rogers, who started Wednesday’s game, from Miami in exchange for outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby, and added another starter, Zach Eflin, from Tampa Bay for three minor leaguers.
Wanting to increase their right-handed punch, they acquired right-handed hitters Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater after swapping out another right-handed hitter, longtime Oriole Austin Hays, who’d been hurt and slumping.
The Orioles sent Hays to Philadelphia for reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache, who didn’t stay a week. They acquired a left-hander from the Phillies, Gregory Soto, for pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace.
Rogers was quickly sent to Triple-A Norfolk after a 7.11 ERA in four starts while Eflin was 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA.
Jiménez, who was a designated hitter, and Slater contributed little offensively. Jiménez, once a touted prospect with the Chicago White Sox, started strongly but was let go after hitting .042 (1-for-24) in September.
Slater hit .246 with a home run and six RBIs in 33 games. He’s been with six organizations since leaving the Orioles.
That team scored just one run in the two-game wild-card loss to Kansas City.
This team wants to somehow make the postseason and take its chances, and just as in 2024, they could use better right-handed hitting outfielders and some bullpen help.
The Orioles’ bullpen has been terrific in July with a 2.39 ERA. On Thursday, Anthony Nunez, Yennier Cano, Tyler Walls, Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram and Andrew Kittredge combined for one earned run on two hits in six innings.
Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson tied the score at 9-9 with a two-run home run against Garcia in the 11th. Garcia, who gave up one home run in his first 28 games, has given up nine, and four to his last 21 batters.
Since the loss of closer Ryan Helsley to right elbow inflammation, manager Craig Albernaz has adeptly managed his bullpen. However, this group of relievers needs to be bolstered, and I’m sure Elias will try to add reinforcements.
Perhaps Félix Bautista, who had surgery to repair his rotator cuff and labrum last August, can provide help in the final weeks.
The next five days will be fascinating with most teams looking to add and perhaps 10 or fewer looking to build for the future. The Orioles will face lots of competition in their pursuit of players just as they’ll face huge competition in their difficult race for the postseason.
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