Baltimore Orioles preparing to sell all but Machado, Jones, Givens
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles’ season hasn’t gone the way anyone hoped it would, and the team is now reportedly preparing to be sellers at the trade deadline.
The Baltimore Orioles’ season has not gone the way they have hoped it would. Coming into Sunday, the team sits at 42-48, 8 1/2 games back in the AL East and five games back from the second AL Wild Card spot.
There’s been a lot of back and forth as to whether the Baltimore Orioles would be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, and now according to Ken Rosenthal on Facebook, Dan Duquette appears to be preparing to sell, once ownership approval is given.
Rosenthal says that the team will not be listening to offers on third baseman Manny Machado (whose market value is fairly low right now given his poor season so far), outfielder Adam Jones, or reliever Mychal Givens (who is under team control until 2021), however all else appears to be on the table, especially closer Zach Britton and relievers Brad Brach and Darren O’Day.
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Britton has one year of arbitration left before becoming a free agent and is owed $11.4 million this year. Brach also has just one season left, owed $3.05 million, and O’Day is owed $9 million in both 2018 and 2019 as he’s in the second year of his four-year, $31 million contract.
Catcher Welington Castillo could also potentially draw interest as he has a $7 million player option next season, and the Baltimore Orioles are preparing for top-prospect Chance Sisco to be their catcher of the future.
Reports have already come in that the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros are interested in Britton, and certainly with the premium that’s been placed on closers in recent years, the potential return for Britton as well as for Brach and O’Day is intriguing for an Orioles farm system that is lacking in depth.
The Dodgers and Astros could be good potential trade partners for the Orioles as both teams have very deep farm systems and could be willing to sell off some good prospects for a top reliever.
The Baltimore Orioles are also preparing to potentially sell outfielder Seth Smith, whom they acquired this past offseason from the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Yovani Gallardo.
Next: Why the Orioles Should Trade Brach, Keep Britton
We’ll see what the Orioles end up doing, who they end up selling and what they get. Hopefully by selling off some of their more valuable pieces, they’ll be able to dramatically improve their farm system, as their system appears to be fairly lacking.