The Orioles barreled towards the trade deadline this year in a much different place than they have been over the last few full seasons. The team’s 10-game winning streak in July was enough to lift them into genuine contention for one of the wild card spots in the American League. The calendar has turned to August now and the Orioles are 1.5 games out of a playoff spot.
For a team that was deep in the basement of the league last year, it’s quite a transformation. Not only is there surprise hope for this season, now there can be even more hope that next year’s Orioles team will be better than this from the get-go.