Baltimore Orioles: 5 players most likely to be traded before 2019

With the Baltimore Orioles 2018 season coming to a close on Sunday, it’s time to look at some potential offseason moves the organization can make in order to prepare for 2019 and beyond

The Baltimore Orioles have just suffered through the worst season in franchise history. At 46-112 and counting, we’re all ready for this season to be over so we can move forward into the offseason and start hoping for better things in 2019.

There isn’t much the Orioles can realistically do to make their 2019 roster a competitive one. There’s a LOT of work to be done here, and considering we aren’t fully sure what the front office will look like in a few weeks’ time, we don’t know how aggressive they’ll be in the offseason.

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What we do know is this: the Orioles will need to find and develop talent already in their organization in order to be successful next year. 2019 won’t be a big free-agent year for the O’s.

We’re all aware of the struggles this team has had in developing prospects and in the free-agent market. But Dan Duquette was allowed to make some trades at the deadline this year, at least helping the Orioles start rebuilding and moving on from the 2014 core of Manny Machado, Zach Britton and co.

So who on the Orioles holds trade value? What moves could the Orioles realistically make to start improving the organization for the future? There are a few obvious options, a few that we might be a bit more hesitant to make, and at least one (looking at you, Chris Davis) who has zero value in the trade market. But the Orioles need to start somewhere.

They can’t afford to wait any longer. So let’s get into it: 5 players the Orioles can move to help their chances in 2019 and beyond.

Will Dylan Bundy ever live up to his expectations?

Probably not. He was the 4th overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft, and the Orioles considered him their future ace for a long time. But Bundy hasn’t lived up to those expectations so far.

Yes, the Orioles would be selling very low on Bundy, but it might be time to just cut and run here. Bundy did debut in Baltimore in 2012, but he’s essentially pitched in three full seasons for the Orioles.

He has a career 4.65 ERA/4.74 FIP, a 2.97 K/BB rate and a 1.7 HR/9. He hasn’t shown much of anything to suggest he’ll ever develop into the ace we expected a few years ago.

The real question is what kind of value does Bundy hold, and would any competitive team trade for him?

Well for one, Bundy is just 25, going into his age-26 season in 2019. He has three arbitration years left, and at the rate he’s pitched, those should come fairly cheap. And we know how the Orioles have typically fared with pitching development, so there could be teams who feel they can fix Bundy and turn him into a quality starting pitcher.

So he’s young, affordable and should absolutely be available. Why shouldn’t the Orioles consider just keeping Bundy and hoping he can become a leader on this team?

Because this team has been notoriously bad at developing starting pitching and there’s little chance that Bundy will be on the next good Orioles team, even if that is 5 years from now.

Where could he fit?

I don’t want to get too specific with this part, but an organization with a solid pitching development structure in place and competitive enough to warrant trying to rebuild Bundy.

Cleveland, Atlanta, the White Sox and Tampa could be potential destinations.

Ultimately, chances are probably slim that Bundy gets moved, but he seems like the most obvious choice to go. The Orioles can’t keep holding on to hope.

Mychal Givens has come back to earth this year, but he still holds value as a back-end bullpen piece on a competitive team

From 2015-2017, Mychal Givens posted a 2.75 ERA, a 3.23 FIP, and a 10.9 K/9.

In 2018, the ERA has jumped to 4.15, but the FIP is still 3.14 and he has a 9.3 K/9.

The point is that Givens’ underlying skills haven’t necessarily changed, he’s just gotten a bit unlucky this year. And we could’ve guess that would be the case with the Orioles poor defense behind him.

Givens still has three arbitration years left, and he’s 28-years-old with just 257 innings pitched in his career. Similar to Bundy, Givens is young, affordable and for the right team, could be a valuable piece.

The problem is that the Orioles have almost nothing in the bullpen at the moment, making trading one of their best relievers a bit tougher to bear. However, we already know that the 2019 season likely won’t be a competitive one, which should allow for a good amount of flexibility on the Orioles end.

There are two likely scenarios for Givens in 2019, and a third less likely one. The first is that the Orioles trade him in the offseason. This would allow the receiving team to get maximum volume from Givens next year. The second is that teams hold out until the trade-deadline in July 2019 to see where Givens is at, and what he has left in the tank at that point.

The third scenario is that the Orioles keep him, for some unfounded reason, to lead their bullpen in 2019. This seems unlikely, but as we don’t know what the front office will look like, we can’t be too certain.

If the Orioles keep Givens, it’ll be a mistake.

Is Jonathan Villar part of the long-term plan in Baltimore?

Jonathan Villar is a excellent middle infielder. He spent time in Houston and Milwaukee before coming over to Baltimore in the Jonathan Schoop trade at the deadline in July.

In the 50 games since coming to the Orioles, Villar has hit .262/.338/.395 with 8 homers and 20 steals.

Villar is still a good baseball player. Which makes us wonder why he’s with the Orioles, and whether or not he’ll be here come next year.

Villar will be going into his age-28 season next year, and also his second arbitration year. He’s currently making $2.55 million, with a decent pay increase likely coming.

The upside with Villar is that he’s good now and he’s affordable for the next two years. And entering free-agency in his age-30 season, he might always be affordable. But it seems crazy to hold onto Villar with the hope that he re-signs with the Orioles in 2021.

He can help a team in win-now mode next year, and the Orioles should capitalize on that and move him while they can.

Let’s assume, for this conversation, that Villar will be primarily a second baseman. Second base isn’t exactly devoid of talent these days, but there are a few contenders who could use a player like Villar.

Boston, Philly, Arizona and maybe Colorado depending on what D.J. LeMahieu does in free agency, could all be potential destinations for Villar.

Nobody wants to see Trey Mancini go. But the Orioles could command a good return for him if they were to consider it

In two full seasons in Baltimore, Trey Mancini has hit .268/.319/.454 with 48 homers and 49 doubles. Mancini is likely the best hitter on the Orioles right now, and should the organization pass on re-signing Adam Jones, he will likely be the most popular player as well.

He’s entering the prime of his career, finishing up his age-26 season. And if the Orioles were to hang onto him, would surely become the first baseman of the future.

However, the Orioles likely won’t be good for at least another 3-4 years, on the optimistic side. This is a perfect opportunity for the Orioles to flip Mancini into a handful of prospects who could help this team the next time it makes a playoff run.

Mancini has one more year of team control, and three arbitration years after that. He’s an everyday player who is highly affordable, and could certainly improve a contending team right now.

The downside is that Mancini doesn’t exactly have a specified position. He hasn’t been a good outfielder, and has limited experience at first. But the bat will play anywhere while he solidifies those skills at the cold corner.

Potential destinations include Houston, Colorado, Minnesota, and the Dodgers.

The Orioles don’t have a ton of tradeable assets at the major league level, and they certainly aren’t going to compete for a playoff spot in 2019

They need to take advantage of this offseason and make some moves that could help the next time they do make a run.

Some of the players on this team are fan favorites, but the organization needs to do whatever is necessary to get this team back on track. Orioles fans don’t deserve a baseball team this bad.

We’ll soon find out how the front office shakes out. If General Manager Dan Duquette does return for another run, he needs full autonomy and decision making authority.

The Orioles can’t hem and haw for the next three months, and head into 2019 without a concrete plan.

They should take advantage of the tradeable assets they do have right now and get what they can for them. They need to start building a better player development system, start identifying talent better, and build a top-tier farm system from the ground up.

The offseason is coming fast. The Orioles can’t hesitate.