After the trades that removed four veterans from the Orioles' pitching staff, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias assured the moves were less an indictment of the club’s present than an effort to improve its future.
In many cases, it’s benefited both. The four deals — Richard Bleier to the Miami Marlins, Tommy Milone to the Atlanta Braves, Mychal Givens to the Colorado Rockies and Miguel Castro to the New York Mets — each created the opportunity for a younger pitcher to step into a new role, either in the Orioles' rotation or the back end of their bullpen.