The Orioles exited the All-Star break with hopes of getting back into the playoff race. The way they’ve played since has forced everyone — the players, the front office and the fan base — to realize that goal isn’t realistic any longer.
Baltimore (47-58) has gone 4-6 to open the second half and is now 8 1/2 games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League. As a result, the front office’s fire sale has begun, as general manager Mike Elias has already traded relievers Bryan Baker and Gregory Soto.
Ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, here’s the Orioles reset:
What was good?
Trading Tomoyuki Sugano makes a ton of sense. Whether a contending team wants him is the question.
Sugano was the Orioles’ best starting pitcher through his first 12 starts of his MLB career with a 3.04 ERA. But his ERA rose after each of his next seven starts as MLB hitters began to adjust to the 35-year-old’s pitch-to-contact repertoire. His 7.88 ERA severely diminished his trade value and potentially removed it entirely, especially considering the underlying metrics tell a concerning story for a pitcher who struggles to generate swings and misses.
However, Sugano’s outing Sunday against the Colorado Rockies was one of the best of his big league career, striking out an MLB-career-high eight batters across six innings of one-run ball while displaying a firmer-than-usual 94.5 mph fastball. He’s tossed a quality start in two of his past three outings after he also did so July 10 against the New York Mets.
“I’ve experienced good times and bad times, especially the past month,” Sugano said after Sunday’s win through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “June, I went through some struggles, but I can overcome that moving forward.”
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said Sugano has spent the past few weeks working with Baltimore’s pitching coaches on adjustments that helped unlock some extra velocity and keep hitters off-balance. Does Mansolino think Sugano should be an attractive target for contending teams at the deadline?
“If they watch the last three starts, yeah, I’d take that,” Mansolino said. “I felt pretty good about it. If you watched that Mets start, I’d take him. In a heartbeat.”
Sugano is one of the most decorated pitchers in Japan history, but he wanted a new challenge and came over to MLB this offseason on a one-year, $13 million deal with the Orioles. Mansolino said Sugano has assimilated to a new country, a new league and a new clubhouse “very gracefully.”
“Players love him,” Mansolino said. “He is so well-liked in that room. The players mess around with him, he messes around with his teammates.”
What clubhouse will he be joking around in a week from now?
What wasn’t?
When Félix Bautista took the mound July 20 in Tampa, Florida, it was clear immediately that something was off.
The 6-foot-8 closer hasn’t fully regained the triple-digit velocity he consistently flashed before his elbow injury, but he’s been throwing high 90s mph for most of the past two months. But when he entered for the save versus the Rays, he was initially throwing 94 mph — a concerning number for someone who was averaging about 98 mph.
Bautista hasn’t pitched since. As he began to warm up Wednesday in Cleveland, Mansolino said the right-hander reported that “something didn’t feel right.” He was placed on the injured list the next day with shoulder discomfort, and the team has yet to provide additional details. This could be simply a minor injury and Bautista will be back shortly. But until that’s known, the concern level will always be high for a pitcher as important as Bautista.
What’s next?
The best team in baseball is coming to town.
Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays have the best record in baseball. The red-hot Blue Jays (63-43) have won eight of their past 10 and 18 of their past 23 to decidedly move atop the AL East standings.
The O’s and Jays will play four games in three days with a doubleheader Tuesday because of a rainout in April. Zach Eflin will start Monday and Charlie Morton will take the ball for one of the games Tuesday in what could be both starters’ final outing in an Orioles uniform with the deadline looming.
On the farm
Samuel Basallo missed six games because of a minor oblique injury, but he proved he’s plenty healthy when he returned to the field Friday for Triple-A Norfolk.
Basallo went 5-for-5 on Friday with a homer and then hit a 107.8 mph single off the right field wall Sunday. The 20-year-old top prospect is hitting .280 with an impressive 1.009 OPS in Triple-A this season.
Mansolino said Saturday that the Orioles’ front office has a “plan in place” for the rest of Basallo’s campaign, which could include a promotion later this year. Only a select few in the organization are privy to those details, but the slugger’s performance is making it more difficult to envision this season ending without Basallo in the show.
Extra innings
• Coby Mayo has spent most of July on the bench, starting only three of the Orioles’ first 15 games of the month. During that time, the top prospect has been working on his swing and making changes, Mansolino said. It appears Mayo has narrowed his batting stance, remaining taller throughout his swing. Other changes include slightly opening his stance and lowering his back elbow. He’s started four of the past six games, going 4-for-10 with two doubles, a home run, four walks and zero strikeouts. “He’s making a real adjustment,” Mansolino said. “When you see guys make changes … it gives the coaching room a lot of excitement and a lot of belief.”
As Coby Mayo has spent most of July on the bench, he's been working on his swing & making changes.
It appears Mayo has narrowed his stance, remaining taller throughout his swing. He's also slightly opened his stance & lowered his back elbow.
Left is from May 31. Right is today. pic.twitter.com/GI0Rwy8xWx
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) July 27, 2025
• After Gunnar Henderson made two web-gem defensive plays Sunday, his skipper praised the shortstop’s improvements defensively — no matter what the metrics say. Last year, Henderson made an AL-worst 25 errors, but advanced metrics defensive runs saved (5) and outs above average (0) were more favorable. This year, Henderson has drastically cut down on the errors, making only seven in 91 games, but his DRS and OAA (entering Sunday) are both at minus-4. “There’s no way anybody in the room thinks he played a better shortstop last year than he did this year,” Mansolino said. “Man, you’ve got to watch the game, too. … This is one of the better versions of Gunnar we’ve ever seen at shortstop.”
• The deadline for MLB teams to sign their draft picks is Monday at 5 p.m. The Orioles have signed 20 of their 24 draftees, including all of their picks in the first 10 rounds. Junior college right-handers Daniel Lopez (12th round) and Brayan Orrantia (14th round), high school outfielder William Johnson (18th round) and JUCO shortstop Jimmy Anderson (19th round) have yet to sign.
• With Adley Rutschman and Keegan Akin expected to rejoin the Orioles on Monday, Ryan Mountcastle and Cade Povich might not be far behind. Mountcastle is crushing the ball on his minor league rehabilitation assignment, going 6-for-12 with four extra-base hits in three games last week for Norfolk. Povich, who tossed five innings of two-run ball Thursday, will start again for the Tides early this week, but the left-hander could be a top candidate to rejoin the rotation after the deadline.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.