2 offseason exits that the Orioles should feel good about and 1 that will haunt them

Part of every offseason is saying goodbye to players who leave via free agency or are sent out in trades. This season, the Baltimore Orioles lost four players from the 2025 team to free agency and also bid farewell to nine players and prospects in various trades. Some of those players will be missed more than others.

When it comes to trying to build the best team possible heading into the season, teams often have to give up something to get something of real value. They have to hope that the players they move on from don't make them regret it.

2 trade pieces the Orioles shouldn't miss

Caden Bodine

Caden Bodine was drafted in the first round out of college, and with his defensive ability, he was seen as a high-floor prospect who was close to major league ready. The Orioles extended Samuel Basallo just a few weeks after drafting Bodine, so they didn't draft him because they thought they were going to need a full-time catcher in the next couple of seasons.

What the Orioles were drafting with Bodine was a talented player at a valuable position. The intent was always to use him as a chip to bring in talent at a position of need, which is exactly what they did.

Bodine will likely be in the majors in the next couple of seasons, and with his defensive ability, he should be able to carve out a decent career, but his offensive profile isn't one that the Orioles will lose sleep over now that he's a Ray.

Alex Jackson

Alex Jackson and his "extra base hits only" approach was a fun addition to the 2025 Orioles, so it was a little surprising that they shipped him out for a 26-year-old minor league infielder. However, it makes more sense now that it appears that the Orioles are going to roll with Rutschman and Basallo as the only catchers on the active roster and use Maverick Handley as depth.

Jackson is better than Handley, but he is out of options, so the Orioles wouldn't have the ability to bounce him back and forth between the big leagues and minors like they will with Handley. With that in mind, getting what they could for him makes sense.

1 trade piece the Orioles will miss

Kade Strowd

The Orioles bullpen was already a weak spot when Kade Strowd was projected to be a part of it and now that he's not, it's even more worrisome. Besides just playing a position that the Orioles need, Strowd has real potential to be a back-end of the bullpen arm, which is an extremely valuable player to have on a pre-arbitration contract.

By Stuff+, Strowd had the best fastball, slider, and cutter out of any player on the Orioles in 2025. In general, by Stuff+, he was comparable to Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez, who will both have closer and setup roles on their respective new teams in 2026.

Blaze Alexander fills a need for the Orioles, but if halfway through the season the Orioles once again have a bottom 10 bullpen in baseball, and Kade Strowd is helping salt away leads three times a week for the Diamondbacks, the Orioles are going to regret that move.