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Orioles' Trade Deadline Needs Made Excruciatingly Obvious After Bullpen Blows Huge Lead

Baltimore was up by six runs yet was forced into extra innings by the Miami Marlins.

Josh Wilson

Craig Kimbrel throws in relief for the Baltimore Orioles
Craig Kimbrel throws in relief for the Baltimore Orioles / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
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The Baltimore Orioles looked prepared to cruise to an easy victory on Thursday afternoon against the Miami Marlins. Instead, they were forced to play extra innings, despite entering the bottom of the eighth up by five runs.

The Marlins trimmed Baltimore's lead to 6–3 entering the ninth inning when Craig Kimbrel took the mound. In 2/3 innings, Kimbrel allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks. Yennier Cano replaced Kimbrel to finish off the ninth inning.

It underlines the needs Baltimore has as it looks down the barrel of the oncoming trade deadline. Starting pitching and relief pitching both should be of interest to Baltimore.

Baltimore is reportedly interested in reuniting with starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, but the concern there is he did not perform well for them in a rental scenario last year and would be a rental this year as well. If Baltimore prefers a starter with future control, they could look to their most recent opponent. MLB Network's Jon Morosi pointed out that Trevor Rogers, a Marlins lefty with two more years of team control after this season, could be one to watch with the Marlins expected to sell.

As for relief pitchers, the Orioles could canvas the league, but it may be tough considering virtually every team in the league could benefit from an extra bullpen arm.

The Orioles went into Friday as AL East leaders by 1.5 games. They wound up winning, albeit in 10 innings, 7–6.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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