Orioles trade 1 of the 5 prospects they picked up from the NY Mets last summer

The New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles were thinking on the same wavelength last summer. The two ball clubs managed to make a pair of trades, first swapping Gregory Soto for a pair of minor leaguers. On the day of the MLB trade deadline, the Mets sent them three more prospects for Cedric Mullins.

The two rentals on the Mets roster weren’t the missing pieces. Will any of those five prospects end up as stars on the same roster as Pete Alonso? One of them definitely won’t because the Orioles traded him away on Thursday.

Infielder Blaze Alexander was traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Orioles for three players, including Wellington Aracena.

The Orioles added another branch to their Gregory Soto trade with the Mets

Aracena is no pushover. A combined 2.35 ERA in 92 frames last year in A-Ball and High-A working primarily as a starter makes him a bit unique because of how hard he can throw. Aracena certainly has the leeway to drop into more of a relief role if he struggles. For now, he’s one of those prospects who seemed to have grown into his abilities after a few years of struggling.

Now 21, several lesser seasons prior to 2025 likely had the Mets failing to buy fully into his abilities. He had a 7.30 ERA in 2024 with more than a walk per inning. Command will be his make or break quality.

New MLB Pipeline rankings aren’t out for 2026 just yet, but in the meantime, he ranks 25th in their system. It’s around where he ranked within the Orioles.

There’s a lot to like about Aracena. Luckily for him, there hasn’t been any sort of a smear against his work ethic like there was for the highest rated Mets prospect dealt last summer, Jesus Baez. Keith Law didn’t hold back in that assessment.

The Orioles-Diamondbacks trade is one of the more unique ones we’ll see all offseason. Alexander is a below-average hitter in his mid-20s while Kade Strowd, the major leaguer involved in the deal, is coming off of a successful 25-game stint with an ERA below 2.00. The fact that it required two additional prospects from Baltimore to acquire Alexander adds a layer. The Orioles must like Blaze Alexander more than the people in every comment section discussing the trade.