Orioles GM Mike Elias makes playoff declaration after trade deadline fire sale includes Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward

The Baltimore Orioles were busy at the MLB Trade Deadline, but it was a complete fire sale. Orioles general manager Mike Elias traded away Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, and Tyler Wells.

While it was a sell-off from the O’s, Elias still believes the team can contend for a playoff spot this year, per Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun.

“We’re going to be playing for the postseason the rest of the way,” Elias continued. “I think our activity today, in a lot of ways, put us in a position to continue that quest. As I said before the deadline, the reality is that our record and the odds that come with that record were not strong enough for me to go into the deadline with 2026 as the sole focus. We had to start looking at future years and take those into account as we assessed moves. But we did not dismantle the team. We still have a very good team and a very good rotation, and we’re going to keep grinding.”

Based on WAR, the Orioles traded away three of their top five players. Ward had a 2.4 WAR, while Rutschman was at 1.8, and Wells at 1.6. The team is currently 54-58 on the year, which places them 12 games out in the AL East. Still, the team is 2.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild-card spot in the American League. Regardless, there are three teams between the Orioles and Guardians in the league.

“The future is strong, and I think it starts right now,” he said. “I want to see this team have a really strong second half. We’ve got the rotation for it. We’re going to get a little bit healthier on the offensive side. We should have Blaze [Alexander] coming back soon. I think Chris Bassitt’s coming to join the rotation here, the way things are looking. And so, we plow ahead. Having a losing record at the trade deadline and being more in the seller column at the trade deadline is not what we want, and it’s a disappointment. In that sense, it’s something that we need to do better.”

The Orioles did bring in two top pitching prospects in the Rutschman trade, which was enough to convince the O’s to move on from their catcher.

“It had to be something that we were overwhelmed by, and we were,” Elias said. “But it was the right thing to do for us to make this trade. It’s going to benefit us in the future, but I think it’s also going to benefit us now and in the immediate term.”

The Orioles will play their first post-trade deadline game on Tuesday night, as the Los Angeles Angels come to town.

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