For Orioles, trade deadline, Jackson Holliday's return reflect reality: 'We want to go all the way'

BALTIMORE – In a sense, Tuesday was the day Baltimore Orioles fans anticipated for at least five years, perhaps decades, depending on their perspective.

For the first time, Baltimore landed at the trade deadline with almost every box checked that a contender could desire:

First place in the American League East. A wildly talented major league roster. A seemingly endless trove of blue chip prospects. And an ownership group that, while not boasting bottomless pockets like their second-place rivals, at least would not bungle the process with ham-handed oversight and onerous limitations.

So, when these Orioles, over the course of five days leading to Tuesday’s deadline, emerged from the fracas with a pair of mid-rotation starters, some bulk buys for the bullpen and a trio of backfilling platoon outfielders, there might have been temptation to call it a disappointment.

Was this the club that won 101 games last year, got swept in the AL Division Series by the eventual World Series champions, cashed in a trade chip to rent former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and looked to be as all-in as a mid-market club awakening from a slumber can be?

All things Orioles: Latest Baltimore Orioles news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

No, the additions of durable right-hander Zach Eflin and bounceback lefty Trevor Rogers won’t create that impression. Phillies bullpen castoffs Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto’s impact won’t be known until there’s an October chill in the air. And outfielders Cristian Pache, Austin Slater and distressed White Sox asset Eloy Jimenez might not, in the aggregate even, make fans forget about traded franchise stalwart Austin Hays.

Yet the dirty trick of the trade deadline is getting caught up in shiny new toys and overlooking what you already have.

And what these Orioles have is a 64-44 record, a looming dogfight with the New York Yankees for a second consecutive title, three All-Stars 26 or younger and another prospect trio − infielders Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo and catcher Samuel Basallo − that executive vice president Mike Elias admitted Wednesday morning were virtually untouchable.

Tuesday afternoon, Elias went through his first true separation anxiety as the Orioles’ head of baseball operations. Two of his draftees, outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby, were used to fetch Rogers from the Marlins. Another trio of unpolished gems were shipped to Tampa Bay to import Eflin.

In an ugly trade-deadline market already short on impact stars and flooded with buyers, that looked like success. And zooming out just a tad, Elias believes bringing most of the gang back for October will result in a far better outcome.

“I think our team quality is better this year,” says Elias, acknowledging that falling short of 2023’s 101 wins might not create that impression. “The talent on this team and the impact on this team and the experience level of young players on this team is higher. This team is a better threat this year, the way it’s constructed, the way our guys are playing.

“The ball’s gotta bounce and the chips gotta fall, but I think this team can get really deep in the playoffs. And we want to go all the way.”

Indeed, the Orioles are past the point of celebrating high-water organizational marks as they recover from three 100-loss seasons between 2018 and 2021. They’re supposed to be optimized, cold-blooded killers at this point.

Yet Wednesday afternoon, the day after the deadline, was a reminder that this burgeoning baseball machine can achieve now and maintain viability later.

'This is a big chance for him'

As Stowers and Norby got shipped out Tuesday afternoon, Holliday had a feeling: His big league window was reopening.

The team’s most hyped prospect this century – arguably moreso than two-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman – was going on four months of a Class AAA apprenticeship he hoped to avoid, and that prospect heads figured wouldn’t happen.

Yet Holliday, who does not turn 21 until December, was overwhelmed in his first taste of the major leagues, with just two hits in 34 at-bats and 18 strikeouts to two walks. He went quietly back to Norfolk, where other Birds in waiting – Stowers himself, Heston Kjerstad and others – counseled him on how to grow but also get back to Baltimore.

And Wednesday morning, the Orioles slotted him into the eighth spot in the lineup, with Norby’s trade and the dynamic Jorge Mateo’s elbow injury dictating that the Orioles didn’t just want him up – they needed him up.

Holliday didn’t necessarily need humbling. But he will be plenty wisened as the Orioles dip the game’s consensus top prospect right into the pennant race pressure cooker – and hopes there’s no return trip to the minors.

“This is the best league in the world. I definitely got shown that,” says Holliday on Wednesday. “I feel like I’m definitely more prepared than I was last time.

“It’s definitely my goal this time, to be able to come up here and help this team win and hopefully make a long playoff run.”

Hours later, Holliday showed just how big a part of this can play.

Homerless in his 36 at-bat April audition, Holliday got that goose egg off his stat sheet in style Wednesday, crushing a slider from Toronto Blue Jays reliever Yerry Rodriguez 439 feet, onto Eutaw Street, for a grand slam. It iced the Orioles' finale of this four-game series and prompted Holliday's first curtain call in the big leagues.

The onramp is there for many more moments in the autumn to come.

Elias rued the loss of Mateo, who suffered his injury last week in a collision with All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson, but believes the next great rookie is ready in his second go-round.

“This is a big chance for him,” says Elias of Holliday, whose career minor league OPS is .928 after the Orioles made him the first overall pick in the 2022 draft out of an Oklahoma high school.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on him. This is a time period in which he has some runway in front of him, because of the vacancy we have at second base right now.”

Holliday took the schooling to heart, producing a .928 OPS and hitting 10 homers in 346 plate appearances at Norfolk. He’s also seen the business side of the game, too: He started the year rooming with Kjerstad and Norby at spring training.

Now, Norby is a Miami Marlin and, Wednesday afternoon, Holliday's role became less want and more need. All-Star second baseman Jordan Westburg suffered a right hand fracture in the plate appearance preceding Holliday's grand slam in their 10-4 victory. The Norby trade and Mateo injury means second base is almost exclusively Holliday's, with Mayo - who has a .944 OPS at Norfolk - likely to be summoned for a chance to take over the third base job.

Yep, the big leagues move pretty quickly, but Holliday is determined to slow things down.

“Just going to enjoy it. Enjoy being here. Being present,” he says. “I felt like last time was a blur.”

Hustle and cash flow

You could forgive Elias for saying the same. His year began under the longtime rule of the Angelos family, whose instable leadership was on full display a year ago as the team false-started several times on a Camden Yards lease extension. Controlling partner John Angelos then abruptly sold the team to a group led by private equity guru David Rubenstein in January.

The deal was finalized just before Opening Day. While adding Eflin from Tampa Bay might not be a big deal to fans or observers, that ownership willingly took on his $18 million salary for 2025 – while giving Baltimore rotation stability this year and next – was a pretty big deal.

“We took on Zach Eflin’s $18 million happily,” says Elias, “because he’s a really good pitcher and he’s going to be a big part of our rotation this year but also slides right into the top of it next year. We attach value to that.

“These guys took over the team at a really unusual time, right at opening day. This was the first real opportunity they had to show a willingness to improve the roster. They certainly gave us what we needed to explore everything.”

The next steps will be fascinating. The Camden Yards lease extension loosened up $600 million of funds for renovations, and the club distributed a survey to fans asking what sort of high-end amenities they might or might not prefer.

The great ol’ yard will be a little more of a cash cow, at a time Rutschman and Henderson’s windows to explore possible contract extensions are narrowing. Oh, the core will be around until at least 2027.

In the interim, Rubenstein hopes to restore Baltimore firmly into baseball’s middle class, yet Elias is already sending signals of pragmatism.

“I think the ownership group is going to maximize the potential of this franchise,” says Elias. “This is not New York City. This is not Los Angeles. But it is a really good baseball town, with an extremely passionate and historic fan base and a beautiful stadium that we are not only going to renovate but hopefully monetize a lot better in the next few years.

“These guys are great businessmen, they’re great investors and augmenting the health and economic engine of this franchise is going to enable us to be super competitive on all those fronts. I would emphasize competitive, because we’re competing against 29 other cities, some a lot bigger than this one.

“We’re going to run this franchise optimally. I think that’s the most direct way I can say about what we’re going to be able to do in the next few years. I think it’s going to be great, but I think it’s going to be case-by-case.”

Translation: The purse strings will be loosened, but the Brinks truck will not have a permanent parking space at the Warehouse.

That’s OK, for the moment. The Orioles will dive headlong into a playoff field filled with flawed teams, and their quest for consecutive East titles will likely come down to a three-game battle in the Bronx in the season’s penultimate series.

And perhaps that’s the biggest gain not just in this small window of a singular trade deadline, but the Orioles’ six-year saga orchestrated by Elias: That greatness is the expectation, and for the foreseeable future, their reality.