Orioles might already be making the Mets regret two trade deadline decisions

At the time of the 2025 trade deadline, the Mets were in first place in the NL East, desperately trying to hold off the charging Phillies. The pressure was on after they "won the offseason" by signing Juan Soto to the biggest contract in MLB history. The Baltimore Orioles were able to take advantage of that pressure and extract multiple pitching prospects from the Mets in exchange for two players on expiring contracts. Months later, those players have since left the Mets, and the pitching prospects the Orioles got in those trades look like valuable pieces ready to set up shop in the Orioles bullpen.

Anthony Nunez and Cameron Foster have both been excellent so far in spring training, combining for 10 shutout innings. The Orioles didn't do much this offseason to block them from playing time, so even though it appears they will not make the Opening Day roster, they're both going to get a shot at the major league level in early 2026. If what they've shown so far in spring training is real, then they'll be fixtures in the Orioles bullpen for years to come.

The Orioles' 2025 trade deadline haul is already bearing fruit

Anthony Nunez

According to Stuff+, Nunez was the Orioles' nastiest pitcher during spring training. Nunez throws five pitches, and Stuff+ likes all of them and loves four of the five. That's a lot of above-average pitches for a reliever to be able to feature.

Nunez's large collection of plus pitches should allow him to be a valuable, splits-proof reliever. Looking at how he uses his pitches, it's clear he's a completely different guy depending on what side of the plate the batter is standing on.

Lefties see four-seam, cutter changeup, and righties see four-seam, sinker, sweeper. It's like two different pitchers. That kind of pitch mix makes Nunez extremely effective in one-innings sample sizes and also makes it plausible that Nunez could one day be stretched out as a starter. Don't be surprised if Nunez and his five pitches own the eighth inning for the Orioles by the end of the season.

Cameron Foster

Foster is more of a prototypical reliever than Nunez; he's primarily a four-seam fastball and slider, with a cutter he mixes in that seems dangerously similar to the slider. He appears to have made some arsenal adjustments this spring training. Last year, he threw the cutter more than the slider, and he also had a mediocre curveball that he would throw that disappeared this spring.

The new mix seems superior, and Foster is seeing great results so far. The Orioles are having him start the season in Triple-A, but if the aresnal changes continue to translate well at that level, expect him up within the first month of the season.