The Orioles worked on Tuesday night to continue their rebuild, finalizing a deal that would send closer Zach Britton to the American League East-rival New York Yankees, according to an industry source.
The trade wasn't complete Tuesday night, according to the source, but was close to being done.
The package the Orioles would receive is anchored by right-handed pitching prospect Dillon Tate, according to a source. Tate, who was scratched from his scheduled start for Double-A Trenton on Tuesday, is the Yankees' ninth-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 6 on Baseball America's Yankees top prospects list.
The Orioles would also receive two Triple-A pitchers, right-handed reliever Cody Carroll and left-handed starter Josh Rogers, from the Yankees, according to multiple reports.
Moving Britton, who is the organization's longest-tenured player after having been drafted by the team in 2006, is the next step in the Orioles' fast-moving rebuild in the days before the non-waiver trade deadline. The Orioles traded franchise cornerstone Manny Machado to the Dodgers on Wednesday for a five-player package centered around 21-year-old Cuban outfielder Yusniel Diaz.
But making a major trade with the Yankees marks a different direction in philosophy. The Orioles have steered away making deals with division rivals _ the 2014 trade of left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez to the Red Sox for lockdown left-handed reliever Andrew Miller was an exception _ but since the Orioles are long out of contention and Britton is a pending free agent, the Orioles jumped at the opportunity to raid the Yankees' prospect-rich farm system.
The 24-year-old Tate was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, selected by the Rangers out of UC-Santa Barbara and then traded to the Yankees with two other prospects for Carlos Beltran. Tate is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA with Double-A Trenton, allowing just 67 hits over 82 2/3 innings while posting three times as many strikeouts (75) than walks (25).
The Orioles' trade discussions on Britton accelerated Tuesday, with the Yankees and Houston Astros emerging as front-runners to acquire the two-time All-Star. The Arizona Diamondbacks were also in discussions with the Orioles as of Tuesday, but by late Tuesday night, an agreement with the Yankees had been made.
As Britton began to show his old form of 2016, when he recorded one of the most dominant seasons of any reliever, the interest in him grew from contenders looking to bolster their bullpens. Besides the Yankees, Astros and Diamondbacks, the Orioles were in discussions with the Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies regarding Britton.
Britton entered Tuesday's game against the Red Sox having recorded eight straight scoreless outings while holding hitters to a .125 batting average over that span and showing increased velocity.
And now acquiring Britton makes the majors' best bullpen even better. The Yankees' 2.75 bullpen ERA entering Tuesday is No. 1 in baseball, and Britton and his power sinker will add another dynamic to a late-inning mix that also includes power arms Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, David Roberton and Chad Green.
The Astros had also long coveted Britton, and the Orioles were close to moving Britton to Houston as last year's trade deadline, but deal fell apart in the 11th hour.
Now that the Orioles have moved both Britton and Machado, the focus turns to the team's other two pending free agents, center fielder Adam Jones and right-hander reliever Brad Brach.
The Orioles have also received interest in controllable players like second baseman Jonathan Schoop, right-hander Kevin Gausman, right-hander Dylan Bundy and right-handed reliever Mychal Givens. While it's unclear whether the Orioles would be willing to trade those pieces, they are listening to offers.
