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ESPN's Scott Van Pelt Rips Orioles After Trade Deadline: ‘What WAS the plan, exactly?’

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 12:48 PM ET

ESPN host Scott Van Pelt has been a Baltimore Orioles fan long enough to know all about the bad, from the underwhelming late 2000s clubs to that dreadful 115-loss 2018 season.

Evidently, few Orioles teams bother Van Pelt more than the current 2025 squad, which entered Friday at 50-59 and 7 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card race. However, Baltimore essentially pivoted to 2026 ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, shipping off numerous veterans before the clock hit triple zeroes.

All-Star designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn is gone, as is longtime outfielder Cedric Mullins. Starting pitcher Charlie Morton is headed to Detroit, and veteran reliever Andrew Kitteridge joined the Chicago Cubs.

Although Van Pelt acknowledged that injuries are partly why the Orioles are in last place, he nonetheless blasted the team in an X/Twitter post on Thursday night.

“But how this was the plan for 2025 is beyond me,” Van Pelt wrote. “What WAS the plan, exactly? Hard to squander the goodwill more swiftly.”

In a follow-up post, Van Pelt dismissed one user’s rebuttal that the future remains bright.

“They were in the playoffs the last two years and are in last place and just traded core guys,” Van Pelt shot back. “What are you talking about ? That’s not how the trajectory is supposed to go.”

It might be a bit before we see any of the Orioles’ newest faces in the majors. Baltimore acquired 15 players this week, though only right-handed pitcher Cameron Foster has even reached Triple-A.

Van Pelt may want to find a pillow to scream into when he really studies the various trades. Although Baltimore acquired six prospects from the San Diego Padres in the O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano trade, all were selected in the 2024 draft.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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