The Baltimore Orioles was a trade deadline ball of confusion.
Major League Baseball has benefited from the addition of wild card teams. It gives teams a chance to stay in the playoff race longer and that’s good for everyone in the league.
The Orioles were sitting square in the wild card race as the trade deadline arrived. In theory, Baltimore should’ve added a piece or two to make a playoff run. The playoff starved fan base needs some type of hope yet the Orioles brass went in the opposite direction.
The Orioles traded Trey Mancini and closer Jorge Lopez. That’s something teams woefully out of contention do.
“I wanted to, as I’m emphasizing right now to the public, [say] there’s a plan in place,” said Baltimore General Manager Mike Elias. “It’s going exceptionally well. We’ve got a very bright future ahead of us. I don’t want us utilizing the opportunity of the Trade Deadline the way we did the last couple of days to speak to the fact that this is a team that is going to have to be reckoned with from now and this point forward in our division. We’re going to have to scout and develop and manage the roster a certain way to maintain it that way. We’ve seen our competitors do that, and we’re there. We’re at that point.”
Elias mentioning of a “10-year window” isn’t something any Oriole fan wants to hear. Couple the fact that this team is legitimately in contention and I’m sure that Elias would liked to have worded it differently.
Luckily for the Orioles, it’s the guys in the clubhouse who will decide how far Baltimore will go this season. Currently the Orioles sit 1.5 out of the last wild card spot.
That makes the upcoming homestand the most important stretch to date. The next six games are against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. Realistically they will need to find four wins in those six games. That’s going to be a tough task but if the Orioles want to have a chance in September, they must survive August.
