Orioles agree to insane trade with division rival Rays to address starting rotation

Eric Cole

Tampa Bay Rays v Baltimore Orioles / Mitchell Layton/GettyImages

Everyone, and we mean everyone, knows that the Baltimore Orioles have been on the hunt for starting pitching help this offseason. After signing Pete Alonso along with Ryan Helsley and the trade from Taylor Ward, the Orioles have checked most of the boxes they needed to before 2026 with the notable exception of their biggest need in the rotation. Thankfully, it sounds like that could be changing for the better very, very soon.

After word broke out that the Rays were in the middle of a three-team trade to send Brandon Lowe to the Pirates, another trade rumor surfaced and this one involved the Orioles. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, serious discussions around the Orioles trading for Shane Baz are happening as we speak.

Trade news: The Baltimore Orioles are acquiring right-hander Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn as well as a Competitive Balance Round A pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 19, 2025

Orioles poised to pay a heavy price in order to trade for Shane Baz

So, that is a lot to give up for Baz. While Baltimore did manage to avoid trading their top five prospects, but only just barely. Outfielder Slater de Brun is the highest ranked prospect going to Tampa and he is coming off getting picked 37th overall in the 2025 MLB draft. Caden Bodine, Michael Forret, and Austin Overn all rank in the Orioles' top 30 prospects and it took all of them plus throwing in a high draft pick to get this deal done.

As to why the Orioles pushed this had for Baz, there are a number of factors in play here. First, in order to trade with a division rival, you are going to have to pay a premium. Second, Baz isn't a free agent until 2029, so that amount of team control of a guy that throws 97+ mph comes with a cost as well.

That said, the Orioles still probably paid above market value for a guy with a career 4.25 ERA. If Baltimore is certain they can get more out of him with some adjustments, then fine. However, you may want to circle this trade to look at later, because it has all of the makings of one that could look quite bad in the future.

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.