Birds Watcher

The Baltimore Orioles made Heston Kjerstad the second pick in the draft in 2020 out of the University of Arkansas, but his career hardly got off to the typical start. He didn't play in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and then missed all of 2021 recovering from myocarditis he got as a result of contracting COVID. The 6'2'' lefty made his organizational debut in 2022 at age 23, where he demolished Low-A but struggled in 43 games at High-A.

A recent injury update regarding the potential return of Orioles' utility man Blaze Alexander is coming at just the right time for Baltimore. According to the club's injury report, he is headed for a rehab assignment by the end of the week. Blaze Alexander (hand) doing some pregame work on the field. He said he’s hoping to be back off the IL for the #Orioles’ series @ the A’s (Aug. 28-31).

It hasn't been the season the Baltimore Orioles envisioned when they made a big splash to sign Pete Alonso over the offseason. The young core the organization was hoping would take a step up hasn't, and unfortunately, it resulted in them selling at the deadline. Lucky for the Orioles, the American League has been extremely uncompetitive this season, and even four games under .500 at 61-65 (as of Aug. 19), they are only 1.0 game out of the third Wild Card spot.

By all accounts, the Baltimore Orioles made out like bandits during this year's trade deadline. The team had a number of desirable assets on their roster and plenty of teams willing to meet their asking prices. But no other deal made quite the splash as the decision to trade away fan-favorite player Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox for a significant haul of valuable prospects.

Former Orioles' outfielder and first baseman Trey Mancini announced his retirement on Instagram Tuesday morning. The 34-year-old spent eight seasons in MLB, six of which came with Baltimore. Mancini called out Baltimore in his retirement post, saying, "I am blessed to have made a home in the Orioles organization for ten years." He would go on to write, "To every fan, especially those in Birdland - your support over the years has meant the world to me.

A few seasons ago, Gunnar Henderson looked like a player headed towards elite status. He won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and finished eighth in the MVP voting. The following season, he finished fourth in MVP voting, putting up an 8 win season. In 2024, his OPS was almost 900. The arrow was definitely pointing up. Then, 2025 came. Gunnar missed most of spring training due to an oblique injury and missed the first week of the season.

While the battle of WAR rages on across baseball, specifically when it comes to the MVP races in both the American League and National League (and Rookie of the Year), the Baltimore Orioles were simply waiting for resolution to the Adley Rutschman trade. Things escalated quickly between the Orioles and Boston Red Sox on deadline, considering intial rumors pointed to the New York Yankees being the suitor for Rutschman.

The impression has been that the shipped has sailed for the Baltimore Orioles and Gunnar Henderson working out a contract extension, and nothing that has transpired this season has changed that feeling. After an offseason that turned heads with the additions of Ryan Helsley, Pete Alonso, and Shane Baz, no one would have suggested the outcome at the deadline would have been trade involving Adley Rutschman. Especially one that had him sent to the Boston Red Sox.

The Baltimore Orioles trading Adley Rutschman was a stunning admission of failure from a front office that has spent the last eight years trying to convince everyone that they were the smartest people in the sport. As much as the trade hurts, the admission of failure is a good thing. If Mike Elias and his front office are not going to be fired for screwing up their rebuild and wasting eight years, then the next best thing is for them to admit they failed and try something else.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Baltimore Orioles made a couple of moves ahead of the trade deadline that didn't exactly sit well with a large portion of the fan base. And whenever you trade your franchise catcher to a division rival, that is to be expected. But because of all the attention spent on Adley Rutschman packing his bags for Boston, a few of the club's other moves may have slipped under the radar. Now, will any of these understated moves transform the O’s into late-season favorites?