Why the next month could be the most telling stretch since the Orioles' rebuild began.
Between another top overall pick and a trade deadline where they could further put off contending, the Orioles' first winning month in five years is followed by their most important.
Long before the Orioles’ winning June, they had a .500 July back in 2019 that was not at all like the rest of that miserable summer.
Mike Elias was asked after that month’s trade deadline whether itmeant anything for the rebuild, and he rightfully said it was not occasion to “announce that we’ve turned a corner.”
A lot has changed in nearly four years, as it should have. The definitely-not-bad Orioles are 37-44 and right on track with the internal hope that they’d interesting this year, and given what that could mean for the future, it sets them up for a July that could say much more about where they are in relation to that corner from all those summer ago than anything else.
In the next four weeks, the Orioles have what they must imagine will be their last No. 1 overall pick of this project, and a trade deadline that could be their most fruitful of all. Every summer, both occasions represent major parts of the Orioles’ efforts. Now, they represent tentpole decisions that dictate a lot of what the actual progress to taking this team to contention will look like.