IBC

Orioles traded Cam Collier, Caleb 24-Bonemer, 2025 Draft Pick 78 to Yankees for Cam Schlittler, Esteban 23-Mejia

Tremendous amount of arm talent going out the door for me. Schlittler flew up the prospect charts last year and dominated in the post-season. He's a tremendous young arm who is a critical part of the Yankees rotation moving forward. Mejia has not entered a top 100 list, but he is almost unanimously considered one of the top pure arms in the minors. Just 19, he caught everyone's attention by absolutely overwhelming rookie ball and holding his own in A ball. He's got to throw more strikes, but the stuff is straight filth.

The big get for me is Bonemer. There was upside when he was drafted, and he did everything he could to prove his backers right. He does everything you want out of a modern hitter - he has a good game plan at the plate, he hits the ball really hard, and he pulls it. He's got to elevate the ball more and he's got to establish himself at 3b, but if he progresses on those in the upper minors this season, he could be a top 10 prospect. Collier was another exciting get for me. While he's probably a 1b now, I think this is a good buy low moment on him. He had a write off 2024 (injury), but still flashed all the tools that made him a top 100 player. He's still young, and he has had periods of excellence, but he's got to start hitting. Hartshorn is really fun, too. Injuries positively forced Hartshorn to become a switch hitter in high school and he has become pretty dynamic from both sides of the plate (natural righty). He is young and almost definitively not a center fielder, but the bat speed and raw power from both sides of the plate gives him a pretty high ceiling.

BlueJays traded Payton 24-Tolle to Yankees for Ryan 24-Waldschmidt

Waldschmidt is probably one of the only people I had not even put into one offer this off-season. While he probably won't win a batting title or hit 30 homers, he'll probably make $300 million playing baseball because he's really, really good at it. While no plus-plus skills, he flashes plus across the board. He's a no doubt first division player who wouldn't shock if he made a few all-start teams. Having that high a floor in a rebuild is really nice...

...but I just had to bite on Tolle. He's a fun personality who has maybe the best fastball in the game in baseball, much less for prospects. He ground minor leaguers into the ground before struggling a bit at the MLB level. He really needs one of two things to happen to be a consistent, all-star starting pitcher; 1) Have one of his two breaking pitches pop to plus, or 2) Improve his command a half grade. His floor is dominant MLB closer, but he has time on his side to to work on those two opportunities...and he is really impressing in Red Sox camp. All in all, too fun to pass up.