The Baltimore Orioles have improved dramatically after a slow start to the campaign, but this team is too far behind the eight ball — nine games below .500 and 7.5 games out of the AL Wild Card race — to not entertain a fire sale. GM Mike Elias took a major step in that direction on Tuesday, trading Seranthony Domínguez to the Toronto Blue Jays.
While Domínguez alone does not move the needle a ton, we’ve already seen the O’s offload Gregory Soto. This is a team that needs more pitching depth, not less, so it’s clear where Baltimore’s priorities lie ahead of the trade deadline on July 31.
The goal here is simple: reset the deck and add more controllable talent without undermining the Orioles’ chances to contend again in 2026. There’s a lot of talent coming up through the O’s system. A lot of it is already on the MLB roster. This is one of the best young cores in baseball, so this should be viewed as only a momentary setback, even if it’s fair to question Elias’ team-building chops.
Here are a few more Orioles who should find a new home in the coming days.
3. RHP Tomoyuki Sugano
Baltimore brought over longtime Japanese star Tomoyuki Sugano on a one-year, $13 million contract this past offseason. He began the campaign strong, only to see his production waver in recent weeks. While Sugano’s value has no doubt depreciated in the last month or so, the O’s should have no trouble finding a taker. Just about every contender could use one more arm to reinforce their rotation.
Sugano has a 4.38 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with 71 strikeouts in 109.0 innings pitched. He spreads the wealth fairly evenly between five different pitches, leaning heavily on off-speed stuff to generate soft contact and generate swings outside the zone. Sugano’s strikeout rate is minimal, but he also keeps walks to a minimum and tends to exercise impressive command.
He’s not the top-line ace Baltimore needed him to be for a few months early in the season, but as a fourth or fifth starter (and potential long reliever come the postseason), Sugano checks plenty of boxes for needy contenders. The 35-year-old has no strings attached beyond this season so Baltimore can’t expect a huge haul, but there’s no point in keeping him around.
2. RHP Charlie Morton
In a similar vein, the Orioles brought in longtime MLB veteran Charlie Morton this past offseason on a one-year, $15 million contract. His season has been somewhat of an inverse to Sugano’s — he was awful out of the gate, but he strung together some nice starts of late in order to boost his value just in time for the playoffs.
Morton’s future is a nonfactor. He’s 41 and might retire at season’s end. But, as a pure rental, a lot of teams would benefit from Morton’s wealth of postseason experience. He has been around the block more than a few times and knows what it takes to perform under the white-hot October lights. That is not to say Morton is a keystone starter for a playoff team — he might not start in the playoffs, period — but he’s a sharp veteran leader who can eat innings down the stretch and transition to an effective bullpen role.
The surface level numbers still look bad, as Morton has a 5.48 ERA and 1.54 WHIP with 99 strikeouts in 95.1 innings, but he’s generally on a much better path after a rocky start to the campaign, his last couple outings notwithstanding. Baltimore cannot expect a huge haul here either, but the odds of Morton returning after this season are zilch. The O’s should get what they can and bid farewell.
1. 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn
Ryan O’Hearn started in the All-Star game and has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dour Orioles campaign. He’s also on an expiring contract and out of line with Baltimore’s long-term future. Baltimore has plenty of outfielders in its system and a number of worthy candidates to fill O’Hearn’s DH spot next season, so bringing back the 32-year-old at what could be a hefty price tag is out of the question. Especially since Mike Elias almost never pays dudes.
As such, it makes sense to trade him now. O’Hearn sits at .284 with an .827 OPS for the season, notching 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 303 at-bats. It’s fair to wonder how “real” this all is — O’Hearn has never come close to this level before — but most suitors will view him as a rental, hoping to ride the wave of his newfound success.
Not many teams are looking to trade for a straight DH, which means O’Hearn could end up back in the field with a new team. He has experience at both first base and in the outfield, giving prospective suitors a range of options. While O’Hearn has never been particularly great with the leather, he’s not a total zero in the field. He can hold his own defensively. Baltimore simply has too many mouths to feed.
