How Baltimore Orioles Could Have Traded for Ace at Deadline

The Baltimore Orioles were one of several teams that were interested in a west coast ace last month.

Aug 2, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) smiles as he takes a post game interview after throwing a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles, ultimately, helped their rotation by trading for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zach Eflin.

But, it could have gone differently, had the Orioles been willing to meet the cost the San Francisco Giants were seeking for left-hander Blake Snell.

A recent piece in the New York Post revealed that, indeed, the Giants were listening on potentials deals for Snell. In fact, the Orioles were one of a half-dozen teams that “checked in” on Snell, most of which have World Series aspirations.

But, the Giants never moved him. And the two-time Cy Young winner had trade value after an injury-riddled first half of the season. In his last seven starts he is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA.

In his first start after the trade deadline, he threw a no-hitter, as if to show those teams what they missed out on by not making a move for him.

But, Snell’s rise allowed the Giants to up the price, and that’s one reason why Snell didn’t move. The Giants were looking for a package that included a Top 100 prospect. The New York Yankees didn’t bite, as they took their top outfielder prospect Jasson Dominguez off the market.

The O’s didn’t either. To get Eflin, Baltimore traded pitcher Jackson Baumeister, along with outfielders Matthew Etzel and Mac Horvath.

The Orioles also dealt a couple of top prospects, including Connor Norby, to Miami to acquire pitcher Trevor Rogers.

But, as the Post pointed out, not a single Top 100 prospect across baseball was dealt at the deadline. It’s not just the Orioles that were unwilling to meet the price.

The Post outlined a second reason, and it possibly explains why the Orioles were willing to deal for Eflin and not Snell.

Snell is with the Giants on a two-year deal, the result of a tepid free-agent market for a long-term deal. He and his agent, Scott Boras, got San Francisco to pay him most of his 2024 salary up front in the form of a bonus. The team that acquired him would not have owed him that much the rest of the season.

But it was 2025 that scared many of the teams off. He’s due $30 million and has the right to opt out of the deal and test free agency again. Many of the teams that checked in were worried they might only get two months from Snell.

Given how he’s pitched the last month, two MLB general managers told the Post that only a “catastrophic” or “debilitating” injury would keep Snell from exercising the option.

So the Orioles got Eflin, who has one year remaining on his deal and allows the Orioles to make a major play for starter Corbin Burnes this offseason.