3 mid-level Orioles prospects the Mets should start scouting in a potential trade

An emerging trade partner for the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles have already lost a couple of starting pitchers for the season. They’ll undoubtedly look to add some pitching to their roster at the trade deadline. The Mets have a couple of arms for Baltimore to consider.

Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, and Luis Severino could all be matches for the Orioles in a trade. Even David Peterson or Tylor Megill could be of some interest to them. The more seasoned veterans are on expiring contracts with only a player option tacked onto Manaea’s contract, none are a long-term commitment nor an expensive endeavor for the Orioles. It shouldn’t even cost them a huge prospect to obtain any of them.

Rather than waste our time at the top of the list of top Orioles prospects, we can jump down to somewhere in the middle. This probably isn’t the territory where Quintana would factor in as his value is much lower. The Mets could use a variety of positional upgrades in their farm system. Fitting those descriptions, these three mid-level Orioles prospects are worth some binoculars and a radar gun. It’s time to start scouting them if they haven’t already.

1) Max Wagner

Ranked as the 14th-best Orioles prospect, Max Wagner is a third baseman who also plays some second base as well. The Mets don’t need any more second basemen in the pipeline. Third base, on the other hand, could benefit from some added depth. Brett Baty has failed to capture the position at the MLB level. We should still have our doubts about Mark Vientos being able to play the position even if his bat appears MLB-ready. He remains a better fit as a more regular first baseman or DH.

Wagner was a second round pick of the Orioles in 2022. He batted .239/.342/.405 last season with 13 home runs and 27 stolen bases. This season has been much worse for him. Wagner is batting .151/.247/.256 in 97 plate appearances. The frightening numbers won’t have any Mets fans requesting him as the lone piece added in anything but a Quintana trade.

Despite the struggles, scouts remain hopeful Wagner could turn into a starting major leaguer or possibly a platoon player. His defense is described as “capable” which is a more than acceptable phrasing for a potential third base option for the Mets. Add in some flexibility to play second base and Wagner isn’t such a bad addition to the farm system.

Verdict: Wagner might be best paired with a lower ranked prospect having a good year to balance his bad one.

2) Leandro Arias

Falling one spot behind at number 15 on MLB Pipeline’s list of top Orioles prospects, Leandro Arias is 19-year-old infielder now in A-Ball after graduating from the FCL. For sure a work in progress, speed and a quality eye at the plate have been two of his better attributes as a professional ballplayer. Through 38 games this season, Arias has walked 19 times and struck out 26.

A .274/.383/.484 slash line with 12 doubles and 4 home runs in his first 149 plate appearances doesn’t immediately jump out. Truly, it’s the ability to get on base that makes him the most intriguing.

Like a lot of young players, Arias’ main position is shortstop, but the Orioles are trying him out at other spots. His defense hasn’t been strong. Errors aplenty have followed him. Listed at 6’1 and 155 pounds, he’s a teenager still growing into his major league frame.

Arias could fall into the same file as last year’s trade deadline deals for Marco Vargas and Jeremy Rodriguez. Although not high-profile players, they quickly made their mark in the minors for the Mets. Arias is the kind of kid you’d trade an inferior player for or have paired with a similar lower level prospect. The Orioles should view him as expendable.

Verdict: Arias and a similar prospect or two might be a decent haul for any of the available Mets pitchers.

3) Trace Bright

One more spot down the list is Orioles’ 16th ranked prospect, Trace Bright. A pitcher and fifth round pick from 2022, Bright has an appropriate name for a prospect. He’s in Double-A this season with a major league ETA of 2025. Through 13 starts with the Bowie Baysox, Bright is 0-7 with a 4.08 ERA. All of the offense seems to be in the majors or Triple-A for the Orioles right now.

The Orioles haven’t been shy about feeding him innings. He logged 99.2 last season in what was his first full professional year. A 3.97 ERA came out as the end result of it as he advanced from High-A to Double-A.

Profiled to be a back-end rotation guy, one notable element for him to work on was his command. He walked batters at a rate of 5.1 per 9 last season. He has successfully dropped it to 3.6 per 9 in 2024. The strikeout numbers have fallen off slightly but spending more time at a higher minor league level could explain why it went from 13.3 per 9 down to a still impressive 10.2 per 9. He has tamed his wild pitches as well, going from 17 last season down to 3 so far this year.

Where Bright has struggled more than walks is the number of hits allowed. Averaging more than a hit per inning and owning a 1.50 WHIP might have him lingering on the outskirts of ever being in the major league plans for Baltimore. He’s expendable right now for them. Bright could be a good project for the Mets to throw into their lab.

Verdict: Bright and an average minor league bat makes sense to swap for one of the available Mets arms.

This article was originally published on risingapple.com as 3 mid-level Orioles prospects the Mets should start scouting in a potential trade.