The Baltimore Orioles have a few tough decisions to make ahead of the trade deadline this season. They came into the year with high expectations, but haven’t lived up to the hype.
As a result, they aren’t competitive ahead of the trade deadline, which means they will likely be sellers this month.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden recently put together a poll of MLB executives around the league in order to get a better understanding of what to expect at the trade deadline. This group of executives seemed to predict the Orioles would look to trade pitcher Zach Eflin in the coming weeks.
“Eflin was just placed on the injured list (back discomfort), which will be a red flag at the trade deadline,” Bowden wrote. “It’s his second time on the IL this season. How he recovers and pitches between now and the end of the month will likely determine if he gets moved. He will be a free agent after this season and is making $18 million. Eflin, 31, is 6-5 with a 5.95 ERA over 12 starts.”
It makes sense for the Orioles to trade Eflin. He’s been injured a few times and has struggled this season. With the righty sitting on an expiring contract, it makes perfect sense for him to be moved from the struggling Orioles roster.
But it might not make sense for any contending team to look to add him unless it believes he can turn his struggling season around.
With an ERA near 6.00, it’s hard to imagine the Orioles will have contending teams calling to bring Eflin in.
Still, there might be a team in the league willing to take a flier on the righty if the price is right. At the end of the day, it’s an idea that would benefit Baltimore a lot, but it’s unclear if it would benefit the team landing Eflin.
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