Baltimore Oriole Ace Calls Zach Eflin Trade ‘Crucial’ to Postseason

The Baltimore Orioles bolstered their rotation for the stretch run after dealing for Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin.

Jun 28, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zach Eflin (24) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals in the third inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

At least one Baltimore Orioles pitcher is thrilled with the team’s acquisition of pitcher Zach Eflin.

The Orioles traded for Eflin over the weekend, sending infielder/outfielder Mac Horvath, right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister and outfielder Matthew Etzel to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Horvath was the Orioles’ No. 10 prospect and Baumeister was the O’s No. 17 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

It’s a deal that helps Baltimore now and in the future, as Eflin has an $18 million contract in 2025 that the Orioles will have to pick up. But, in the present, he can help the Orioles make a deeper postseason run than last year’s AL Division Series, where they lost in three games to the Texas Rangers, who eventually won the World Series.

Corbin Burnes, who is the Orioles’ unquestioned ace and started the All-Star Game for the American League, told reporters covering the team that getting a pitcher like Eflin was “critical” to bolstering the team’s hopes of a trip to the World Series.

“Making a deep postseason run — I think we saw with the Nationals, what they did in 2019 — you need three or four good arms,” Burnes said. “Adding Zach, with some of the bullpen arms we have, I think we have a good, solid five or six top-of-the-league arms that I think could get us to that point. Obviously you're never going to turn down more arms that can help you out. But come postseason time, you need that good four or five guys you can rely on, and I think we've got that.”

Eflin is 5-7 with a 4.09 ERA this season. But in 2023 he was exceptional, as he went 16-8 and led the American League in wins. He had a 3.50 ERA. It was his first season with the Rays after breaking in with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016. Before last season he had never won more than 11 games in a year.

Now, the Orioles need him to slot into a rotation that has lost three starting pitchers to season-ending surgeries this season in Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells.

Eflin's acquisition makes the rotation deeper. Burnes remains at the top, and Eflin could either slot in behind him or move behind the No. 2 starter, Grayson Rodriguez.

After that the O’s have Dean Kremer and Albert Suarez. All five starters in the rotation are right-handers.

Baltimore has also leaned on three other pitchers in the rotation this year, two of which are leftys. Cole Irvin is currently in the O’s bullpen, while right-hander Chayce McDermott and left-hander Cade Povich are both at Triple-A Norfolk.