CBS Sports torches Orioles deadline approach in scathing review

The Baltimore Orioles offloaded a number of players at last week's MLB trade deadline, and the general consensus is that Mike Elias and the front office did a good job of recouping some valuable prospects in exchange for players who were no longer part of the team's future.

CBS Sports baseball writers Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, however, had a much different view of the Orioles' trade deadline. Perry and Snyder handed out letter grades to all 30 Major League teams for their approach to this year's deadline, and the Orioles received an F.

That may seem rather harsh to some devoted members of the Baltimore faithful, but there's good reason for the failing grade. As mentioned by CBS Sports, the Orioles put their fans through a drastic rebuild several years back, and after zero postseason wins the past two years, Elias and front office appear to be starting from scratch once again.

CBS Sports torches Orioles deadline approach in scathing review

The Orioles offloaded centerfielder Cedric Mullins, designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, outfielder Ramon Laureano, infielder Ramon Urias, and pitchers Charlie Morton, Gregory Soto, and Seranthony Dominguez prior to last week's deadline.

In terms of the return Baltimore received, not one player is among the top-100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Though both Boston Bateman (San Diego Padres) and Juaron Watts-Brown (Toronto Blue Jays) now rank among the top-10 organizationally, Baltimore failed to get any meaningful returns.

Elias and Co. preferred to go with a quantity over quality approach, and though some of these young prospects could turn into Major League contributors, it's likely that not a single player among the Orioles' dozen or so acquisitions will even be part of the roster in 2026. This, in and of itself, is reason to believe that CBS Sports hit the nail on the head.

Baltimore was supposed to be one of the best teams in the league heading into 2025, and instead, the players will be watching the postseason from their couches once October rolls around. Worse yet, all four of their AL East counterparts are still in the postseason hunt and likely to remain competitive heading into next season as well. Things are only going to get more difficult for the O's moving forward.

To sell off so many assets only to receive a bunch of mid-tier and A-Ball prospects in return reveals exactly why the Orioles are in the mess they currently find themselves in. An F typically means you have to repeat the course, but O's fans would prefer to see Elias drop out at this point. Baltimore's top decision-maker, if he survives this winter, will be on thin ice heading into 2026.

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