MLB Insider Outlines What the Orioles Should Do at the Trade Deadline

The Baltimore Orioles took three-of-four from the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend to move into first place in the American League East.

The O's have the best record in the American League, lead the division by 2.0 games and continued a run that has put them in baseball history.

With the impending trade deadline looming on August 1, MLB Insider Jim Bowden of 'The Athletic' discussed what he thinks the team should about adding starting pitching.

You can read the entire article on the trade deadline here, but this answers the Orioles specific question:

If I’m the Orioles, I’m not trading any of my top prospects for a rental, period. This team is built to be successful for the next three years in what has been the toughest division in all of sports and I’m not mortgaging that future for a single season, especially at the beginning of my contention window. However, I would be targeting starting pitchers such as Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery of the Cardinals and Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn of the White Sox. I wouldn’t waste my time with the Angels on Shohei Ohtani or the Cubs on Marcus Stroman because the price tags are too big for those rentals. My trade bait for the type of pitching targets I’ve identified would start with the prospects in the 11-20 range of their system, like left-hander Cade Povich and third baseman Max Wagner. The Orioles are loaded with third-base prospects so Wagner could be expendable in this type of move. In terms of the infield logjam, I’d embrace it, not look to eliminate it.

Lynn is 6-9 this season with a 6.18 ERA while Giolito is 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA. The 27-year-old Flaherty is 7-6 with a 4.39 ERA and Montgomery is 6-8 with a 3.37.

The Orioles visit the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday. First pitch is 6:40 p.m. ET.

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