Couple of thoughts as the Trade Deadline approaches. The Orioles haven't done much to manage their roster. Everyone is stacked up, guys at AAA aren't getting opportunity. Kind of obvious something needs to happen, but there's been no sense of that from the FO.
Orioles still basically lead MLB in RS despite the abyss the offense has been recently. I think it's hard to say the playing time challenges are causal to the recent struggles any more than the playing time management has been causal to leading in RS. I'm confident saying everyone wants to play more and a lot of credit to the individuals and Hyde for making it work so far, while they try to work everyone into some PAs.
1) When do you move on? I don't know how the individual players feel about their more limited roles versus the Championship opportunity for the rest of this season, but Elias has to make decisions on everyone (well, time runs out on Santander) in the offseason and does it make any sense to start that now (ie deadline). Specifically guys like Hays, Mullins, Mountcastle and Urias and you could even argue for Santander.
I get that action isn't really a thing here so all the betting money would be to let everything play out, but this is the time to shape before the offseason, if you wanted to. There are Teams that need help now.
2) You aren't spending money in the offseason. You see any number of comments that want to evaluate this new FO by how they spend money this offseason. Here's a preview, they aren't. The targets this offseason aren't good. You aren't signing Soto, Burnes or Fried. None of them want to be here for anything other than something stupid and stay away from stupid deals. Here's the MLBTR FA Power Rankings. The next layer is guys like Flaherty, Pivetta and Severino. Not that you can't get those guys, but why would anyone want to go heavy on those guys.
If you want to leverage money to do something, the time would make more sense sooner than later, you can't spend much money in FA this winter.
3) CF 2025 is the only question....on the hitting side. Yes we have starting pitching questions for 2025. As discussed elsewhere, certainly depends on what you do with 1) above and 2) you aren't answering this question by throwing money at it in the offseason. You could certainly keep Ced in CF for another year on ARB3 (~8.5M), but the Orioles already project a heavy LHed OF and the RHed options in the system seem more like complimentary guys. Maybe Jud Fabian could be your starting CFer, maybe you could wind up in some platoon with Bradfield, but if we're changing the guard a little (and that appears where we're headed), then finding a quality RHed hitting CF seems like the only 2025 thing.
Again, all of the money would bet we don't shape much, if at all, at the deadline but if you look ahead to what you want in 2025, your opportunity to do that with other things is now, or you wait to the offseason.