The Baltimore Orioles have been a disappointment so far this season and it could lead to a sell off at the trade deadline after a short stint of being buyers.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today stated that teams would be “pouncing on” Zach Eflin, Seranthony Dominguez and Cedric Mullins at the deadline if the Orioles don’t become contenders by the All-Star break.
Eflin was a major acquisition at last year’s deadline and figured to be a great second starter, but concerns about the staff began to rise once it became clear that he would be the ace this season.
The 31-year-old has been injured since the beginning of April, but got off to a solid start before then. He has a 3.00 ERA with a 0.833 WHIP through 18 innings of work.
If Eflin can continue this level of play when he gets healthy, which shouldn’t be too much longer, he should be able to act as a nice trade piece for Baltimore. He becomes a free agent after this year, so holding on to him doesn’t make much sense.
They gave up three prospects to get him, two of which are top-30 for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles might be able to get at least close to that at this deadline.
Dominguez was another player that Baltimore traded for at the deadline last season. It was a bit of a desperate move and he hasn’t looked great, but relief pitching will always have a market.
The 30-year-old has posted a 4.22 ERA over 10.2 innings during this campaign. Whenever he is on, he looks great, he has just struggled with consistency.
He still has a flamethrower fastball and solid stuff, but he has now been struggling with control. In those 10.2 innings, he has walked seven batters. A team may be willing to take a chance on figuring that out.
The best trade piece that the Orioles have, at least for now, seems to be Mullins.
He has posted a .255/.379/.491 slash line with seven home runs and five stolen bases. His OPS+ is at a career-high 154.
A second 30/30 season is in reach and that would be music to the ears of many contenders right now. It would be nice to see Baltimore extend him and keep at least some of their homegrown talent, but that doesn’t seem to be the route that the front office is going to take.
He could easily return a top-10 organizational prospect at the deadline, especially if he keeps playing like he is right now.
