Former MLB GM just called for a brutal Orioles teardown (minus the stars)

The Baltimore Orioles have played better baseball since their painful start to the season, but with the trade deadline approaching, the damage that was done at the start of the season makes it an incredibly hard climb for Baltimore to reach the postseason conversation. The Orioles are closer to being 10 games out of a Wild-Card spot in the American League than they are the final spot, and with that in mind, selling remains the logical thing to do.

Jim Bowden recently ran through his trade deadline mailbag for The Athletic, and was pretty clear with what the Orioles need to do at the deadline.

"Offer everyone up in trades except Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday and Grayson Rodriguez. Don’t fall in love with your own players and prospects and be open-minded and wheel-and-deal until you have a contending pitching staff and an elite defense."

Orioles urged to blow up roster by ex-GM and MLB insider Jim Bowden

It's hard to argue with Bowden's logic. After an offseason that left much to be desired, the Orioles have looked lifeless for most of the season. The Orioles had an elite farm system in recent years, but with those prospects graduating to the majors and some not living up to the hype, there is a need for a reset when it comes to Baltimore's minor league crop.

During a deadline season when there are very few defined sellers, if the Orioles chose to put the "For Sale" sign up, they could dramatically change their long-term outlook. It's a foregone conclusion that Cedric Mullins and Ryan O'Hearn, both free agents after this season, will be moved at the deadline. However, rental bats often don't yield much of a return, considering their new team will only have them for two months.

Félix Bautista, however, is the perfect example of what Bowden is referring to when suggesting the Orioles need to be "open-minded". Bautista is one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, and under team control until 2028.

If the Orioles were to make their closer available, considering the need contenders have for pitching, they would be in line to get a haul of prospects that would dramatically reshape their farm system. It's the type of move that could get the long-term projection of the Orioles back on track following a lost 2025 season.

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