CLEVELAND – Austin Slater is leading off for the Orioles tonight in a right-handed version of their lineup.

Ryan Mountcastle is batting second. Eloy Jiménez makes his first start as the designated hitter. Coby Mayo is at third base.

Adley Rutschman is on the bench. Jackson Holliday stays at second base.

Zach Eflin makes his second Orioles start after allowing three runs and 10 hits in six innings against the Blue Jays in his debut. His only career start against the Guardians, on Aug. 13, 2023, was a struggle as he gave up six runs and nine hits in three innings. Andrés Giménez homered.

Eflin has never pitched at Progressive Field.

CLEVELAND - The Orioles held their usual pitchers and hitters meetings prior to the first game of a series. Name tags would have been a smart idea.

Starter Trevor Rogers and outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater were activated early this afternoon, and infielder Livan Soto was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles optioned outfielder Heston Kjerstad and left-hander Keegan Akin, placed infielder Jordan Westburg on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand, and designated outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment.

Pache lost out to Slater, who can provide more offense as a career .252/.342/.388 hitter. Akin, on the club since Opening Day, is one of the few optionable relievers on the club and became expendable despite his 3.34 ERA and 0.971 WHIP in 56 2/3 innings.

“This is kind of normal for a post-deadline day when you get some new faces in the clubhouse,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “A lot of our guys who have been around for a while now are kind of acclimated to it and understand it.

“I think the guys who have come in here, talked to all of them now, they’re really excited to be here, excited to be part of the team and where we are in the standings. And all of them said, just want to contribute and help out any way they can. So really appreciate the attitudes of all the guys who have come in.”

CLEVELAND – The Orioles made a series of roster moves this afternoon leading into their four-game series against the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Jordan Westburg was placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand, and the Orioles recalled Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk. Westburg could return by late September. Soto is wearing No. 73.

Outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez has joined the club after the Orioles acquired him from the White Sox at the deadline and he’s wearing No. 72. Heston Kjerstad was optioned again to Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad is batting .301 with a .998 OPS, 14 doubles and 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 56 games with Norfolk, but his opportunities remain limited in the majors.

Outfielder Austin Slater, acquired from the Reds, was activated and given No. 15. Reliever Keegan Akin was optioned.

It’s been said that “baseball is a game of inches.” Sometimes it’s less than that.

To hear Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser tell it, a ½ inch is making a difference for him. He cites two things that have helped turn his bat around. He is raking now with a 13-game hitting streak since the All-Star game.

A nice mental reset at the break helped and so too has using a bigger bat, one a bit heavier and one that is 34 inches. A bit longer than the 33 ½ inch model he previously used.

Going into the All-Star break, Cowser was 4-for-31 (.129) with 12 strikeouts his last 10 games.

Coming out of the break he's been on a roll and his hitting streak was extended Wednesday afternoon with a homer and single. Over the 13 games he is batting 19-for-50 which is .380/.429/.660/1.089 with two doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

Trade deadlines are supposed to address questions and deficiencies with the roster for a team in buyer mode. There are always questions, however. The work gets done and explanations are sought. Why do this and that? Is the club actually better than the previous model?

And about those rumors.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with the media for about 23 minutes today in the home dugout. He’s pleased with the results, which netted starter Zach Eflin from the Rays for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, infielder Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel, reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache from the Phillies for outfielder Austin Hays, starter Trevor Rogers from the Marlins for second baseman Connor Norby – who was optioned to Triple-A this morning – and outfielder Kyle Stowers, outfielder Eloy Jiménez and cash from the White Sox for Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Trey McGough, outfielder Austin Slater, infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations from the Reds for cash considerations, and left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Phillies for Double-A pitching prospect Seth Johnson and High-A Aberdeen pitcher Moisés Chance.

According to a source, there won’t be a player-to-be-named later in the deal with Cincinnati. Straight cash.

“Trade deadline’s always tough,” Elias said. “It’s always bittersweet trading players for other players. It’s not a one-way street. You’re losing talent but you’re getting different talent that’s a different fit and more of a short-term concentration for the needs of the team. We added two starting pitchers that are going right in our rotation, we added two really hard throwers with success in the major leagues for a long time – one from the left side, one from the right side. And we added a couple of right-handed bats which were especially necessary in the outfield with Austin Hays being gone. So I think that the roster is very fortified.

In the end Garrett Crochet was not traded to the Orioles or anybody. Neither were Tarik Skubal or Blake Snell.

The O’s added four pitchers – two starters and two relievers – one each throwing left and right. But they didn't get any of the big three.

There were no blockbuster deals and no elite prospects were moved. The highest-rated prospect they traded was infielder Connor Norby, ranked No. 5 by MLBPipeline.com.

The O’s rotation, in some order, now likely consists of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and lefty Trevor Rogers.

The O’s added Rogers yesterday for Norby and Kyle Stowers who went to Miami where reportedly Stowers will get a lot of playing time and Norby went back to the farm to work on playing third base.

With about 15 minutes until the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias found his right-handed hitting outfielder to check another box.

The Orioles are trading for White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez, with Triple-A reliever Trey McGough leaving the organization in return, according to an industry source.

Jiménez missed a month of the season with a hamstring injury and has appeared in 65 games, batting .240/.297/.345 with nine doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs. He’s a career .270/.321/.469 hitter in six seasons since his debut in 2019. He finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting 31 home runs.

The following season brought a Silver Slugger Award during the COVID year.

The Orioles are inheriting the remainder of Jiménez’s $13 million salary. The contract includes club options for 2025 at $16.5 million and 2026 at $18.5 million with a pair of $3 million buyouts.

We have heard it many times before that "good pitching beats good hitting." We have also heard the narrative that home runs "don't play well in the postseason." So far that has not been true. We are talking about a small sample size. In the wild-card games the four starting pitchers were Ervin Santana, Luis Severino, Jon Gray and Zach Greinke. They combined to pitch 7 1/3 innings allowing 20 hits and 15 runs and gave up five home runs. There were nine homers hit in the wild card games. As...