Baltimore Orioles Trade Pitch Nets Potential Ace for No Elite Prospects

The Baltimore Orioles would be making a great trade if this proposal went down.

Jul 4, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Rogers Centre. / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff has been derailed by injuries, losing three starters to season-ending surgery. Due to their injuries on the mound, the expectation around the league is for the Orioles to make a move at the deadline to improve their rotation.

Rumors have suggested they have interest in Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, and others. While they could land either one of those arms due to having the best farm system in baseball, Baltimore could also opt to improve their depth on the mound instead of going for star power.

If they can land mid-tier arms instead of the top of the top, they might be able to add more than one, which could be the better solution with all of their injuries.

In a proposed trade from Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball, they'd be adding a high-level arm without giving up too much talent.

Finkelstein's trade proposal would move Jud Fabian and Juan Nunez for right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt.

"In this proposed trade, the Orioles are sending top prospect Jud Fabian to the Blue Jays as the real headlining piece to get the deal done. Ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the Orioles system prior to the start of the 2024 season, Fabian would likely be a top-10 prospect in most other systems."

Making this trade wouldn't move any of the Top 10 prospects in the Orioles' system. That allows them to either make other trades with those prospects or continue letting them grow and use them when the time is right.

Baltimore doesn't really have a bad decision to make here. They either go all in and move some of their top prospects, or they make marginal moves, which could still put them over the top and keep the best pipeline in Major League Baseball.

However, one could argue that now is the time to go all in.

The Orioles clearly have a chance to win the World Series, and unless something drastic changes in the next few weeks, there's no reason for them not to be aggressive.

Prospects are awesome to have, but at the end of the day, they're just that until they get traded or make an impact at the big league level.

With plenty of young talent already in the Majors, it's also tough to find a place for many of them to play.

With that in mind, they shouldn't be worried about moving them if the right package comes their way.