Hyde preps for a change in makeup
As O’s get act together, the trade deadline looms
PHOENIX — Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has his club in its best stretch of the season at a time when the makeup of his team could drastically change.
With baseball’s trade deadline looming Wednesday, the Orioles’ most frequent refrain during this rebuild is that they’re looking to add talent to the organization however they can. They plan to add that talent even if it means further dismantling the high-end portion of a roster that’s low on such players.
Hyde has already lost veteran starter Andrew Cashner to the Boston Red Sox, and with names such as Mychal Givens, Trey Mancini, Dylan Bundy and Jonathan Villar figuring to draw at least some interest around the game, he’s facing the possibility of change head-on.
“It’s not hard to focus on it because I’m aware of it,” Hyde said before Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. “I know that there’s a possibility of anything happening. I know that our intentions are to get as many good players in this organization as we possibly can. We have such a long road ahead of us. We have a long way to go to be competing for a division, so I know that we need players. I know that we’re trying, and [executive vice president and general manager] Mike [Elias] and [assistant GM] Sig [Mejdal] are trying to get as many players into this organization as possible.
“With that comes possible trades and possible movement, and if that hurts the big league club, that’s possible also. I’m not shying away from that.”
Anything that hurts the major league club would come as the Orioles are playing their best baseball, at least relative to themselves. Entering Wednesday’s loss, they were 10-10 in the previous 20 games, with just three wins in their preceding 20.
At 32-69, they no longer have the worst record in the majors. The Detroit Tigers are 30-67.
For many of these Orioles, this July is a scaled-down version of last year’s teardown, when months of speculation turned into two frantic weeks of trades starting at the All-Star break. They watched as Manny Machado, Zack Britton, Brad Brach, Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop all went off to contenders.
There’s less uncertainty this year, especially about the Orioles’ aspirations. They’re trying to contend years down the road, not next year, so even players under mediumterm control such as Mancini, Bundy and Givens could be moved for the right package.
Hyde said he far prefers being involved with teams that are adding this time of year instead of subtracting, but the key is not letting it impact performance, even in a low-stakes season like this.
“I think it’s just a very, very normal situation,” Hyde said. “You see it on TV, it’s what you read. I think guys are just aware, and our job is to put it out of your mind when the game starts and you go play and compete. Our guys have done a great job of that the last couple of weeks.
“I think veteran guys are obviously more aware, then you see it happen with Cashner. Veteran guys are a little more in-tune to it because they’ve been through the process before. I think younger guys, maybe not so much. But they’re learning it. It’s not a secret that there’s going to be moves made throughout the league. You show up, and you prepare, and you compete every day.”
Mancini, for example, homered for the fifth time in his past seven games Wednesday, breaking out of his post-All-Star-snub slump in a big way.
Bundy returned from the injured list with a quality start Tuesday. Givens has allowed just three earned runs with 19 strikeouts against four walks in 13 innings since getting the ninth-inning role back in early June.
The Orioles would be far worse without any of them, and the infield depth behind someone such as Villar isn’t great either. But the same way the Orioles rotation opened after Cashner’s trade — for the likes of Asher Wojciechowski, Aaron Brooks and Tom Eshelman — could happen at other spots, Hyde said.
“If you lose somebody, you give opportunity, right?” Hyde said. “Those types of guys are going to get an opportunity to start and pitch. You’re hoping they can step up and fill the void.”