Baltimore has acquired a draft pick for reliever Bryan Baker
The Baltimore Orioles have traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for the Rays’ competitive balance draft pick, #37 overall.
This is a little early for trade deadline moves to be getting made, although the Orioles, at 40-50, have been massively disappointing this year. The Rays, meanwhile, are currently holding onto the second Wild Card spot, but have had issues with their middle relief of late, meaning that Baker fills a need. In addition, since the return is a draft pick, the deal was going to have to be made by Sunday, when the first round of the draft kicks off.
Baker was originally an 11th round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies in 2016, and was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 as part of the Seunghwan Oh trade. The Orioles claimed him on waivers after the 2021 season.
Baker has a 3.52 ERA and 3.95 FIP in 38.1 innings over 42 appearances so far this season. For his career, he has a 3.70 ERA and 3.40 ERA in 177.1 IP. He has three years of team control remaining after this year.