Baltimore Orioles: Three Trades The Birds Could Make

BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 11: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 11, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)

July is fastly approaching, and the Baltimore Orioles have moves to make. What could some of their deadline trades look like? Let’s take a look at three mock trades.

The baseball world saw it’s first significant trade of the 2019 season this week when the Seattle Mariners traded Jay Bruce to the Phillies. This summer the Baltimore Orioles will surely be sellers as they look to make trades to help the team in the future.

New general manager Mike Elias helped trade away several veterans during his time with the Houston Astros which later guided Houston to a World Series in 2017. Thus, it’s safe to assume Elias will be unafraid to pull the trigger for trades on players such as Trey Mancini.

It’s safe to say no one on the Orioles roster is safe if Elias finds the right deal. With that, let’s take a look at three trades that could make sense for the Baltimore Orioles.

Trade One:

It’s time for the Orioles to move on from Dylan Bundy. Bundy was once the Orioles top prospect but has yet to shape into the ace the O’s hoped he’d be.

However, he is a serviceable middle of the rotation arm that could help a contending team in their pennant race. The San Diego Padres seem like a logical fit as they will likely not be looking for an earth-shattering trade but rather a rotation depth piece to help them fight for one of the National League Wildcard spots.

Since Bundy is still 26 the O’s could get two of the Padres top-ranked farm system’s prospects that are ranked among the best 30 in the organization according to MLB Pipeline. Two names the Orioles could target are right-handed pitcher Anderson Espinoza and second basemen Esteury Ruiz.

Espinoza is a 21-year-old who was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2014 for $1.8 million before being traded to San Diego in 2016. The Padres 22nd ranked prospect is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery but when healthy can hit triple digits on the radar gun.

Esteury is the 25th ranked prospect in San Diego’s farm system. So far this season at High-A Lake Elsinore the second basemen is batting .254 with five home runs. According to MLB pipeline, Ruiz combines bat speed and physical strength to produce line drives and raw power. One can’t teach speed, so if the Orioles were to obtain the infielder and work on mechanics, they might just find their future second basemen.

July is fastly approaching, and the Baltimore Orioles have moves to make. What could some of their deadline trades look like? Let’s take a look at three mock trades.

Trade One:

Schedule