This Orioles and Cubs trade would address both team's glaring weaknesses

As the trade deadline approaches, the Baltimore Orioles have a difficult task to consider. At just 1.5 games out of the playoffs but five games under .500, they have to find a way to use the trade deadline to improve the future of their team while also not completely punting on this season. One way they can do that is by moving some of their veterans approaching free agency in exchange for MLB-ready prospects or recently graduated prospects who are blocked with their current teams. One player that fits that description is the Cubs' former top prospect, Kevin Alcantara.

Alcantara is 6'6 and has great speed and athleticism that translate well on defense and on the base path. He also possesses elite bat speed that results in eye-popping exit velocity numbers. He's not just a tools merchant, where all his success is hypothetical and based on the idea of him "one day putting it all together." These traits have led to actual, consistently high-quality baseball ever since he came to the Cubs as part of the Anthony Rizzo trade.

If the Cubs are moving Kevin Alcantara the Orioles should get on the phone

Despite reaching triple-A in 2024 and playing well at that level for parts of three seasons now. Alcantara has been firmly blocked from getting any sort of consistent major league run. The Cubs have a crowded outfield, and Alcantara does have some pretty serious swing-and-miss concerns, so it's not impossible to see why the Cubs haven't rolled out the red carpet for him, but the fact that the Cubs have given him 30 total MLB at-bats over the last three seasons is a bit strange.

This year, Alcantara is slashing .275/.370/.585 for the Iowa Cubs. He has clearly mastered that level and deserves a chance to prove that he can translate his game to the big leagues. The Cubs called him up and gave him 10 PAs before sending him back down after he made an error on the basepaths. Clearly, the Cubs are just not that into what Alcantara is bringing to the table, which makes him an interesting trade chip at this deadline. That's where the Orioles come in.

The Orioles outfield is old and not under contract for very long. Taylor Ward is a free agent after this season, and Tyler O'Neill and Leody Taveras are free agents the season after that. As far as long-term outfielders on the roster, the Orioles have Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers, two lefty bats that can play some centerfield but would be better in a corner. Looking at the Orioles farm system, there is not great outfield prospect depth. The only outfield prospect of note the Orioles have that's anywhere near the majors is Enrique Bradfield Jr in Triple-A, who is a true centerfielder, but he has never really produced at the plate and profiles as more of a fourth outfielder/pinch runner.

So going forward, there is ample opportunity for a right-handed centerfielder to get some runs with the Baltimore Orioles. Alcantara has many of the skills the Orioles value, like speed and power, and his weakness of swing and miss is something the Orioles are very familiar with trying to correct. Alcantara is basically a Dominican version of Colton Cowser.

The interesting question is what it would cost the Orioles to get Alcantara. The Cubs have eroded his value by holding onto him for too long and making it clear they don't want him on their big league team, but his pedigree and tools still make him the kind of player they'd like to get a nice haul for.

It would be interesting to see if the Cubs would like to swap MLB-ready prospects, and the Orioles could send over the previously mentioned Bradfield Jr., who does not have the impressive power ceiling of Alcantara but defends better, runs faster, and hits for a lot more contact. The Cubs would likely want a little more, as Alcantara has the higher ceiling of the two, so the Orioles could include a couple of lower-level prospects in the deal, or maybe the Cubs would be interested in a reunion with Andrew Kittredge, who pitched well for them last year but has struggled in Baltimore this year.

Another idea, if the Orioles are feeling bold, would be for them to send starting pitcher Dean Kremer to Chicago for Alcantara. Kremer is a pitching metronome that can be relied upon to produce a 4.10 ERA. Although he's not the star pitcher acquisition some Cubs fans are hoping for, he would bring instant stability to the chaotic Cubs rotation.

Kremer is one of the longest tenured Orioles, and it would be strange to think about an Orioles team without him, but the Orioles did try to push him out of the rotation this spring, so it's not like they view him as an indispensable part of this team. He'd become especially redundant if the Orioles do what they should do at this deadline and pursue a starting pitcher to upgrade their rotation.

Kremer is a known commodity with a year and a half of control left on his deal, and the Orioles aren't exactly flush with pitching, so they may want more than just Alcantara in the trade. It may take a fair amount of creativity on both sides to get the deal across the finish line, but if they did, it would benefit both sides.

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