Orioles could use a rare in division trade with the Blue Jays to clean up their rotation

Chris Bassitt was the Baltimore Orioles' big free agent pitching acquisition. When the news broke that the Orioles were signing Bassitt to a one-year deal, many people drew the easy connection that Bassitt was a very similar signing to the Orioles' previous big free agent pitching acquisition, Charlie Morton. The Morton signing went really bad for the Orioles, and the Bassitt signing has arguably gone worse. When the Orioles traded Morton away at the deadline, he had a 5.42 ERA and 4.88 FIP in 101.1 innings. If Bassitt remains out, he'll reach the trade deadline with a 5.27 ERA and 4.77 FIP in 56.2 innings. With the numbers being so close, the fact that Morton pitched twice as many innings tips the contest between the two veterans in his favor.

While Bassitt has been mostly ineffective this year and while he has been out, the Orioles' rotation has pitched much better, and the picture of who the Orioles want in the rotation has clarified. As of right now, the best rotation the Orioles can put together is Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Brandon Young, Trevor Rogers, and, now that he's returned, Dean Kremer.

If and when Bassitt returns from his injury, he is not good enough to crack that rotation, and Chris Bassitt isn't in the rotation and can't eat innings for the Orioles; he's really not that valuable at all. With that being the case, if Bassitt is healthy in time for the trade deadline, the Orioles should look to move him, and there is one team in particular that should be interested in Bassitt even with how his season has gone: the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have a lot more use for Chris Bassitt than the Orioles do

Bassitt was a valuable member of the Blue Jays' rotation for the past three seasons. He was a leader on that team, and as evidenced by the welcome he received when the Orioles visited Toronto, he was beloved and appreciated by both his teammates and the fans.

This offseason, the Blue Jays upgraded their rotation to the point where there wasn't room anymore for Bassitt, which is how he ended up in Baltimore. Since then, the Blue Jays have experienced cluster injuries in their pitching staff and are currently patching things together as they go. Now there is room for Bassitt on the Blue Jays.

If Bassitt can get healthy in the next month, a trade back to Toronto is a no-brainer for both teams. The Blue Jays need him, and the Orioles don't. All that it would take for this to get done is for the two teams to agree on what the Blue Jays should send the Orioles in exchange for the Hound on the Mound.

Considering Bassitt's performance and contract, it shouldn't take much to get the deal done. Last year the Orioles targeted unranked relief prospects in their trade deadline firesale, and the Blue Jays have plenty of those. Javen Coleman is a name that might interest the Orioles, and if they don't mind some injury risk, then TJ Brock could also get the deal done.

Interdivision trades are not common, but the Orioles seem to trade with the Rays every year, so clearly they're not completely against the idea. This is a trade that could satisfy both teams.

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