The Baltimore Orioles are a confusing team. They are young with plenty of potential, but have had a massively disappointing season following two great campaigns.
While there may be reason to believe that the Orioles are a better team than they have shown at times in 2025, it is still very much a squad that is far from competing this season.
That's why the perfect approach to the trade deadline for this year would be to do a mix of selling off expiring contracts, but not going too deep into the waters.
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Here is a potential dream scenario approach Baltimore could take for this upcoming MLB trade deadline:
Bautista is a tough call, but they should just keep him around if they expect to compete next year.
The return that an elite closer with more than one season of team control left is certainly tempting, but so is having him in the bullpen for another postseason push.
The 30-year-old has settled in since returning from surgery and has a 2.73 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 29.2 innings of work.
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The trade: Orioles send O'Hearn to Red Sox for OF Jhostynxon Garcia and RHP Blake Wehunt
O'Hearn has played his value way up this year and could force a bit of a bidding war as one of the top left-handed bats available.
Garcia would be an incredible add from Boston as they already have too crowded of an outfield and can afford to trade away a 22-year-old with a .276/.361/.488 slash line with 12 home runs in 67 games. Wehunt is just icing on the cake.
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The Trade: Baltimore sends Mullins to Phillies for RHP Mick Abel and RHP Alex McFarlane
This would be a pretty big swing on both sides. Mullins doesn't hit for much average, but he has a pop in his bat that Philadelphia needs in the outfield. Both Abel and McFarlane are high-ceiling, low-floor pitching prospects.
Abel flashed the player many have hoped for him to become over his first couple of starts, but he has since struggled.
McFarlane missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John, but his fastball has great potential and he could turn into a strikeout machine. He just needs to cut down on walks.
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The Trade: Orioles send Eflin to Astros for RHP Jose Fleury
Getting a prospect like Fleury for Eflin would be a great win at this point. The veteran hasn't really worked out since being acquired last year and it seems like it's time to move on.
Fleury is a 23-year-old that has posted a 1.82 ERA over 10 starts at Double-A this season with a 0.882 WHIP.
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