Baltimore Orioles Trade Deadline Preview

The Contract Situation

The Orioles have been very active in recent years in giving out big contracts to their core players, with Jones, Davis, and J.J. Hardy chief among them. The additions of Jimenez, reliever Darren O’Day, and starter Yovani Gallardo through free agency also required a good amount of cash. Those six are the major contracts the club has on its books beyond 2016, which means some big decisions are on the horizon for Duquette.

The biggest of all will be Machado, who many reports say could command upwards of $400 million on an extension. He’s among the best players in all of Major League Baseball and only 23 years old. While he still has two arbitration years remaining and can’t become a free agent until 2019, Baltimore will make it a priority to get him locked far before that.

Britton likewise is at the end of his contract and has two arbitration years remaining, while Tillman has only one such year remaining. Both are 28 and smack in the middle of their primes, so it makes sense to think that extensions are on their way.

Other decisions will have to be made with Mark Trumbo, who is having a resurgent all-star caliber season, and Matt Wieters, both of whom will be free agents at the end of the year. Both players are 30, and should command good money on the open market.

With the Orioles in contention, no moves that deplete talent from the big league club are going to be made. While players like Trumbo, Wieters, and Pedro Alvarez could draw interest from other teams as half-season rentals, it is much more likely that they will remain with the team through the end of the season. Any trades Duquette manages to make will have to involve the farm system.

Next: Down on the farm.