Baltimore Orioles: A Look at What Orioles Have The Most Trade Value With Help from TierMaker

The Baltimore Orioles will be sellers at this year’s trade deadline. Which of their players will bring back the biggest prospect package? We made a Tiermaker to help find out.

For the second straight summer, the July trade deadline will be an important time for the Baltimore Orioles. The O’s will need to sell high on veterans such as Andrew Cashner, Johnthan Vilar and perhaps even Trey Mancini in order to improve a farm system that ranks in the bottom half of baseball.

Which O’s would bring back the most value? Who should the Orioles keep? To best organize the Baltimore Orioles veterans by trade value, we created a Tiermaker.

Here’s a look:

With the Tiermaker revealed it’s time to explain why each player landed in the category they did. We will do that all here beginning with the players who would bring back the most value.

Bring Back Most Value: Andrew Cashner, Jonathan Villar, and Trey Mancini

Though these three players will be the hardest to part ways with due to the love fans, have for them if the Baltimore Orioles were to move them elsewhere they’d be able to get some quality prospects in return.

Andrew Cashner has enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2019. He currently has an ERA of 4.55 with a record of 5-2 in 11 starts. Though Cashner made it clear he prefers not to be moved if the O’s find the right fit for him he’d be a great addition to a contender’s starting rotation while also reeling in a decent return for the Orioles.

Jonathan Villar is a player who could help all 30 major league teams. He can play multiple defensive positions effectively, hit for power, steal bases and get on base at a clip above .300. He is only 28 years old and is in the final year of his deal thus; he’d serve as the perfect rental for a contender who’d likely be willing to part ways with some solid prospects to get him.

Finally, there’s no player on the Orioles roster who’d bring back more value than Trey Mancini. Mancini is coasting to his first carer all-star appearance as he’s batting .305 with 10 home runs while serving as a leader in the Baltimore clubhouse. Mancini is just 27 and is signed through 2023.

Thus, he’d be providing a team with four seasons in the prime of his carer at an affordable price. The O’s must pounce and try to get three of an organization’s top 30 prospects in return for the versatile slugger.

These two players may not bring back a haul of multiple ranked prospects but could still bring a solid return to the Baltimore Orioles.

Bring Back Solid Prospects: Dylan Bundy & Mychal Givens

Once a top prospect, Dylan Bundy has never become the ace that the organization was hoping he’d be. However, he’s had a decent 2019 campaign pitching to an ERA of 4.67 which could lead a team to part way with a mid-level prospect or two to take a chance on Bundy reaching his full potential.

Mychal Givens was having a great season until hitting a wall the last week. Thus, his ERA that is above five, doesn’t tell the full story. Now pulled from the pressure of the closer’s role Givens can go back to focusing on simply getting batters out. If he does his job well, the 29-year-old could become a decent trade chip due to his experience pitching in the late innings which almost every contending team is looking for more of come summer time.

There are too many players to highlight all of them but let’s discuss a few players that the O’s should hold onto.

Keepers: Joey Rickard, Paul Fry, Renato Nunez, Richard Bleier, Richie Martin, Rio Ruiz, Shawn Armstrong, Stevie Wilkerson

I chose eight different players that the Orioles shouldn’t trade, but here I’ll highlight Joey Rickard, Renato Nunez, and Shawn Armstrong.

Rickard has had a poor 2019 season which is why he was just sent down to AAA Norfolk. The O’s could’ve chosen to DFA him and hoped a team would claim and trade a low-level prospect or cash for him, but I feel the O’s made the right move to hold onto him. The 28-year-old has posted some decent numbers offensively over his four-year carer and can play all three outfield positions effectively which could help the team down the road.

Renato Nunez is proving to be an excellent find by Mike Elias. After stints with the A’s, Blue Jays and Rangers Nunez has found a home in Baltimore. He has hit a team-high 13 home runs while driving in 31 runs. He’s been featured as the DH while also playing both corner infield positions and has experience in left field. He can be a player that the Orioles stick in the middle of their lineup for years to come on an affordable contract; thus, they should not let him go.

With Givens removed from the closer’s role, the job may now belong to 28-year-old Shawn Armstrong who earned the save in Baltimore’s win over the Tigers Monday. Since being claimed off waivers by the Orioles in April, Armstrong has an ERA of 2.70 in 10 innings pitched. Though he’s in his prime now, he seems to be an arm that can be an anchor in the Orioles bullpen for the next handful of seasons.

Whether it’s a bad contract or a lack of trade value the Orioles are stuck with these four players.

Other Teams Would Not Take: Alex Cobb, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo & Pedro Severino

Alex Cobb once helped anchor a Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff to a pair of postseason appearances. Thus, despite his history of being injury prone the O’s inked Cobb to a four-year 57 million dollar contract. The deal has backfired however as Cobb has not pitched well in an Orioles uniform and is currently injured. Since his contract is so large, Cobb will likely be stuck in Baltimore.

Both Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo deserve respect from Orioles fans. Both produced all-star seasons and helped guide the Orioles to the postseason. However, now they’re shells of their former selves, and with large contracts, they will have to play out the end of their careers with a rebuilding Baltimore club.

Pedro Severino doesn’t have a large contract, but the Orioles don’t have any other serviceable starting catchers to get them through 2019. Thus, they must keep him, and even if they wanted to move him, it’s hard to think any teams would be interested in the sub-par 25-year-old.

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