Coming into this offseason, general manager Mike Elias and the rest of the Baltimore Orioles decision makers likely know they have to make another splash if they are going to backfill the departing production that is expected to happen.
With Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander likely playing for different teams in 2025, the Orioles will need to replace their best starting pitcher and hitter from this past campaign.
They are no stranger to pulling off headlining moves, though.
Last winter, Elias was able to land Burnes in the first place when he packaged two of their top prospects to bring in the former Cy Young winner who was everything they envisioned this year.
What Baltimore does during this cycle will be seen, but if they are more focused on the offensive production they might lose, then Zach Pressnell of FanSided has put together a blockbuster trade idea that would bring in a star slugger to the mix.
In his proposed deal, the Orioles would land Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox while giving up a package of outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., outfielder Jud Fabian, and pitcher Juan Nunez.
“Robert would be expensive, but adding his combination of power and speed to the Orioles lineup would be exactly the top-of-the-lineup production that this team needs,” Pressnell writes.
This trade would make a ton of sense for Baltimore.
Not only is Robert an elite power hitter with a career .267/.316/.474 slash line and 117 OPS+ that really only took a hit because he was injured this past year, but he’s also a plus-defender in center field with a defensive bWAR of 2.8 and a Gold Glove Award under his belt.
Yes, the Orioles would be giving up some of their top prospects since Bradfield is No. 4 in their pipeline, Nunes is No. 8 and Fabian is No. 11, but based on how their roster is currently constructed, this might not be a major hit.
Since both Bradfield and Fabian are outfielders, there is already a difficult pathway for them to get real playing time with Baltimore, especially following the emergence of Colton Cowser. And with Heston Kjerstad looking poised to take over after his prolific minor league career, the corners could be locked down for a while.
Nunes is an exciting pitching prospect, but with him only reaching at the High Single-A level this past season, he likely won’t be a factor for the Orioles until at least one more year.
Getting Robert, who’s signed to a contract through 2025 with club options the next two seasons, would be a great addition for this team looking to bring a different element into their lineup after they failed to produce runs each of their last two playoff appearances.
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