The Baltimore Orioles were expected to be in the race for one of the top names at the MLB trade deadline, but how much were they actually willing to part with to do it?
As he reevaluated the trade deadline activity, Bob Nightengale of USA Today shared an important update on the Orioles activity.
Despite his name starting to get thrown around more as the deadline approached, it appears that the Baltimore did not listen to offers that involved their megastar prospect Jackson Holliday.
The most common name that he was attached to was Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. While Skubal would have been a great addition to the starting rotation, trading away Holliday would have been an incredibly rash decision.
Holliday was the first overall selection in the 2022 MLB draft and has dominated every stop in the minor leagues.
In 73 games at the Triple-A level this season, he’s slashed an incredible .271/.431/.477. Showcasing a solid combination of power and speed, he hits extra-base knocks at a very high rate while also drawing walks often.
The Texas native’s major league debut hasn’t gone the way that anyone had hoped, however. In his first stint, he went 2-for-34 at the plate while striking out 18 times.
Now, he has been given another chance at the MLB level and went 1-for-5 but hit a grand slam in his first game back.
The Orioles were still able to add to their starting rotation at the deadline while keeping the 20-year-old, but no one at the level of Skubal.
The first major move was bringing in Tampa Bay Rays starter Zach Eflin in exchange for a trio of Top-30 prospects.
Eflin made his Baltimore debut a few days ago against the Toronto Blue Jays and logged a quality start.
Next, they added Trevor Rodgers from the Miami Marlins while trading away Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers. It was a much higher price tag, but Rogers has been pitching well for the past month.
While neither of those players will make as big of an impact as Skubal would, it was a solid consolation while keeping hold of their best prospect and potential future star.
In the end, it wasn’t viewed as necessary. Though they’ve been working through plenty of injury issues for a while now, Baltimore remains tied for a league-lead in wins. They should still be viewed as serious contenders despite not adding the best pitcher in the league at the deadline. Plus, they’re in even better shape for the future because of their decision.
