Orioles trade deadline splash somehow keeps getting painfully worse

Essentially from the moment that the trade was made, Baltimore Orioles fans questioned the deadline move that brought starting pitcher Trevor Rogers to the Charm City in exchange for two of the organization's highly touted prospects, Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, who went back to the Miami Marlins in the deal. And at every turn to this point, they've been proven right.

Rogers made four starts with the Orioles and was truly horrific. He posted a 7.11 ERA with a 1.84 WHIP, lasting just 19.0 innings in totality (less than five innings per start). That ultimately led to the seemingly obvious decision to option Rogers to Triple-A Norfolk, which in itself makes it look like Baltimore admitted defeat in the trade deadline deal.

But hey, if Rogers went back to the minors and got into better form on the mound, maybe the trade would be salvageable, right?

Well, that didn't remotely happen. In his first start in Triple-A on Sunday, Rogers got absolutely shelled, giving up 10 earne runs on nine hits with three walks over just 4.1 innings. And while there are always things being worked on that make minor-league numbers worthy of being taken with a grain of salt, it's hard to paint a start like that in a positive light no matter how you slice it.

Somehow, though, it got even worse from there for the O's.

Trevor Rogers trade keeps getting worse for Orioles

While Rogers was struggling to put anything past Triple-A hitters, Norby, who was recently called up to the big leagues by the Marlins, was continuing a torrid start to his time in the majors by hitting his second home run in as many days. Not only that, he finished the game just a triple shy of the cycle -- in his sixth MLB game!

Since joining the Marlins, Norby is now 9-of-24 with two home runs, four doubles and a walk, good for a ridiculous .375/.400/.792 slash line. Yes, it's a small sample size but he looks absolutely and unequivocally ready to be in the majors.

Any proponents of the trade for the Orioles would've once argued that Baltimore was operating from a position where they possessed a glut of talent they didn't have a path for and, as such, could afford to trade guys of Norby's and even Stowers' caliber away. That's true, sure. However, that still doesn't diminish the value of high-end prospects, which Norby clearly is and Stowers may be as well. So to deal them for a guy in Rogers who isn't even cutting it in Norfolk is a haymaker to the gut.

The Orioles have limped since the All-Star break and are now 1.5 games out of first place in the AL East. And it's hard not to look at a team with so much ammo to trade and thinking that they completely misfired to cataclysmic proportions with this deal. Maybe Norby wouldn't have helped them on the field -- but he could've helped them get a much more viable piece than Rogers.