Orioles GM could come to regret talking about Jackson Holliday trade rumors

The Baltimore Orioles will not trade Jackson Holliday at the July 30 deadline. There are very few scenarios in which Mike Elias would even consider dealing the team's top prospect, ranked No. 1 in baseball via MLB Pipeline.

None of those players are available at this year's deadline. Juan Soto is not available this time around. And despite Holliday's struggles at the MLB level and his subsequent demotion back to Norfolk, Baltimore has put a lot of effort into developing their own. The Orioles farm system remains strong, and Holliday should one day join his teammates back at Camden Yards. It's easy to forget that Holliday is only 20 years old.

It's even more odd, then, that Elias felt the need to take a question about trading Holliday in the first place. Holliday has struggled enough with confidence since his failed MLB cameo. Little benefit can come from any answer beyond 'no comment', which Elias failed to give.

"It's a tough one to trade," Elias said, according to MASN's Melanie Newman. "He's the No. 1 prospect in minor league baseball. This is a hard talent to get your hands on. We have him, we've been developing him, and we've got very high hopes for him. He's exceptionally far ahead of anyone in his age group, so it's not something we're going to be eager to explore."

Why did Orioles GM Mike Elias comment on Jackson Holliday trade chatter?

Even Elias acknowledged that a trade is highly unlikely. Dealing Holliday would be admitting defeat on a former No. 1 overall pick, and a player with a ton of promise. Holliday has performed admirably in the minor leagues against pitchers far older and more experienced than he is. He was forced to make an untimely jump to the majors earlier this season when, frankly, it felt as though Elias gave in to outside pressure rather than sticking to his plan for Holliday.

Former O's top prospects such as Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and more all struggled in their first big-league experiences. Adley slashed .210/.296/.389 in 44 games and struck out far too often. Henderson was 5-for-34 with 17 strikeouts. Holliday is just the latest example.

Baltimore has made enough mistakes in Holliday's development this season. Playing into plausible trade rumors will only do more harm than good, especially if this chatter makes it back to the player himself as he tries to improve and reach his ultimate goal.

No good can come of this.