Hours after stating the Orioles wouldn’t be a definitive buyer or seller ahead of Monday’s trade deadline, president of baseball operations Mike Elias extended one of his best relievers and dealt away his longest-tenured starting pitcher.
Prior to Friday’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia, Baltimore announced a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension with right-hander Yennier Cano that ended any speculation that the 2023 All-Star selection might be moved to another playoff contender. And not long after the dramatic comeback victory over the Phillies to finish off their best month of baseball in more than two calendar years, the Orioles traded struggling right-hander Dean Kremer to Minnesota for 18-year-old minor-league outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes.
The last remaining player acquired as part of the Manny Machado trade in 2018, the 30-year-old Kremer was coming off the worst start of his career when he allowed eight earned runs in a 14-0 loss to Detroit on Tuesday. It’s been a very frustrating season for Kremer, who surprisingly began the season at Triple-A Norfolk and then missed more than two months with a quad injury. In seven starts in 2026, Kremer owns a 6.50 ERA and had registered only one quality start since making his return from the injured list on July 1.
Prior to this season, Kremer had been a league-average starting pitcher from 2022-25 with a respectable 3.95 ERA and averaged just under 150 innings per season over that stretch. He had one year of club control remaining and was making $5.75 million this season, which means the Orioles will save roughly a third of that.
Reyes was the 24th-ranked prospect in the Twins’ farm system, according to MLB.com. The Dominican native batted .296 with seven home runs, 44 RBIs, and a .950 on-base plus slugging percentage playing in the Florida Complex League and had recently been promoted to Single-A Fort Myers.
The 32-year-old Cano has had an impressive rebound campaign from a poor 2025 by pitching to a 2.15 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. He tossed a scoreless eighth inning in Friday’s win over the Phillies.
8Cano was acquired from Minnesota in 2022 as part of the Jorge Lopez trade and emerged as a terrific bullpen piece a year later as the Orioles won the AL East and registered their first 100-win season in 43 years. He entered Friday with a career 3.78 ERA over five major league seasons.
“Yennier has been outstanding for us both on and off the field since his arrival in 2022,” Elias said in a statement. “He has blossomed into one of the game’s most reliable and consistent relief pitchers. We are proud of all the hard work he has put in alongside our development team and are pleased he and his family will remain in Baltimore.”
The Kremer deal is unlikely to be the only trade made by Elias over the next few days with many in the industry speculating about the status of outfielder Taylor Ward, starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, reliever Andrew Kittredge, and even All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. Ward, Rogers, and Kittredge are scheduled to become free agents after the season while Rutschman has one remaining year of club control.
