Proposed Orioles trade with NL East powerhouse is a gross overpay

Trading season in Major League Baseball opened last weekend when the Boston Red Sox made the shocking trade with the San Francisco Giants. Of course, the aftershocks of Rafael Devers being moved to the Giants are still being felt. Still, more importantly, insiders have taken that move to signal that the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is approaching. For Jim Bowden, the former general manager turned The Athletic scribe, that means proposing completely unhinged trade ideas, such as the Baltimore Orioles trading for Sandy Alcantara.

It seems that Bowden is on a mission to prove why he is a former general manager, as he had another Orioles' mock trade that felt like another move that Baltimore's front office would run away from. While proposing six trades that he would like to see, Bowden has the Orioles sending Félix Bautista and Cedric Mullins to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitching prospect Mick Abel.

For an Orioles team that has lacked an ace in recent seasons, Abel would present an opportunity for Baltimore to land a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher for the seasons ahead. At 23, Abel is the No. 5 prospect in the Phillies' system and just made MLB Pipeline's list of the Top 100 prospects in baseball.

Currently a member of the Phillies' rotation at the Major League level, Abel has a 2.21 ERA through his first four starts.

Proposed Orioles trade for NL East prospect feels like a total disaster

As the Orioles go through the deadline season with the impression of being a seller, a young pitcher like Abel is certainly the type of player they should be looking to get back in any return. However, Abel, being the only player the Orioles receive in a trade that includes both Mullins and Bautista, feels like pure negligence.

Sure, if the deal involved Mullins, that would be a steal for the Orioles. A free agent after the season, the Orioles are likely willing to part with the veteran center fielder ahead of the deadline. A prospect in the range of Abel feels like an appropriate return as the centerpiece of a deal.

If Bautista is included in the deal, the Orioles would need much more in return. One of the American League's best closers, Bautista is under team control until 2028. Alone, that would warrant the centerpiece of a trade being much higher than Abel. However, to close the loop, the fact that Bautista is under team control beyond this season likely makes him more likely to stay with the Orioles as opposed to being traded at the deadline.

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