3 blockbuster Orioles trades to screw over Yankees in AL East

The Baltimore Orioles are 26-14, which is the best win percentage (.650) in the American League. After last season's impressive regular season, Baltimore was swiftly dispatched from the playoffs due to shortcomings on the pitching front. With new ownership at the wheel, those issues were addressed with an offseason trade for Corbin Burnes.

It's clear that Baltimore is here to stay — for a while. This is one of the youngest teams in baseball, with a robust farm system that is prepared to churn out future stars for the next several years. Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, wasn't able to latch on with the big-league club and it didn't matter. That is how deep the Orioles are, and how much patience is afforded to the burgeoning talent making its way through the lower levels of the organization.

That said, the Orioles need to balance patience with a strong will to succeed right now. The Orioles have enough talent to win the World Series in 2024 and these windows don't stay open forever, no matter how sustainably a roster is built. The Burnes trade has worked wonders, but there is still room for Baltimore to improve the pitching staff. Especially in the late-relief spots.

Craig Kimbrel has been more or less fine as the Orioles' closer this season — 4-1, eight saves, ERA of 3.86 with 25 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched — but his postseason track record is rather dire, at least for a pitcher with Kimbrel's career resumé. Baltimore cannot expect Kimbrel to provide ace-level relief in the playoffs, which is where the front office's head should be right now.

If the Orioles want to gain separation from the New York Yankees in a crowded AL East and really cement their claim as the American League's top contender, a blockbuster trade is in order. Here are a few potential options.

3. Orioles can trade for Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano

Baltimore is expected to monitor the availability of veteran closers around the league, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale. Among the names mentioned is Jordan Romano, whose Toronto Blue Jays are three games below .500 and last place in the AL East. Perhaps Toronto doesn't want to do business within the division, but Romano's contract expires at season's end. He is a short-term rental for Baltimore, which shouldn't bother the Jays too much if contending is off the table.

Romano has been passable this season, with a 3.38 ERA and 1.219 WHIP across 10.2 innings pitched. He has picked up six saves in 10 appearances, with nine punch-outs to his name. A back-to-back All-Star, Romano should have plenty of gas left in the tank. He has spent his entire six-year career to date with the Blue Jays, but the winds of change are bellowing north of the border.

Equipped with a simple but effective two-pitch arsenal — a slippery slider and a blistering four-seam fastball — Romano landed in the 96th percentile for whiff rate (35.9) last season. When he's dealing, there are few more impactful closers in the game of baseball. He can overwhelm opponents with velocity or pull the chair out with a breaking pitch.

Even if the Orioles ultimately decide to let Kimbrel finish the season as a closer, it's wise to establish a viable alternative. The Phillies went to Jose Alvarado in the NLCS, but it was too little, too late. The Orioles need to be able to pivot quickly, and Romano is the type of experienced hurler that should fair well on the postseason stage.

2. Orioles can trade for Astros RP Ryan Pressly

Another name mentioned in Nightengale's Orioles report in Ryan Pressly, the 35-year-old late reliever from the Houston Astros. Few teams are off to a more disastrous start this season than Houston. Despite an expensive roster with historic levels of recent success, the Astros are second-to-last in the AL West, behind Seattle, Texas... and Oakland. That is the death knell right there. The A's are better than the Astros.

Will that hold for the entire season? Probably not, but Houston needs to get its act together quickly. The bullpen has been a shocking point of weakness after the Astros broke the bank to sign Josh Hader. He was supposed to form the most intimidating one-two bullpen punch in baseball working alongside Pressly. Instead, both of Houston's experienced closers have struggled, with Pressly operating under less of a spotlight in the setup role.

Pressly is a two-time All-Star and he played a central role in the Astros' 2022 World Series run. The talent level and resumé are undeniable. There is risk, of course, in trading for an aging pitcher in the middle of his worst season to date. Across 15.1 innings pitched, Pressly has posted a 5.28 ERA and 1.761 WHIP with 23 strikeouts. He's still overpowering batters — strikeout rate (31.5) in the 90th percentile — but Pressly's control is waning and he is allowing far too much hard contact.

Baltimore can hope this is a mild slump, and that Pressly will tune up his performance in a winning situation. That said, the risk is more severe here, as Pressly has struggled outside the closing role in 2024. If the O's want to put him back on ninth inning duty come the postseason, that could be a huge ask.

1. Orioles can trade for A's closer Mason Miller

This is the obvious belle of the ball for Baltimore's front office. If there's a reasonable path to acquiring Mason Miller from the Oakland Athletics, the O's should be breaking down the door and offering to kiss David Frost's feet. The A's are the right kind of aimless ball club for an aggressive, well-run front office to exploit. No team has more trade ammo than Baltimore, and there isn't a single contender that stands to benefit more from acquiring the hottest closer in baseball.

Miller has been breaking statistical models and putting batters in the dugout all season. Across 16.1 innings pitched (13 games), Miller has accrued eight saves with a 1.10 ERA and 0.673 WHIP. He has faced 60 batters and registered 33 strikeouts. When you're punching out over half your opponents on the mound, it's generally a good sign.

Maybe this is all a bit fluky for the 25-year-old, who has less than one year of proper MLB service time under his belt. Miller was tested briefly as a starter last season before he got hurt and his injury history is cause for concern. But, right now, it's impossible to deny the results. His fastball is cresting above 100 MPH on a regular basis and offenses can't seem to figure him out. Whether the O's want to keep Miller in the closer role long term or investigate a potential move to the starting rotation down the line, it's worth getting him in the clubhouse. Miller is under team control through 2029, which doesn't hurt.

It will take a godfather offer to get Oakland on the phone, but the Orioles are blessed with a singularly rich farm system. It wouldn't be terribly hard for the O's to package a bunch of high-ranked prospects to further the Athletics' sorry attempt at a rebuild. There is a certain price threshold that Baltimore cannot surpass, but it's hard to overstate how drastically Miller would improve the Orioles' outlook from the bullpen.