Baltimore Orioles Make Surprising Roster Moves Ahead of Massive Guardians Series

The Baltimore Orioles roster has seen a massive shakeup before facing off with the Cleveland Guardians that will go a long way in determining AL supremacy.

May 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad (13) reacts after being hit with a eighth inning pitch against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

After the Baltimore Orioles were active ahead of the trade deadline, many knew there would be plenty of roster moves coming to incorporate their additions onto the team.

Their first one wasn't even involved in the deadline hysteria.

The Orioles promoted Jackson Holliday for his second stint in the Majors ahead of Wednesday's finale against the Toronto Blue Jays and he announced his presence in a grand way with his first career MLB home run.

If he is able to prove his time with the Triple-A affiliate following his first demotion helped him become a more prepared hitter at this level, then there's a good chance the superstar prospect will be with the team for the remainder of the year.

Following Jordan Westburg's injury, that seems more likely to be the case.

It was known that Livan Soto was the replacement for the injured All-Star after reports surfaced they were going to call him up, but Baltimore has made even more moves ahead of their opener against the AL-leading Cleveland Guardians.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/KGvRow6wL1

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 1, 2024

These slew of moves are filled with surprising decisions.

The first being star prospect Heston Kjerstad's demotion to Triple-A after his second stint in the Majors this season saw him hit .291 with three homers and 12 RBI across his 21 games and 55 at-bats.

Replacing him is Austin Slater, the veteran player just acquired from the Cincinnati Reds. He has a career .252/.342/.388 slash line and OPS+ of 102.

This news is going to be frustrating for fans who want to see the former Top 10 prospect, who has graduated from that status, start factoring into the team more and more, but perhaps the thought here is utilizing a better defender in Slater and someone who can hit left-handed pitching well.

A couple of other interesting decisions were to option Keegan Akin to the minors and designate recently acquired Cristian Pache for assignment.

Akin has been solid in his relief role, turning his season around after a disastrous month of May to post a 1.56 ERA in June and 3.21 during July. But with them activating Trevor Rogers and giving him the ball in Game 1 of their highly-anticipated matchup against the Guardians, someone needed to be moved to make room.

Pache struggled with the Philadelphia Phillies during his limited role, slashing .218/.302/.335 with an OPS+ 23 points below the league average.

He appeared in one game for the Orioles, going 1-for-3, but will now make way for Eloy Jiminez, who will primarily be used in the designated hitter role and bring another element of power to this lineup.