MLB trade rumors: Orioles ‘going for it,’ and how new Angels leadership will proceed
With July just a few days away, this is the time in Major League Baseball when trade rumors start to heat up. The trade deadline this season is Aug. 3, so it’s more than a month away. Part of the problem right now is that almost all parties are on the verge of conflict. Only six teams are more than five games out of the playoff field and every clubhouse within five playoff games believes they can make a run.
On that note, let’s dive into the latest rumors.
The Orioles want to buy
As noted, too many teams are in contention. Take the Orioles. They are six games under .500, sitting in fourth place in the AL East and only 2 ½ games out of the third wild card spot in the American League. Remember, this was one of the worst teams in baseball from 2018-21 before making the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, so this is not a situation where the front office is looking to rebuild anything.
Of course, president of baseball operations Mike Elias made no secret of the Orioles’ plans before the deadline.
“I know our record is down, but obviously, this affects a lot of other teams, too. I can’t explain it,” Elias said Saturday (via MLB.com). “I wish we were approaching that in a very different way, and the context around that is unusual. But we’re there.
“So, we’ll go. I’ll let you know if that changes.”
On being aggressive in trading to win right now, he said:
“I really hope so. That’s how we plan if it happens. But I’ll have to look at the circumstances and what’s going on, and I’ll be doing the right thing for the franchise no matter what else. So we’ll have to see what the situation is and what our team looks like at that time.
“But we’re making those preparations, and everyone in this building is thinking about looking for it in 2026.”
The big takeaway here? There are only seven teams with a worse record than the Orioles right now and the O’s are hoping to get aggressive in win mode now. It will be a seller’s market.
Angels up in the air
One of the teams in the selling position will be Ngelosi. A few days agothey fired general manager Perry Minasian and handed the reins to former Cardinals manager John Mozeliak.
The Angels could have a fruitful trade this coming month, in theory. The big prize will obviously be Mike Trout, if he decides he’s OK with being traded, but there’s more. Jorge Soler is a free agent after the season and once left at the deadline and won the World Series MVP. Jo Adell hit 37 home runs last season and is a free agent after next year. Reid Detmers is under team control for two more years and is cheap. It’s like catching Logan O’Hoppe. Yusei Kikuchi may be an affordable candidate (he’ll pay a little over $21 million next season before hitting free agency). The big fish in terms of what the best places to trade would be the starter José Soriano. That said, the Angels may be holding out, as owner Arte Moreno wants to stick with Detmers, Soriano and Adell, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported last week.
For Mozeliak, however, he’s not sure which way the wind will blow just yet (or, at least, he’s not saying it out loud).
“My answer right now is I don’t know the answer to that,” Mozeliak said. “Over time, I think we’ll come up with a trade deadline plan that we’re all comfortable with.”
Hey, you just took office and the deadline is over a month away. Keep your eyes on this one.
