Friday Bird Droppings: It’s trade deadline day

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

It’s trade deadline day, y’all. How you feeling? Will this be an exciting day, with the O’s adding an intriguing prospect or two into the system? Will it be a bittersweet one, if Trey Mancini or another fan favorite is dealt? Will it be a surprising one, with the Birds making a completely out-of-left-field trade of a player who hasn’t even popped up in rumors?

We’ll find out soon enough. Any trade that’s going to be made has to be finalized by 4 PM this afternoon, though a few last-minute deals often don’t get reported until a few minutes after the deadline. (Trade deadline day was moved up to July 30 this year instead of the usual July 31 to avoid conflicting with Saturday afternoon games in progress.)

It’s already been a crazy week leading up to the deadline, with a frenzy of trades that grew to a fever pitch yesterday with the stunning blockbuster than sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers. See, I told you getting swept by the Orioles would throw the Nationals’ season into chaos! The jaw-dropping deal capped a wild day that also included the Yankees acquiring Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, among several other trades.

Most speculation is that this deadline will be relatively quiet for the Orioles, if for no other reason than their lack of marketable assets. They don’t have a superstar to sell off for a haul. They don’t have any significant pending free agents. Their best players are ones who are under club control for many years (Cedric Mullins) or those whose value to the Orioles is far greater than any trade package they’d fetch (Trey Mancini).

If anyone is dealt, it’s likely to be from the bullpen, as was the case last year when Mike Elias’s trade-deadline activity sent Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro to the Rockies and Mets, respectively, garnering three prospects currently among the Orioles’ top 30 on MLB Pipeline (#10 Terrin Vavra and #21 Tyler Nevin from Colorado, and #15 Kevin Smith from New York). This year, it’s lefties Paul Fry and Tanner Scott who might be in highest demand, as both represent cheap, controllable, mostly effective southpaws who would help most contenders’ bullpens.

It’d be a bit surprising if Elias completely stands pat, but even more surprising if the Birds pull off any blockbuster deals. What say you, Camden Chatters? Who, if anyone, will the Orioles trade today?

Links

Orioles turn in a lackluster effort against Detroit in a 6-2 loss - Camden Chat
Oh by the way, the Orioles played last night, and the result was as we’ve come to expect from the Orioles. Andrea SK recapped all the action.

Akin, Santander ready to be activated; Both decline to discuss Covid-19 vaccination status - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Cool cool, this is great, no need for vaccination, it’s not as if the leader of your clubhouse is a guy who had cancer last year, awesome decision everyone!

Two Orioles Lefties Commanding Trade Interest - MLB Trade Rumors
Steve Adams goes into more depth about Fry and Scott’s trade values, and also mentions that Cole Sulser and Dillon Tate could draw interest. I feel like if you can get anything of value for a 31-year-old, good-but-not-great Sulser, go for it.

Orioles Prospect Kyle Stowers Thriving Amid ‘Advanced Competition’ At Double-A Bowie - PressBoxOnline.com
If you hadn’t noticed, Kyle Stowers is putting together a stupendous year down on the Orioles’ farm. Something tells me that in MLB Pipeline’s next prospect list update, he’s going to rank a lot better than his current 22.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Three late Orioles were born on this day, including Gus Triandos (b. 1930, d. 2013), a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame and favorite of Herc from The Wire. Triandos, one of the best-hitting catchers in club history, posted three consecutive All-Star seasons with the O’s from 1957-59. Also born on this day were late-1970s outfielder Pat Kelly (b. 1944, d. 2005) and righty Joe Coleman (b. 1922, d. 1997), a member of the inaugural 1954 Orioles.

As you can imagine, the Orioles have made a lot of trades on this date in history. Their most significant came in 2011, when they acquired Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter from the Rangers for reliever Koji Uehara in one of Andy MacPhail’s final deals as O’s GM. As delightful as Koji was, that trade was a steal for the Birds, as Hunter became a vital part of the Orioles’ bullpen and Davis emerged as one of the game’s most feared sluggers (just ignore everything that happened after 2016). Both were key cogs on those contending O’s clubs of the Dan Duquette/Buck Showalter era.

Other trades on this date didn’t turn out so well, such as in 1990, when the Orioles traded useful outfielder Phil Bradley to the White Sox for Mark Brown’s nemesis, Ron Kittle. Kittle batted just .164 with a .498 OPS in 22 games for the Birds.

On this day in 1954, left fielder Bob Kennedy hit the first grand slam in Orioles history, launching a fourth-inning shot off the Yankees’ Allie Reynolds. It was just Kennedy’s second home run of the year. He drove in six runs that day en route to a 10-0 pasting of the Yanks at Memorial Stadium.

And on this date in 2000, Luis Matos tied an Orioles record by stealing four bases in one game, swiping second base and third base twice apiece. Matos also delivered four RBIs from the #9 spot in the lineup, helping lead the Birds to a 10-7 win over Cleveland at Camden Yards.