2 Orioles trade targets that would reinforce their biggest weakness

The Baltimore Orioles bullpen has become an area of concern as most of the relievers who got off to a strong start have regressed in recent weeks, and nobody outside of Rico Garcia has stepped up. With the calendar flipping over to June, it's officially not too early to start thinking about trade targets. Just two months into the season, there are already several teams that know that they are destined for the draft lottery and not the playoffs. Over the next two months, those teams are going to prepare to sell off their veterans in exchange for prospects, and bullpen arms will be moved more than any other position.

So who will the Orioles target? They are certainly not going to be the only team looking for bullpen help at this deadline. Their farm system is much improved from where it was this time last year, but it's still not one of the best in the league, and if this front office's history indicates anything, it's that they won't want to trade away any of their top prospects.

Antonio Senzatela would be a interesting "buy-high"

Antonio Senzatela has been a staple of Rockies baseball for the past ten years, and over the first nine years, he was arguably the worst pitcher in baseball. Last year, as a starter, his ERA was 6.65, and he was lucky it wasn't worse, as his xERA was up at 6.98.

This year, he looks like a completely different pitcher out of the bullpen. So far, he has a 1.30 ERA; his xERA of 3.15 is not quite as sterling, but it's still almost a four-run drop from 2025, which, for a year-over-year drop in xERA, is almost unheard of. His K% has nearly doubled, and the homers are way down, even though he's still pitching most of his games at Coors.

As far as what he's doing on the mound, the biggest difference is that he has jumped on the throwing all the fastballs trend that is catching on across the league. In 2025, he threw three pitches more than 10% of the time: his four-seam, slider, and curveball. This year, the three pitches he's throwing at least 10% of the time are his four-seam fastball, cutter, and sinker.

It's an impressive turnaround, and it shows the benefit of having a front office that isn't stuck in the Stone Age. Speaking of that front office, they still have a lot of work to do to transform this Rockies franchise, and a pretty good 31-year-old reliever isn't going to be as helpful to them as the prospect package they could get for him.

Senzatela is on an interesting contract; he gets $12 million this year and has a club option for $14 million next year. That's kind of a nice sweet spot for the Orioles. They like to trade for guys with a year and a half of team control. They can afford to take on the ~$6 million he'll be owed for the rest of this season, and if he's good, they've shown over the past couple of years that they're happy to pay $14 million for a good reliever. If he regresses, then they can cut bait at the end of the season.

Will Vest has been better than his numbers suggest

The Tigers are the biggest disappointment of this MLB season. They are hoping to get Tarik Skubal back soon, but in his absence, they have dug themselves too deep a hole to climb out of, so as soon as Skubal returns, he'll be on the trade market.

Skubal wouldn't be the only arm to go. Any of the Tigers pitchers with less than two years of control remaining would also likely be on the trading block, including long-time Tigers reliever Will Vest.

Vest played a key role in the Tigers' "bullpen chaos" playoff teams in 2024 and 2025. Over a three-year stretch from 2023 to 2025, Vest appeared in 181 games and put up a 2.93 ERA with a 2.71 FIP. Very simply, he was one of the most consistent bullpen arms in baseball.

This season has gotten off to a rough start, and his ERA currently sits at 7.23. His poor performance has been at the center of some of the Tigers' most crushing losses. However, the under-the-hood numbers still look solid. Stuff+ still has his arsenal as being well above average, and he's continued to induce ground balls at an elite rate. His FIP is 3.46; clearly, the Tigers' defense has just been a trainwreck behind him.

Vest has another year of arbitration before hitting free agency, so once again, this would be more than just a rental. Vest would be a great fit in Baltimore and provide them exactly what they've been missing in the late innings.

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