CLEVELAND -- Ramón Laureano’s been here before.
In 2023, he spent most of July navigating around trade rumors before he was eventually designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics, then ended up being claimed by the Cleveland Guardians.
Laureano's name has once again been a mainstay in trade rumors this year thanks to the Orioles’ struggles as a team and his status as an impending free agent.
And, as he showed on Monday at Progressive Field, Laureano's doing everything in his power to make sure his second tour through the Trade Deadline trenches ends a bit better.
“It’s not the first time I’ve seen my name in rumors but I’ve never gotten traded, so it is what it is,” he said.
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After going 1-for-10 across the Orioles’ three-game series against the Rays, Laureano collected two big hits early against his former team. That wasn’t enough for the Orioles, however, as they opened their series against the Guardians with a 10-5 loss. They now sit at 44-55 with 10 days left before the Deadline.
“He’s been doing it all year,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said.
Laureano is now slashing .280/.343/.511 this season with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs, marking the most RBIs he’s recorded in a season since his breakout 2019 season with the Athletics.
“He’s been so good and plays with a lot of passion and energy,” Mansolino said. “That’s been him all year.”
Laureano’s success on the field is twofold for the Orioles. If the Orioles do decide to sell at the Trade Deadline, every home run, RBI and strong play in the outfield increases the impending free agent’s value.
And, if the Orioles continue to string wins together and decide to keep their team the same, then he can continue to be an anchor in the middle of their lineup.
“You see your name out there [in trade rumors] and [hear about it] from your parents, but nothing has really changed,” Laureano said.
Laureano wasn’t the only potential Baltimore Trade Deadline chip to be a key part of Monday’s game, though he may have been the only one who helped his case.
Ryan O’Hearn went 0-for-4 one day after smashing a key home run against the Rays, Cedric Mullins also never reached base in any of his three at-bats, and Tomoyuki Sugano struggled on the mound.
Sugano, who is on a one-year, $13 million contract, failed to get out of the fourth inning and allowed a career-high four walks in the no-decision. His start imploded from the jump thanks to José Ramírez’s game-tying three-run home run in the first inning, but he was able to rebound in the second inning and get out of a bases-loaded jam.
After the game, Sugano said that he was going to go back to the drawing board to figure out if the amount of hard contact he gave up could have been due to him tipping anything (the first three balls the Guardians put in play were all greater than 103 miles per hour).
“I feel like they’re putting a pretty good swing on it so I’m going to talk to my pitching coach,” Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sakurai.
Even though the loss dropped the Orioles further back in the postseason race, the 35-year-old was emphatic that he didn’t want to go anywhere else at the Deadline.
“Not at all,” Sugano said. “I really want to stay with this team and win with this team. I had that mentality going into this game as well and I’m looking forward to the same thing.”
It remains to be seen if he’ll have the same Trade Deadline fate that O’Hearn and Laureano seem destined to have. While O’Hearn had a rough evening (which included an error and an ejection), he’s still in the middle of a career year, while Laureano is working on a renaissance season.
But that doesn’t take away the sting of losses like Monday. While there are plenty of things that will be out of the roster’s control over the next 10 days, Mansolino wants his team to keep things simple.
“I feel like we’ve played well [lately] and have blown some close games, but when I watch the guys out there they’re competing,” he said. “I think if we compete regardless of the guys we have, we’re going to be just fine.”