Insider Hints at 'Endless' Possibilities for Orioles Ahead of Trade Deadline

The Baltimore Orioles can go many different directions ahead of the trade deadline as they figure out how they want to construct their roster going forward.

Jul 27, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias reacts on the field before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the All-Star break, the Baltimore Orioles might have needed that prolonged stretch of days off more than any other team around the league.

They limped into the Midsummer Classic, looking like a much different team than the one that had dominated the majority of the season and emerged as a top team in baseball.

It was clear their starting pitching injuries had caught up to them, but the worrying thing was their once vaunted offense was neutered by opposing staffs for a prolonged period of time.

Coming out of the break, the Orioles were able to showcase their supercharged lineup, putting up nine and eight runs in back-to-back games against the Texas Rangers to secure their first series victory of the second half.

But after scoring only two in the finale of that matchup, Baltimore's bats have continued to be quiet during the first two games against the Miami Marlins, scoring only three runs twice in consecutive 6-3 losses.

With the trade deadline less than a week away, all of a sudden there seems to be more areas the front office might have to address than initially thought.

That's why Jeff Passan of ESPN thinks there are multiple ways the Orioles could attack things.

"Maybe they do something big. Maybe they go small and bet on their superior talent. Maybe they make room for Coby Mayo or Jackson Holliday or both with a deal. Maybe they do all of it. The possibilities for Baltimore are endless," he writes.

There have been separate reports that Baltimore is kicking around the idea of trading away veteran outfielder Cedric Mullins and even moving their slugging first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

While this sounds like something strange for a contending team to do, it would allow general manager Mike Elias to recuperate assets as he simultaneously ships out some of his top prospects to put together a blockbuster move that lands a starting pitcher.

In theory, this would allow the Orioles to turn things over to Jackson Holliday in the infield and move Jorge Mateo to the outfield as someone to replace the departure of Mullins. Coby Mayo has been getting more and more reps at first base in the minors, something that has been viewed as preparation for him to replace Mountcastle.

Baltimore putting together a trade that lands Garrett Crochet or Tarik Skubal while also inserting Holliday and Mayo into the Major League mix would be a lot of the fanbase's dream scenario.

But there's also a chance Elias approaches things conservatively.

Maybe he goes out and adds some back-of-the-rotation arms to make sure they get into the playoffs relatively unscathed. Then, they would rely on their superior talent to get hot at the right time.

That is certainly a possibility.

Either way, the Orioles have the capability of being the biggest winners of the trade deadline this season depending on how aggressive they're willing to be.

Like Passan said, the possibilities of what they can do are endless.