Must the Orioles trade Trevor Rogers and Taylor Ward? | MAILBAG

Question: Isn’t it bad business and organizational malfeasance not to trade everyone on a last-year contract at the trade deadline? An exception would be a World Series contender. I’m a Taylor Ward fan and a big Trevor Rogers fan, but to get nothing for them after the season seems foolish. Even if the Orioles traded for Shohei Ohtani at the deadline, this Orioles team is not a real contender. Too many strikeouts and errors. From: Craig Askins

Answer: Craig, I think there are reasons for holding on to both Taylor Ward and Trevor Rogers.

If the team is planning on contending in 2027, and I know that’s their aim, I think both Ward and Rogers would be necessary. They don’t have major league-ready right-handed hitting outfielders in the high minors. They don’t have a pitcher nearly as good as Rogers.

Of course, they should consider all the offers they get, but unless they find ones that address replacing them for 2027 and beyond, that doesn’t seem worth it.

I think they should extend Rogers, and if they don’t trade him, give both Rogers and Ward qualifying offers, which in this uncertain labor environment, they could accept.

As for the flaws of this ballclub, I think they’re evident and perhaps they can use the deadline to pick up a fundamentally sound player or two. 

Question: Why is it that each and every one of our Mike Elias-era top draft picks, seemingly bar none, has seemingly regressed offensively in the time since their respective MLB debuts? Rutschman, Henderson, Cowser, Holliday and Mayo. I thought of possibilities.  Which are valid to you?

1. Coaching
2. Conditioning
3. Faulty pre-draft player evaluation
4. Faulty post-draft player development
5. Faulty managerial pregame planned player usage and/or in-game decision-making
6. They were never that good and we fell prey to O’s marketing hype; or
7. The marginal difference between meh hitters and great ones is pretty marginal and irrelevant if you do not have equally good pitching.

I’m leaning toward number 4 – what do you think? From: Mark Eisner

Answer: Mark, I question part of your reasoning. Jackson Holliday is hitting better now than he ever has. He had a rough beginning, but he looks like he’s finally on track.

Coby Mayo had a rough beginning, and while he’s still not where you’d want him to be offensively, he’s showing more signs of productivity.

Adley Rutschman regressed in the second half of 2024 and last year, but in between stints on the injured list, he’s hit well this year.

Gunnar Henderson has absolutely regressed and so has Colton Cowser.

As for your categories, I think coaching and “post-draft player development,” are the same. I think that’s part of the issue, but I think the biggest problem that the Orioles haven’t surrounded the core young players with veteran leadership.

They had James McCann for two years and let him walk. They have Pete Alonso now, and that’s great. They also had Ryan O’Hearn, but they needed more veterans.

During the last good Orioles era, 2012-2016, there were veterans, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz, who helped young players develop. The Orioles need more Pete Alonsos.

Question: It seems to me that Mike Elias is not getting the national attention and admiration that I believe he richly deserves as a general manager.  He indeed did sign some high-profile free agents as other GMs have done, but I think that the real value he brings to the Orioles is assessing and acquiring players last year and this year  below the radar who have contributed significantly to our competitiveness, like Blaze Alexander, Rico Garcia, Jeremiah Jackson, Anthony Nunez, Leody Taveras, Grant Wolfram, and others. With our lengthy injured list, I believe his greatest contribution has been his keen eye for the “backup” talent he signed. Do you concur? From: John from NJ

Answer: John, I’ve answered countless questions about Elias in the mailbag and most of the questioners have been critical, and I’ve pointed out some positives.

You’ve touched on a positive, and unearthing under-the-radar talent is an important and often overlooked part of being a general manager. Albert Suárez is another example.

However, there are many components of his job that others have found wanting. I’ll leave those to his critics.

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.