Mike Elias has made his share of questionable moves, but trading both Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby to the Miami Marlins for Trevor Rogers at the 2024 trade deadline felt like a loss for the Baltimore Orioles at the time, and the deal has only aged worse for the O's as time has passed by. The trade has never looked worse for Baltimore than it did on Sunday, as Stowers had a game to remember against the team that traded him away.
The Orioles traded Kyle Stowers to the Marlins last season.
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 13, 2025
He just cranked his 3rd dinger of the day vs them @StoolBaseball pic.twitter.com/cWAJYK8Y63
Not only did Stowers launch three home runs, but he went 5-for-5 at the plate and drove in six runs in an 11-1 Marlins victory. The Orioles have already had an embarrassing first half, but does it get more embarrassing than this? Oh yeah, to make matters worse, Stowers will be participating in the All-Star Game for the Marlins in just a couple of days, and he deserves to get that kind of recognition with how well he's played.
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Kyle Stowers continues to make Mike Elias look bad
Did Stowers ever look close to this good in Baltimore? No, but it's not as if he got much of an opportunity to show he belongs at the MLB level. Stowers appeared in just 67 games in parts of three seasons with the O's before getting traded. It was hard to fault the Orioles for trading him, given their obvious pitching need, but trading him and Norby for Rogers never made much sense.
Rogers, to his credit, has a 1.53 ERA in six starts this season, but he struggled mightily with Baltimore last season, and it's not as if he has a track record to suggest he'll be a long-term solution in an Orioles rotation that needs an influx of talent. Given the struggles of Heston Kjerstad, Cedric Mullins and Tyler O'Neill in their outfield, Stowers would've been a welcome addition in Baltimore if he were still with the team.
The Orioles have been one of MLB's most disappointing teams this season, and Elias is right in the middle of why that's the case. Watching Stowers blossom, receiving the opportunity he never got in Baltimore while the Orioles struggle and watch several of their outfielders underperform, is just the latest ding to go on Elias' resume. Given Stowers' advanced metrics, and years of cheap club control, it's tough to envision this trade aging any better for the O's anytime soon.