Orioles might have to "buy high" on this Royals reliever at the deadline

The Baltimore Orioles largely ignored their bullpen this offseason. Instead of rebuilding their pen after selling off the majority of their relief arms at the 2025 deadline, they brought in Ryan Helsley off the worst year of his career, reacquired Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs, and called it good. After a hot month of April powered by some unbelievable BABIP luck and an unsustainable rookie breakout, the bullpen has come crashing back to earth, and now no lead is safe in Baltimore, and close games in the ninth feel like a disaster waiting to happen.

One of the biggest issues the bullpen has is the lack of options for facing left-handed hitters. Currently, the only left-handed relievers the Orioles have in their bullpen are Keegan Akin, who is a career reverse splits guy and has been one of the worst relievers in baseball no matter who he's throwing towards, and Grant Wolfram who has performed admirably but has fewer than 50 career innings and is just not someone the manager feels great about putting on the mound in a high leverage spot.

If the Orioles want to sustain any sort of winning this season and claw their way back into the playoffs, they need better options in the back of the bullpen.

The Royals may have the key the Orioles bullpen turn around

With how tightly bunched the standings are in both leagues, there are not going to be many teams looking to sell this deadline. One team that will be forced to sell because of where they are in the standings is the Kansas City Royals, who are currently 14 games under .500.

The Royals have several pieces that teams are going to be jockeying for, and the price for them will be high, but one name that is going to be discussed as a potential trade chip is breakout lefty Daniel Lynch IV.

Lynch has appeared in each of the last six seasons for the Royals. Like many relievers, he began as a mediocre starter, putting up a 5.13 ERA in 27 starts in 2022 and gradually converted over to the bullpen, where last year he had a career season, putting up a 3.06 ERA across 57 appearances. This year, he has taken his game to another level and has been one of the best lefty relievers in all of baseball with a career-best 2.53 ERA and a 3.26 FIP.

Under the hood, he's putting up career-best numbers in stuff+, whiff%, ground ball %, and fastball velocity. This is an entirely different pitcher than he's ever been before. The Royals have trusted him to pitch mostly in the 7th and 8th innings. He's exactly what the Orioles need.

Lynch is 29, and although he's appeared in six different seasons for the Royals, he played so little in many of those seasons that he is still under contract for two more seasons after 2026. This matches up with the Orioles because they are not so close to contending that they should be handing over a large prospect package for a rental, but for a good reliever with multiple years of control, the Orioles should be willing to put enough on the table that the Royals agree to a deal.

From the Royals' side, as great as this Lynch breakout is, as demonstrated by their current record, a good left-handed reliever is not the difference between making and missing the playoffs. The Royals have some good pieces, but they are far away from being where they want to be. Their rotation is old, their farm system is weak, and their outfield hasn't provided any offense since they lost Lorenzo Cain in free agency.

This is a good opportunity for the Royals to get some prospect capital back for a player who, prior to this season, had not been considered a major trade chip. The extra years of control with Lynch that make him such an attractive target for Baltimore also make him more expensive to acquire.

The Orioles need someone like Lynch and have a farm system overflowing with good but not great prospects. The exact kind of prospects that a team should feel comfortable moving for a controllable reliever. There is a way that this works out for everyone involved, even if the Royals will miss Lynch, and the price the Orioles have to pay would be considered buying high.

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