Baltimore Orioles Falling Future Star Can be Kansas City Royals Trade Target

The Baltimore Orioles began to show some signs of life at the end of May and into June, with some people wondering if they were finally turning their season around.

However, the harsh reality, even after the successful run, is that the playoffs were a long shot. With losses in two games in a row, the Orioles are 14 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East race and 8.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins, who hold the final wild card spot in the AL.

With six teams between them and the Twins, it is a monumental obstacle to climb to be back in the postseason.

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The most likely outcome is that Baltimore is sellers this year, and it is something they should embraces.

With a few tweaks to the roster in the winter and the right managerial hire to bring it all together, this is a squad that could be contending again as early as next year.

There are a lot of pieces to like as the core of the roster and they could bring back even more long-term assets by trading away a few of their veterans who are on expiring deals.

Designated hitter/first baseman/corner outfielder Ryan O’Hearn, center fielder Cedric Mullins and starting pitcher Zach Eflin are the most popular names on the rumor mill.

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Relief pitchers Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto are both on expiring deals as well and could be dangled with contenders always on the lookout for bullpen help.

Another name that could be mentioned in some trade rumors, in the opinion of Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), is outfielder Heston Kjerstad.

The former top prospect was mentioned as a potential trade target for the Kansas City Royals, who are on the lookout for some corner outfield help.

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The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft performed at an incredibly high level in the minor leagues, making his professional debut in 2022 and reaching the Major Leagues for the first time in 2023.

Through 249 minor league games and 1,130 plate appearances, Kjerstad had a .304/.387/.524 slash line with 42 home runs, 61 doubles, 11 triples, 153 RBI and eight stolen bases.

Unfortunately, that level of success has not translated to the Big Leagues, where he has struggled to produce.

Across 313 career plate appearances, he has a lowly .218/.284/.365 slash line with 10 home runs, eight doubles and two triples.

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He was recently optioned back to Triple-A in a roster shake-up and it could be time for the Orioles to consider trading him.

His value isn’t anywhere near as high as it once was, but a change of scenery could do him some good, as something just isn’t clicking with Baltimore.

A trade to the Royals would give him a clearer path to more consistent playing time, which has been unattainable thus far with the Orioles.

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