The Baltimore Orioles have been on an intriguing journey so far throughout the 2025 season.
They started off as a bottom-feeder that fired its manager, Brandon Hyde. However, since then, things have started to look up for the young roster, and they have been able to turn things around a little bit under interim manager Tony Mansolino.
Only a few days ago, he made clear that he believed a resurgence was coming for the Orioles, and it seems his prediction may be coming true.
This makes for an interesting discussion surrounding Baltimore, and more specifically, their plans ahead of the 2025 MLB trade deadline.
Initially, it seemed as though anyone not bolted down would be traded away. But now things have changed. While the team may be a seller type at the moment, they could shift to focus on getting assets back for their short-term contracts and building around this young core instead.
In a recent article, MLB insider Mark Feinsand discussed just this, and his opinions on each team ahead of the trade deadline. The Orioles were in a category of their own in his opinion, and he had lots to say about the roster.
When it comes to Baltimore, Feinsand created his own category for the team, not sellers, not buyers, and not particularly in-between, but somewhere in their own bubble. This is what he had to say in his recent discussion about the deadline:
"Baltimore might be the most intriguing team to watch during the next eight weeks, especially after winning three in a row and six of its last eight games, finally showing some signs of life," he wrote.
He listed Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano were all players Feinsand listed as ones that will be free agents after the season. These are players that contenders could find intriguing because they would only be rentals for a couple of months.
He also wrote that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle would be an intriging trade candidate because he has a year of team control and it would allow Baltimore to promote Coby Mayo for good.
It is hard to believe the team will make a full-scale turnaround in such a short span of time, but recent results have made this a possibility.
Contending in 2026 also depends on who the team opts to keep vs. who they opt to move on from. Keeping some of the short-term contracts on new deals would likely be beneficial to that cause, especially Sugano, who has shown flashes of elite talent this year.
Getting some input regarding the team and their plan moving forward is definitely something worth looking into further as the season progresses. It will certainly be a tough decision for the team when it comes to the deadline, but if they make the right call, it could help them for the foreseeable future.
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