The Boston Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East twice in the past four seasons, and though they stand to make the playoffs this year, it’s still hard to justify throwing stones from a glass house.

That being said, the Baltimore Orioles are having a disastrous season as they watch their once-promising core fall apart while limping to a last-place finish in 2025. They sold some valuable pieces at the deadline, including longtime center fielder Cedric Mullins, as well as Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano in a package deal to the San Diego Padres.

They did execute a smaller, less consequential trade too, shipping Charlie Morton off to the Detroit Tigers. The beleaguered veteran had actually reclaimed some footing after a disastrous start to the year, but he was hardly the prize of the deadline.

Apparently, that didn’t stop the Orioles from trying to ask for the moon for him.

Red Sox fans should appreciate Orioles’ attempt to swindle Yankees at trade deadline

In return for Morton, the Tigers sent Micah Ashman to the Orioles, a 23-year-old relief prospect currently in Double-A. That’s about what you’d expect a 41-year-old rental starter with a 5.51 ERA to go for on the open market, though you can’t blame the Orioles for trying to take advantage of the Yankees’ disastrous pitching situation prior to the deadline.

As Red Sox fans saw in the four-game sweep of the Yankees in August, the Bronx Bombers are overly reliant on Max Fried and Carlos Rodón at the top of their rotation, and their starting pitching depth without Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt has been perilous to say the least.

Thus, the Orioles reportedly tried to pawn Morton off on New York in exchange for Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, the Yankees’ No. 5 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and former Red Sox prospect. Boston shipped Rodriguez-Cruz to New York in the Carlos Narváez trade. The 21-year-old starter has posted a career 2.54 ERA in more than 300 minor league innings, and he’s been especially dominant in 2025, with a 2.47 ERA over 135.0 innings across multiple levels.

As a young starter with electric stuff who is already dominating Double-A, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the Yankees made Rodriguez-Cruz one of their annual “untouchable” prospects. Even if they did make him available to sellers, though, it’s downright laughable that the Orioles tried to convince Brian Cashman to part with the top prospect in exchange for a half-season of Morton in the year 2025.

It was probably the easiest “No thanks” of Cashman’s career, but good on him for not getting swindled. Hopefully, Rodriguez-Cruz doesn’t become too much of a thorn in the Red Sox’s side in the coming year.