Sports

What do you think of the Orioles' trade deadline strategy?

Published

4 months ago

August 4, 2025

What do you think of the Orioles' trade deadline strategy?

Because of the trade deadline, we haven’t had a mailbag for a few days, and since we’ve gotten so many questions about the Orioles’ trades, we have an expanded edition of the mailbag this morning. We’ll be back to our normal time on Tuesday.

Question: Like many, wondering what in the world is the strategy here? Presumably, the Orioles want to be competitive for the postseason in 2026. So why get rid of three proven major leaguers — Bryan Baker, Ramón Urias and Andrew Kittredge, who were all under team control in 2026, in exchange for high school and Single-A players who won’t even contribute until 2028-2029, if ever? From: Joel

Answer: Joel, I was a bit puzzled, as well. The strategy for the Baker trade was to get an additional draft choice, and I think the Orioles thought that they were selling high. I was most puzzled by Urías because I think they’ll need a similar player for 2026. As for Kittredge, he has a $9 million option for next year and he could be a free agent if the Cubs don’t pick up that option.

The Orioles thought they needed to accumulate additional players they could use in trades in the offseason and at next year’s deadline in order to buy pitching.

Left unsaid was that the Orioles haven’t had good returns from their draft class in 2024, and they needed more prospects in the system. It’s a long-term strategy designed to keep the window of contention open as long as possible, and we’ll see how good they are next year.

Question: What’s your reaction/grades for these trades? From: John Kaiser

Answer: John, since I don’t know the farm systems of other teams well, I can’t offer a grade, though others who study the minor leagues think the Orioles did well.

I was surprised to find out they traded Kittredge and Urias, but once they did that, I thought that Ramón Laureano would be on the market, and he was. I fully expected they’d trade Seranthony Dominguez, Charlie Morton, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn and Gregory Soto. I also thought they would make a deal for Tomoyuki Sugano, but didn’t.

Question: Why did we bail on Ramón Laureano for prospects when we hope for a playoff run next year? From: Jim Vitak

Answer: Jim, Mike Elias said the Padres would not have given them six prospects without both Ryan O’Hearn and Laureano. They are particularly interested in Boston Bateman, a 19-year-old left-handed pitcher they received, and they needed to part with Laureano.

The guess here is that they’re going to be in the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder to replace Laureano in the free-agent market this winter.

Question: With this team now going with minor league players for the remainder of the season, do you think the team will continue to charge major league prices to see this stuff? From: Robert Austin

Answer: Bob, I received a similar question from Steven Cohen. Yes, they have a lot of inexperienced players, but they still have Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson.

I think they’ll spend aggressively in the offseason, and I don’t think they’ll lower ticket prices, especially since attendance has been down this season.

Question: Does one piece of this make sense? Are we looking to finish so poorly for a high draft pick? If Elias wanted to create his own team he could have, but he has no love or pride in our Birds. Our guys have played hard with not one single game with our full roster. Does that not matter to anyone? From: Alexandra Willems

Anwser: Alexandra, no one is questioning the team’s effort, and unlike a few years ago, the Orioles aren’t guaranteed a top pick if they finish with a poor record. A draft lottery was instituted to caution teams against tanking. All non-playoff teams are in the lottery, and it’s possible the Orioles could finish with, say, the fifth or sixth worst record and still get the top pick.

Question: Did the Orioles at least try to offer Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn extensions for two or three years? It’s not clear to me we have MLB-ready replacements/improvements for any of them. So we’re counting on trades or free-agent signings in the offseason, and hopefully avoiding the rash of injuries, especially to pitchers, we’ve had this year? Our recent track record in those areas doesn’t inspire confidence. From: Kevin Martin.

Answer: Kevin, I don’t believe that contract extensions to either Mullins or O’Hearn were offered. I think it’s possible that Colton Cowser wlll be the regular centerfielder in 2026, and Dylan Beavers could get a shot in the outfield.

The Orioles also wanted to give Coby Mayo a chance to play regularly, and even though he isn’t a left-handed hitter, this move should let him play more.

I expect them to be active this offseason in both the trade and free-agent markets.

Question: With all the latest trades of expiring contracts, everyone mentions that the O’s can re-sign them. Seems to me that it’s pretty rare that they go back to the team that just traded them.Does that often happen or is it rare? From: Barry Culman

Answer: Barry, it is rare, though I remember the Orioles trading Mike Bordick in July 2000 then re-signing him a few months later. Sidney Ponson was traded in July 2003 and re-signed with the Orioles a few months later.

The Bordick re-signing worked out well. The Ponson one was a disaster.

I would be surprised if any of those traded re-signed with the Orioles.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: [email protected]. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Sports

Cincinnati Enquirer names 2025 girls volleyball all-city teams

Published

55 minutes ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 10, 2025, 8:20 p.m. ET

The 2025 high school girls volleyball season brought two state championships to Cincinnati and a state runner-up to Northern Kentucky.

But more than that, the action on the court each night showcased some of the best talent each state had to offer.

Here are The Enquirer’s 2025 all-city teams for each division in Ohio, plus Northern Kentucky and Indiana.

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Pitt volleyball to host 2026 Opening Spike Classic

Published

1 hour ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Pitt volleyball will begin the 2026 campaign with two major tests, as the Panthers were announced as hosts for the Opening Spike Classic, featuring matchups against Kansas and Wisconsin.

The two-day event at Petersen Events Center will be televised nationally on ESPN and see Pitt play the Jayhawks Aug. 28 and Badgers on Aug. 30. Stanford and Wisconsin also play on the event’s first day, followed by the Jayhawks vs. the Cardinal on Day 2.

The Opening Spike Classic debuted last season with the Badgers playing host to matches featuring Kansas, Creighton and Texas.

“We’re excited to kick off opening weekend by hosting three of the best teams in the country,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said in statement. “Fans can look forward to high-level volleyball right here in Pittsburgh. If we want to be the best, we have to play the best, and we’re doing that right away.”

The No. 1-seeded Panthers (28-4, 18-2 ACC) host No. 4 Minnesota at 7 p.m. Thursday in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.

A win over the Gophers would propel the Panthers, who have advanced to the Final Four for the last four consecutive seasons, to the Elite 8, where they’d face the winner of the regional semifinal match between No. 2 SMU and No. 3 Purdue.

Next year’s Opening Spike Classic participants — Stanford, Kansas and Wisconsin — are all also currently competing for a national title.

No. 4 Kansas faces No. 1 Nebraska on Friday night, while No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Wisconsin square off in the afternoon.

The Opening Spike Classic is organized by PlayFly Sports in collaboration with JMI Sports, exclusive multimedia rights holder for Pitt Athletics.

“We are thrilled to be bringing this event back for a second year and to build on the momentum we created with the event launch last year,” said Michael Neuman, co-head of Playfly Sports Consulting. “The Opening Spike Classic is a celebration of women’s achievements in sports, and there is no better way to recognize that than by bringing together these top college volleyball teams to compete.”

Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.

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Nebraska Huskers Dominate All-Region Volleyball Honors

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1 hour ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bergen Reilly sets the ball to a slide attack. | Amarillo Mullen

Rebekah Allick (5) celebrates a Husker point in set two. — Bergen Reilly sets the ball to a slide attack. | Amarillo Mullen

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Pitt volleyball among four elite programs set for 2026 Opening Spike Classic

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2 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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Three Golden Knights Named AVCA All-Americans

Published

2 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association today released its 2025 AVCA All-Americans. Included in the list are three Gannon players – Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian), Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area), and Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson). It comes after Gannon had four honorable mention All-Americans a year ago, although all graduated.

The Golden Knights are currently in Sioux Falls, SD preparing for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Head coach Matt Darling‘s squad won its second straight Atlantic Regional to advance to the Elite Eight. Gannon is the number seven seed and will face No. 2 seed Concordia-St. Paul, the Central Region champion, at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Makenna Nold of Concordia-St. Paul was named the AVCA Division II Player of the Year.

Arslan is now a two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American after previously earning the honor in 2022. The native of Ankara, Turkey was earlier named to the AVCA All-Atlantic Region team for the second time and is also a D2CCA All-Atlantic Region selection.

Gannon’s setter was chosen the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and is now a three-time All-PSAC West selection. She was a first team choice in 2022 and 2025 and was named to the second team in 2024. In addition, she was the 2022 PSAC West Freshman of the Year.

Arslan enters the Elite Eight with has 1,3759 assists, the second-highest season total. In fact, she now owns three of the top nine season assists totals, in the process boosting her career total to 4,481 assists. That is also good for second all-time. She leads the PSAC in assists per set (11.18), good for 10th in Division II.

She also stands second on the team in service aces (46) and third in digs with 298. She now has 1,140 career digs. She is tied for seventh in career service aces (175), along with seventh in sets played (457) and tied for eighth in matches played (128).

Atwell and Wake are first-time AVCA All-Americans, with Atwell the force at the net and Wake emerging as Gannon’s top hitter. Both were previously named first team AVCA All-Atlantic Region performers and second team D2CCA All-Atlantic Region selections. They were both also named to the All-PSAC West first team.

A 6-foot-3 middle blocker, Atwell leads the Golden Knights with 105 blocks, with team highs of 28 solo blocks and 77 block assists, while tied for in kills with 260. She ranks ninth in the PSAC in blocks per set. The junior also leads the team in hitting percentage at .333, good for fourth in the PSAC. She has moved up to fourth in career blocks with 365.

Wake entered her junior season with 82 career kills but the 5-foot-11 middle blocker has exploded for a team-high 347 kills and is second in hitting percentage at .298. She is also third in total blocks with 66 and fifth in digs with 133.

All three players were named to the Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team last weekend.

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Becker, Marusak and Stow Earn All-American Accolades

Published

3 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M’s Emma Becker, Currie Marusak and Taytum Stow earned the highest honor a Division II volleyball student-athlete can receive on Wednesday as the trip of Lady Buffs were tabbed All-Americans.

Stow was named a Second Team honoree by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with Becker and Marusak claiming Honorable Mention accolades. Stow was also named to the D2CCA Third Team All-American squad.

Becker earned her third straight AVCA All-American honors as the Liberty Hill, Texas product registered 348 kills with a .212 attack percentage to go along with 17 assists, 10 service aces, 266 digs and 65 total blocks for a total of 396.5 points to average 3.51 per set. Becker was a First Team All-Lone Star Conference selection.

Marusak becomes the 33rd All-American in WT Volleyball history as she led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs during her senior campaign in 2025. The Amarillo High School alum had a team-best 410 kills on 1,008 swings for an attack percentage of .254 to go along with 14 aces, 282 digs and 49.0 blocks for a team-leading 452.0 points to average 4.00 per set as she was named to the All-Lone Star Conference First Team as well as the LSC Championship All-Tournament Team.

Stow, the three-time Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year, became one of the top players in Division II Volleyball during her storied career. The Hereford, Texas product is now a four-time All-American as she set new school all-time marks in total blocks and solo blocks this season while leading the Lady Buffs to the program’s 32nd NCAA Tournament. Stow tallied 290 kills with an attack percentage of .396 to go along with 19 service aces, 72 digs and an incredible 155 total blocks to average 1.37 per set.

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