Baltimore Orioles Made Massive Mistake When They Gave Up on All-Star Reliever

The Baltimore Orioles gave up on a relief pitcher and it has come to look like a huge mistake in retrospect.

Sep 9, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tanner Scott (66) delivers against the Kansas City Royals in the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles traded away a struggling reliever back in 2022 and it has already proven to be a huge mistake.

MLB's David Schoenfield recently went through each team's moves from the last few years to find their worst mistake since 2020.

Schoenfield admitted that the Orioles' being in such a good spot with a young roster has been done by avoiding making many mistakes. One move stood out enough to be called out, though: trading Tanner Scott to the Miami Marlins back in 2022.

It was ranked at the very last spot on the list, so it wasn't that bad, but has still not worked out well and could have saved some headaches in 2024.

Scott had been in Baltimore for a few years and had been inconsistent, but showed some flashes of potential.

During the pandemic-shortened 2020, for instance, he posted a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched. A year later, and with a much larger sample size, that number rose all the way back up to 5.17.

The Orioles decided they were ok cutting ties with the closer and banking on any value he had, trading him to the Marlins before the 2022 season.

Baltimore received a draft pick in exchange for Scott and Cole Sulser. That draft selection went on to become outfielder Jud Fabian.

Starting with Scott, he has quickly become one of the best closers in the league and would have solved a massive issue they faced this season.

The 30-year-old is coming off of his first ever All-Star campaign after posting a 1.75 ERA in 72 innings pitched. He had a 1.125 WHIP and 10.5 K/9 this year.

He finished the campaign before with a 2.31 ERA, so he has actually become fairly consistent rather than just a fluke breakout.

The Orioles could actually bring him back to the team this offseason, seeing as though he hit the open market, but didn't need him as much as they would have last year.

It is impossible to account for injuries when making moves, but losing Felix Bautista for all of 2024 certainly hurt more without Scott.

Baltimore would have been saved from dealing with Craig Kimbrel and had a solid closer all year long.

Fabian, the outfielder they drafted instead, has yet to make his MLB debut. He did hit Triple-A last season, but struggled heavily at the plate.

The 24-year-old posted a .215/.305/.390 slash line with 20 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Perhaps he can still develop into a player that was worth it, but it hasn't panned out so far.

In retrospect, they likely would not make that deal again, if given another chance.