The Baltimore Orioles shocked the baseball world with a very early trade with the Rays. The O's sent reliever Bryan Baker to Tampa in exchange for the #37 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft which now gives Baltimore the highest bonus pool in this year's draft. Now that the Orioles have made their first round picks, we understand a bit more about their thinking behind the trade.
Heading into the draft, the rumor mill was saying that Baltimore was looking at college power bats with their early picks. That makes sense given the Orioles' draft history under Mike Elias despite the organization's very, very obvious need for more pitching depth.