Baltimore Orioles Trade Talks Continue As Deadline Approaches

The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The Tampa Bay Rays have dealt David DeJesus. The New York Yankees traded for Dustin Ackley today. Everyone in the American League East is making moves as the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaches.

More from Orioles Rumors

The Baltimore Orioles? They are sitting back and waiting it out.

The Orioles have been involved in their fair share of the rumors just like any other team in the MLB right now. Certain guys are comfortable knowing that they are staying put, but many others have no idea what their future holds. Who will still be in Baltimore by Friday?

Adam Jones and Manny Machado are virtually untouchable. Sure, you listen to every offer that is out there, but there is no chance that they are going anywhere. Those two players are the cornerstones of this ball club. The rest of the group you would think is for sale, but that is not necessarily the case.

Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported that teams keep asking about Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Kevin Gausman and Mychal Givens. The Orioles have refused to include any of those names in deals as they view them as valuable pieces moving forward. It makes you wonder just who the Orioles are willing to depart with.

The majority of the rumors that the Orioles have been associated with have involved corner outfielders. That is a logical need if you have been watching the Orioles this season. Buck Showalter has consistently changed his corner outfielders in the search of finding someone to take over the role. The Orioles have had Alejandro De Aza, Nolan Reimold, Steve Pearce, Delmon Young, Travis Snider, Chris Parmelee, David Lough and Chris Davis all play in the outfield this season. They need someone to take over one of those spots and leave Buck with one decision to make in the outfield rather than two.

Dan Duquette would like to solidify one of those outfield spots via a trade. Baltimore is looking for an outfielder with some pop, similar to a guy that currently plays in Seattle, and there are some interesting names that have been floating around for the Orioles. Baltimore has been linked to Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes and Carlos Gonzalez. The Orioles have also been linked to a big-time deal that would include Upton and could include a San Diego pitcher such as Andrew Cashner or Tyson Ross. They were also supposedly in for the running for Brandon Moss, who was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the St. Louis Cardinals today.

The problem with most of the guys the Orioles have been associated with is they each are in the final years of their deals and will likely walk after this offseason. Duquette needs to balance going for it all this season, while not damaging the future of the organization. He does not want to give up a handful of prospects and getting nothing in return

There is a lot of pressure to make a move as the Orioles sit just one game back of the wild card spot. Baltimore is blessed with some terrific arms in their farm system, but they view some of those talents as the next rotation pieces. The Orioles are lacking the mid-level prospects to make a move, and have been unwilling to deal their top prospects such as Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Hunter Harvey. Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson have proven that they can perform in the Majors this season so it is interesting to see if teams are calling about the two pitchers.

The current five-game winning streak has changed the tone in Baltimore a bit. It seemed like a week ago that selling off soon-to-be free agents such as Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Wei-Yin Chen and Bud Norris to name a few. There is a likelihood that none of these players are back next season and will walk for free. Now that they are in position to make a playoff push, they are likely to be buying rather than selling.

The Orioles have made their fair share of moves in recent years to potentially win a championship. Last season they landed Andrew Miller and De Aza. Norris and Francisco Rodriguez were also brought in near the trade deadline in recent seasons.

The AL East has changed a lot over the past few days. The Blue Jays got significantly better and the Yankees are going to be difficult to catch with their current six-game lead. The Orioles need to make a move to keep pace. Duquette has shown that he is not afraid to make a move, so it is only a matter of time before something gets done.

We will see what Orioles trade comes together by 4:00 p.m. tomorrow when the deadline comes and goes.

Next: Updated Baltimore Orioles Rumor Mill

More from The Baltimore Wire

Home/Orioles Rumors