Orioles: Recap of a Busy Trade Deadline in Baltimore

Orioles trade Mancini and Lopez while adding Brett Phillips and pitching depth.

Mike Elias and the Baltimore Orioles front office were put in a unique situation when the Orioles got within a couple of games of a playoff spot after a 10-game win streak right before the All-Star break in July. Before the win streak, the consensus seemed to be that the Orioles would be obvious sellers at the deadline for the fifth season in a row, but the narrative then became that the Orioles could possibly look to add MLB talent in pursuit of their first playoff appearance since 2016.

However, despite the on-field success the Orioles decided to sell at the deadline and add minor-league pitching depth with the trades of Trey Mancini and Jorge Lopez. The reaction of Birdland to these trades has been mostly negative since the Orioles traded away two key pieces to a team that could compete for a playoff spot down the stretch. With the deals, the Orioles also added Yusniel Diaz and Nick Vespi to the active roster and traded for Brett Phillips from the Rays. Let’s look at each trade individually as the Orioles look to finish off the second half of the season. 

Orioles Acquire: Seth Johnson and Chayce McDermott Astros Acquire: Trey Mancini

For the Orioles’ sake, Seth Johnson, Chayce McDermott, and Trey Mancini are the important names in this deal as the Rays were also involved and received Jose Siri from Houston. Of course, trading Mancini was always going to be an unpopular move amongst the Orioles fanbase because of all of the reasons that made him a fan favorite. For the purposes of this article, I will not talk much about his off-the-field storylines as most of that was covered by fellow Birds Watcher writer Josh Linn.

On the field, Mancini was having a solid season for the Orioles with a 114 OPS+ and will benefit from playing in a much easier ballpark for right-handed batters in Houston. He has a mutual option at the end of the season that he will decline in order to test free agency, and now he has a legitimate chance to win a World Series this season. The O’s also add two solid pitching prospects in the deal in Johnson and McDermott who both have had electric stuff and some command issues in Single-A. Johnson is due for Tommy John Surgery soon so he will not pitch for the Orioles farm system until likely 2024.

Despite the surgery, Johnson is the eighth-ranked prospect in the Orioles system as he was a first-round pick by the Rays in 2019 out of Campbell University. He started seven games this season for the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods where he pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched with an extremely impressive strikeout rate of 13.7 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched as well as a 3.73 K/BB rate. According to Pipeline, he has a solid fastball and an above-average slider which could allow him to be a part of the rotation in several years and could even be a top rotation piece if his command improves. Outside of the fastball and slider, Johnson’s other pitches have below-average grades and those will need to improve before he makes an impact for the Orioles.

McDermott comes in as the O’s 12th-ranked prospect according to Pipeline with three above-average pitches in his fastball, curveball, and slider. He has struggled with control in his professional career as he has walked more than 5 batters per 9 innings for the High-A Asheville Tourists this season. He also has a 5.50 ERA in 19 games and 72 innings pitched in his first professional season as he was a fourth-round pick out of Ball State last season. The big factor as to whether or not McDermott becomes a mainstay for the Orioles in several years will be whether or not he can harness his command. This trade seems like a successful trade for the Orioles as they add key pitching depth and get rid of an expiring contract which will open up the DH spot for the rest of the season.

Orioles Acquire: Cade Povich, Yennier Cano, Juan Nunez, and Juan Rojas. Twins Acquire Jorge Lopez

This was the first trade to happen on Trade Deadline Day right before the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres. As such, the national media coverage of this trade was limited but it was somewhat surprising for the O’s to trade their lone All-Star in exchange for only one pitcher that ranks in the top 30 in the system in Cade Povich.

Povich is the 26th-ranked prospect in the O’s system with the changeup being his best pitch with an average fastball and average control. He has struck out 12 batters per 9 innings with the Cedar Rapids Kernels this season with an ERA of 4.46 in 16 starts. He pitched well at Nebraska for two seasons and pitched well for the Savannah Bananas in the summer of 2020. The 4.12 K/BB ratio is the most impressive asset of his game. If he continues to improve upon his changeup and his control, he seems like a similar pitcher to John Means who has seen plenty of success at the MLB level for the Orioles.

While Povich is the headliner, the Orioles also acquired three other pitchers in the deal: Yennier Cano, Juan Nunez, and Juan Rojas. Nunez and Rojas are young pitchers who have not pitched above rookie ball for the Twins. Rojas is particularly intriguing as he is only 18 years old and has posted a 3.60 ERA this season in the Florida Complex League. He is a full three years younger than the average player in that league and has struck out 11.4 per 9 innings while only walking 1.2 per 9. If he continues this trend throughout his development, the lefty Rojas could potentially have a solid big league career along with Povich. Cano is an older pitcher who made his MLB debut earlier this year and has spent most of the season with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. With the Saints, Cano posted an impressive 1.90 ERA while walking 2.3 per 9 innings in 23.2 innings pitched. Walks have been more of an issue throughout his career, but Cano provides Major-League-ready bullpen depth more than anything in Lopez’s absence.

Of course, the Orioles lose their lone All-Star from this season in the trade that likely pushes Felix Bautista into the closer’s role for the remainder of the season. Lopez retired two batters in the midsummer classic and, similar to Mancini, has faced his own off-the-field adversity while his son battles a rare disease that has left him in a children’s hospital for much of his young life. The absence of Mancini and Lopez leaves the Orioles without two of the most notable clubhouse presences for most of this season.