The Baltimore Orioles were never going to shock anyone by selling at the trade deadline. Their season had unraveled long before July rolled around, and moving veterans on expiring deals was the obvious course. So when Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano were shipped out, fans barely blinked. Both had been productive, but neither was seen as part of Baltimore’s long-term plans.
The stat lines, however, tell only part of the story. What slipped under the radar wasn’t just production lost from the lineup, but the void left in the dugout. Numbers can be replaced, at least on paper.