It had been obvious for quite some time that the Orioles were going to bail on this season and trade away the veteran nucleus of the team, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that the full magnitude of the long-anticipated rebuild hit home.
No one was surprised when shortstop Manny Machado and closer Zach Britton got traded. They were going to be free agents in a couple of months. Same with reliever Brad Brach. But second baseman Jonathan Schoop and starting pitcher Kevin Gausman are in their mid-20s and both were under club control for at least next season before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves, respectively.