Just stop the Mayo pipe dream conversation. We're not getting a player that's a top 20 prospect in baseball in a trade for anyone not named Justin Steele.
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If they really wanted him as their biggest need we have the prospect capital to balance the trade. Caissie and Taillon would be overpaying. Alcantara and Taillon just might work.
Have to disagree solely for the situation.
The earliest an INF spot will open in Baltimore is 2027 unless they trade Ryan Mountcastle, which is entirely possible but likely wouldn’t bring a significant return
And they also have two divisional rivals going after the same pitcher
And Veel is very close to Mayo in ranking
Teel was mentioned as possible for Taillon + others. They are both big time prospects, but Mayo is definitely one tier higher. Like top 10-20 vs top 25-50 consensus.
So I'll revise the statement, we're not getting someone like Mayo for Taillon without throwing substantially more in the trade from our end. Teel or Mayo would be awesome additions, depending on what the "plus" is in a potential Taillon plus more trade.
Agree, there's no reason to trade Taillon unless you net this type of return. 2.5 years of control has value.
I could see the Orioles just wanting pitchers. They are pretty deep in minor league system with position players and could plug any position holes by retaining guys like Mountcastle, Hayes, OHearn or Santander.
Taillon and relievers like Leiter or Lopez or Neris (Cubs eat salary), etc. might be an acceptable trade for Mayo. The O's leverage relievers have seen a lot of innings so far this season and I'm sure they are concerned current guys might wear down.
I initially thought it was crazy but I've kind of changed my thinking. You have to figure the Orioles know their competitive window isn't huge. You can't possibly plan to keep Henderson, Rutschman, Kjerstad and Holiday long-term. You've got some solid prospects that realistically probably don't have a solid path to the majors in the next 1-2 years. Being a small market, do you push all your chips in for a 2 year run? Not maybe as crazy as it seems.
It's still crazy. Why wouldnt they plan to keep most of those guys? Angelos was notoriously cheap, but they are under new ownership. They can extend them if they want. If not, for a small market team it'd be typical to trade your current stars right before they get expensive and plug the cheap talent in. So the next wave of guys in the minors would be the ones you'd plan to keep.
Or if you're going to deal from prospect depth and really maximize the window, they would go for a Skubal instead of a Taillon. Cheaper, higher-end talent, cost more but if you're dealing from a glut of depth that may not be relevant.
Very possible they would deal him, it's just not going to be in a trade for only Taillon.
That's why Alcantara is the perfect compliment. Top 50ish guy and you move the clock back a bit.
My guess is Mayo has come up in conversations because the Orioles just randomly announced today that Mountcastle and Mullins are available
Mountcastle makes a lot of sense for O's to trade. OHearn has been very solid this year with good power and timely hitting. O's might prefer OHearn and (Mayo or Kjerstad or Rutschman) as 1B/DH solution in 2025.
Just for clarity, both Taillon and Skubal are free agents after the 2026 season. Skubal will require the Orioles unload their entire farm. Taillon would require a single top prospect.
In a vacuum, I would 10 times out of 10 take Skubal over Taillon.
But Skubal does not extend the Orioles window, he shrinks it because he will drain that farm.
Using FanGraphs and the guy from MLB Network predicting trading for Skubal would cost Kjerstad and Holliday, the Orioles would go from the #1 farm system to #12.
Meanwhile, Taillon + a top 11-20 prospect from the Cubs for Mayo would drop the Orioles to the #2 farm, while the Cubs would become #1.
Meanwhile, Taillon + a top 11-20 prospect from the Cubs for Mayo would drop the Orioles to the #2 farm, while the Cubs would become #1.
If the O's trade Jackson Holiday as part of Skubal trade, they wouldn't blow up their farm system. They have a group of young position players like Mayo, Cowser, Kjerstad, Stowers and Norby who have some MLB experience or at AAA. Just a question if O's new ownership is willing to spend to keep guys like Rutschman, Henderson, Westburg, Rodriguez, etc.
If a few of prospect position players pan-out, it would make sense to spend big on a frontline arms like Skubal and Burnes.
Agree - Only knock for the O's is they likely aren't going to get anything significant in return for Mountcastle. Most teams with postseason aspirations already have a 1B or would demand better results with the bat.
no but the belief is that it’ll take another top prospect in the system WITH Holliday
They have a glut of corner OF hitters among Cowser, Stowers, Norby (also 2B) and Kjerstad. So they could package: Holiday and OF prospect.
They would trade guys like Mountcastle, Mullens, Hayes, Mateo or Urias for relief pitchers or AA level prospects.
Very true, and neither Boog or JD have done well setting him up or asking questions either.
That was a gross third strike call against Suzuki. That ump has to do better. Took away his chance to force Rea to come in with a strike with a full count.
