Baltimore Orioles Strike Deal for San Diego Padres' Ace in Blockbuster Trade Proposal

The Baltimore Orioles have succeeded in addressing a few of their needs that existed coming into the offseason.

Seeking to balance out their lineup with some right-handed power hitting, they signed outfielder Tyler O’Neill and catcher Gary Sanchez.

Needing help with the pitching staff, they added excellent depth with veteran Charlie Morton. International pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano is another strong addition to round out the rotation with, as the team has plenty of options now to choose from.

An underrated addition to their bullpen is Andrew Kittredge, as things are shaping up incredibly well in the bullpen after some struggles there in 2024.

The pieces are in place for the Orioles to be legitimate World Series contenders. There isn’t a team in baseball that possesses the lineup depth that they have and their depth on the mound is impressive.

Yet, they are still considered to be a tier below the other American League contenders because of their lack of an ace to anchor the rotation.

That wasn’t an issue in 2024 when they had Corbin Burnes holding things down. With his departure in free agency, as he signed a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, something needs to be done beyond Morton and Sugano to fill that void.

At this point, the only avenue the team can really take is making a trade as all of the aces have been signed in free agency.

Who could Baltimore look to target?

Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated has pitched a blockbuster trade proposal with the San Diego Padres centered around their ace, Dylan Cease.

The price would be steep, as he has suggested outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., right-handed pitcher Chayce McDermott and outfielder Dylan Beavers, the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 ranked prospects in their farm system, to be headed to the Padres.

“Cease is as reliable as it gets among arms that could be available on the trade market, as he's posted a 3.52 ERA across 130 starts over the past four years. Entering his age-29 season, he won't be cheap to acquire from a prospects standpoint, even though he's only a year away from free agency. The O's are one of the few teams that could afford to foot the bill, and should have the sense of urgency to do so after back-to-back early playoff exits,” Selbe wrote.

Eventually, something has to give for the Orioles.

There isn’t enough space on the roster or in the lineup for all of these young players to have a spot at the Major League level. Cashing in some of their assets to address a glaring need just makes too much sense.

They would still retain their two best prospects, corner infielder Coby Mayo and catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo, too.

Baltimore would be in a similar position as they were with Burnes this offseason, but it is a risk worth taking. This is a championship-caliber roster that is missing an ace to help put them over the top.