MLB Insider Guesses Which Orioles Player Has Most Trade Value this Season

The Baltimore Orioles are a team that everyone is going to be keeping a close eye on in the coming weeks.

After getting destroyed by the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of their doubleheader on Friday afternoon, their record fell to 16-33 on the year. They are in the cellar of the American League East, with only the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies having fewer victories at this point.

Despite entering the season with legitimate aspirations to contend, their playoff odds are already in the gutter.

However, while they aren’t going to factor into the playoff race themselves, they are going to have a major impact on the postseason picture as sellers at the trade deadline.

There are several players on their roster who individually have plenty of value on the market, even if the team is struggling as a whole.

Center fielder Cedric Mullins, who was mentioned in trade rumors ahead of the 2024 deadline and over the winter, will almost certainly be shopped again. The same goes for veteran first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Veteran starting pitcher Zach Eflin will also receive some attention from playoff teams in need of help on the mound. The same goes for Tomoyuki Sugano, but the Orioles would be smart to retain him and not put a damper on their efforts to improve their foothold overseas.

All four of those players are rentals, playing out contracts that expire at the end of the 2025 campaign before hitting free agency.

That is part of the reason why MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) believes that the Baltimore player with the most trade value right now is closer Felix Bautista.

Does Felix Bautista Have the Most Trade Value on the Orioles?

“Time to ask: Which Orioles player might bring back the most in a trade? The best guess is probably closer Félix Bautista, who is earning just $1 million this season and under club control for two more,” Rosenthal wrote.

The team control certainly makes it easier for the Orioles to ask for more in return for Bautista, but they would be selling him with his value at its lowest.

After missing the 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery, he hasn’t quite regained the dominant form he had previously.

He has looked pedestrian in 2025, making 15 appearances and throwing 14.2 innings with a 4.30 ERA and 17 strikeouts. His control has not been the same either, issuing 11 walks and owning an sky-high 6.8 BB/9 ratio.

An All-Star in 2023, potential trade suitors aren’t going to pay a premium, even with the extra years of control, until he starts to show the form he had previously.