With three weeks still to go until the 2025 MLB trade deadline, it felt like the action wouldn't truly pick up until at least after the All-Star break. But the Tampa Bay Rays have never behaved like every other team, and they're sure not starting now: FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray reported on Thursday morning that the team has acquired righty reliever Bryan Baker from the Baltimore Orioles.
Trade: The Tampa Bay Rays are acquiring reliever Bryan Baker from the Baltimore Orioles, according to a source familiar with the deal.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 10, 2025
Ken Rosenthal reports that Tampa will be sending Baltimore the No. 37 overall pick in this weekend's MLB Draft in return.
Baker is coming off of easily his worst outing of the year, coughing up four runs on four hits (including two homers) without recording a single out in a loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday. But don't let that fool you: Overall, Baker has been a rock-solid member of the O's bullpen this season, slowly but surely emerging as the primary setup option to closer Felix Bautista.
Despite Tuesday's blowup, Baker still has a 3.52 ERA on the year (3.27 FIP) with 49.1 strikeouts over 38 innings of work. 34 of his 42 outings this year have been scoreless, and he boasts a four-seam fastball with tons of life in addition to a slider and changeup.
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Who won the Rays-Orioles trade for Bryan Baker?
Tampa enters play on Thursday in sole possession of the second AL Wild Card spot and just four games back in the AL East. But the bullpen loomed as the team's clear area of need ahead of the trade deadline: Tampa's 3.86 relief ERA ranks just 15th for the season, and that number jumps all the way to an ugly 4.78 since June 1. There's talent and stuff to spare with the likes of Pete Fairbanks and Edwin Uceta at the back end, but consistency and depth have been serious issues.
So you can understand why the Rays would want to address their relief corps as early as possible, and Baker certainly makes a decent amount of sense — especially relative to cost. He's been capable in high-leverage situations this year, and while he was much worse in 2024, that was more a case of bad luck than anything. He is, at worst, another servicable arm for Kevin Cash's circle of trust, and he was available for far less than the likes of Ryan Helsley and David Bednar will be later this month.
There are some reasons to be skeptical, though. Baker is an extreme fly ball pitcher, and it remains to be seen how that might play in the bandbox that is George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees' Minor League complex where Tampa is playing its home games this year. When things went wrong for Baker this season, the homer was a big reason why (just look at Tuesday) and that could be exacerbated in his new home. Then again, the Rays have a habit of getting the best out of players like this.
For the Orioles, meanwhile, this figures to be the first of several deals shipping off big-league talent over the next few weeks. Baker was under team control through 2028, but he was an expendable middle reliever, the kind of player teams churn through on a regular basis, and you can't blame Baltimore for prioritizing the future as the team remains mired in last place in the AL East. The O's probably could've found a mid-level prospect instead, but whoever they take at No. 37 will likely slot in similarly in the team's Minor League pecking order moving forward. Baltimore now has four of the first 40 picks on Sunday night, including Nos. 19, 30 and 31 overall.
The real question now becomes: Who goes next? Will the team look to deal pending free agents like Cedric Mullins? And what will they look for in return as they presumably try to vault back into contention starting in 2026?