The Baltimore Orioles will need to address their rotation ahead of the MLB trade deadline on July 30 if they hope to make a real run at a World Series in October.

With John Means, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells all on the injured, two of which have season-ending injuries, the focus went from upgrading around the edges of the roster to needing an impact move.

Acquiring a starter in the current market won’t be cheap. Only a handful of clubs are currently sellers and only a few more may be a month from now. The starting pitching market is thin, therefore, the prices will be high to acquire talent that may not make an impact beyond this season.

According to  Jim Bowden, the Orioles could find some respite with the New York Mets and their starter Luis Severino.

“Kyle Bradish is back on the IL with a UCL sprain, and that should make the Orioles pivot from the bullpen to the rotation as their top trade priority,” writes Bowden. “Luis Severino is a perfect fit based on his past experience in the AL East with the Yankees…”

“In return, the Mets would acquire Trace Bright, a fifth-round pick in 2022 out of Auburn who is one of the Orioles’ top pitching prospects. He has a 3.91 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 53 innings this season with Double-A Bowie, but has work to do with his delivery, command and control (1.472 WHIP). In addition, the Mets would get outfielder Jud Fabian, who has slashed .241/.316/.462 with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs in 199 at-bats in Double A. He is expendable because of the plethora of outfield prospects the Orioles rate above him.”

As Bowden points out, Baltimore would be dealing from a position of excess and strength, so it wouldn’t break the proverbial prospect bank. But they would be getting a starter who owns a 3.12 ERA with a 4-2 record through 13 starts this season.

That’s nothing to scoff at when trying to rebuild a rotation midseason. Whether or not the prospect haul is enough to get the job done for New York is another matter entirely.