When a team acquires a player at the trade deadline in order to bolster the team for the playoff chase and the playoffs themselves, and that player lands on the 60-day disabled list in mid-September, it's safe to say that trade didn't quite work out. That's where the Orioles stand with Steve Pearce, who will be getting season-ending surgery to repair flexor tendons in his right arm.
Pearce, whom the Orioles acquired from the Rays in exchange for catching prospect Jonah Heim, was batting .309/.388/.520 at the trade deadline, and he seemed to be a player who might be able to fill a role the Orioles needed: A bat actually capable of hitting left-handed pitching.