With the MLB trade deadline arriving next week, Baltimore Orioles’ general manager Mike Elias confirmed that the team will be sellers at the deadline.
While revealing that information, Elias confirmed that the Orioles are not engaging in a full rebuild, with the idea being that the team can return to contention in 2026.
“The conversations I’m having right now are more oriented toward what’s out there for some of our available major league players. We’re not blowing up the team. We think we’re going to be very good again in 2026 and have that intention. We’re not interested in changing the foundation of the team.”
That direction likely sees the Orioles looking to move their impending free agents before the deadline. Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins are near the top of that list, and chances are each will be moved as part of an active time for the Orioles’ front office between now and August 1.
Former GM throws Orioles a potential trade deadline rescue
Along those lines, Jim Bowden was more direct in talking about what the Orioles need to do before the deadline. In his latest deadline primer for The Athletic, Bowden wasn’t shy about saying that the Orioles can return to contention as soon as 2026 if the right moves are made at the deadline.
There’s no doubt that the deadline is an important moment for Elias’ tenure as the general manager of the Orioles.
The Orioles’ firing Brandon Hyde earlier in the season has placed Elias on the hot seat, but he’s been allowed to navigate the team out of the disappointing 2025 season with a better outlook for 2026.
However, that would take a level of urgency from Elias’ front office that wasn’t exactly present this past offseason.
Moving rentals at the deadline should be a certainty for the Orioles.
However, if they truly want to reshape their roster while still having a path toward contending in 2026, trading Felix Bautista could be the key move.
With Bautista under control until 2028, the Orioles are in a position to command young talent that can provide an immediate impact if they make their closer available at the deadline.
