The Baltimore Orioles traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays for the No. 37 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, the clubs announced Thursday.
The 2025 selection the Orioles received from the Rays is a competitive-balance pick during Sunday's draft. The slot value for the spot is $2,631,400, according to MLB Pipeline, which means Baltimore now has the largest bonus pool of any team at $19,144,500.
The Orioles now have four (!) first-round picks and seven total picks on Day 1 of the 2025 MLB draft:
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) July 10, 2025
No. 19 (actual 1st rounder)
No. 30 (comp pick for Burnes)
No. 31 (comp pick for Santander)
No. 37 (CB-A pick from Rays)
No. 58 (2nd round)
No. 69 (CB-B pick)
No. 93 (3rd round)
Baker said he was shocked to find out about the deal when he addressed the media in the clubhouse after saying goodbye to his teammates.
"It's been everything," Baker said when asked about the four seasons he played with the Orioles, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. "They gave me an opportunity to get established in the big leagues."
The 30-year-old right-hander authored a 3.52 ERA with 1.10 WHIP and 49 strikeouts over 38 1/3 innings this season for the Orioles. He sits in the 85th percentile in fastball velocity with an average of 96.7 mph and is in the 93rd percentile for strikeout percentage, which should help a Rays bullpen that ranks 17th in baseball with a combined 1.7 fWAR.
Baker is arbitration-eligible through the 2028 campaign.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias called the trade "a step in that direction" of looking past this season, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN. Baltimore has occupied the AL East basement for the majority of the campaign after making the playoffs in 2023 and 2024. The executive added the team isn't planning to rebuild and expects to contend again in 2026.
Elias noted that the club wasn't shopping Baker but the value of the Rays' offer was too good to turn down, per Jake Rill of MLB.com.
