The Baltimore Orioles were one of baseball’s busiest teams during the offseason, adding the likes of Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, Ryan Helsley and Pete Alonso, to name a few.
While those moves garnered most of the headlines, one trade has quietly become one of the club’s biggest successes: the acquisition of Blaze Alexander.
Alexander has been on baseball’s radar since his days at IMG Academy. During his senior season, he hit .403 with eight home runs and was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 118 prospect before being selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
After spending six seasons in the minors and appearing in 421 games, Alexander made his MLB debut on March 28, 2024. He went 2-for-5 against the Colorado Rockies and recorded his first big-league RBI. He finished the season with a .664 OPS, 41 hits, seven doubles, three home runs and 21 RBIs in 61 games.
Alexander split time between Triple-A and the majors in 2025 but continued to show promise. He posted a 1.7 WAR, improved his OPS to .706 and hit a career-high seven home runs. Still, it appeared his best baseball was ahead of him.
That opportunity came on February 5, 2026, when the Orioles acquired Alexander from Arizona in exchange for Wellington Aracena, Jose Mejia and Kade Strowd. At the time, the move raised questions, especially after Strowd’s impressive 1.71 ERA across 25 appearances in 2025.
Early returns did little to quiet those concerns. After a solid first four games with Baltimore, Alexander struggled through April, batting .137 with a .404 OPS in 21 games.
Since then, however, he has been one of the Orioles’ most productive hitters.
Alexander rebounded in May, hitting .365 with a .911 OPS across 25 games. He collected 23 hits, four doubles, one triple, one home run and 13 RBIs as he began to settle into his new surroundings.
His strong play has continued into June. Through June 15, Alexander is hitting .444 for the month with a 1.188 OPS. He has four doubles, just three strikeouts in 27 at-bats and ranks among the club’s top offensive performers.
Alexander ranks seventh on the Orioles in hits and is the club’s only hitter batting above .300. Those numbers are making it hard to keep him out of the lineup.
His versatility has been just as valuable as his bat, as Alexander is capable of playing six different positions, giving O’s manager Craig Albernaz another dependable option on a roster that has dealt with injuries and lineup shuffling throughout the season.
Just four months after the trade was announced, what once looked like a risky move has quickly become one of president of baseball operations and acting-GM Mike Elias’ best decisions of the offseason.
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