It’s up to the interpretation of others as to whether this rumored trade was real or not, but the Orioles are better off regardless.

Aug 6, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports / Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Less than one month before the MLB trade deadline, seemingly out of nowhere, a report circulated saying that the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates discussed a swap involving Jackson Holliday and Jared Jones.

At the time, that felt a bit far-fetched. Holliday was one of, if not the best prospects in baseball, and while Jones was intriguing in his own right, he wasn’t Holliday. It didn’t pass the initial smell test, and sure enough, FanSided’s Robert Murray confirmed that it was, indeed, inaccurate on the latest episode of the Baseball Insiders podcast.

“There is absolutely no merit to that Jared Jones for Jackson Holliday report.”

At the time the report came out, it was fair to wonder whether the Orioles made a mistake not being able to pull off the prospect swap. Jones got off to an unbelievable start to his MLB career, and Holliday looked completely overmatched to the point where the team sent him back down to the minors. Now, after Holliday appears to be breaking out at the MLB level, it looks like the O’s might’ve dodged a bullet.

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Orioles appear to have dodged a bullet in Jackson Holliday so-called near trade

Holliday was sent down to the minors after recording just two hits in his first 34 at-bats. He struck out 18 times in his first 36 plate appearances. Holliday wound up spending over three months in the minors before getting another chance. The Orioles have to be happy about the results of how they handled the former No. 1 overall pick.

Since his recall on the day of the trade deadline, Holliday has been on fire. He launched a grand slam in his first game back for his first MLB home run. He followed that with three multi-hit games in his next four contests. Now, he is on a five-game hitting streak and has homered in each of his last three games.

Overall, in the seven games he has played in since his recall, Holliday is slashing .375/.444/.917 with four home runs and 10 RBI. Not too shabby! As he continues to get comfortable, he should only continue to show why he was such a highly-touted prospect, which is scary when considering how loaded the Orioles already are.

This comes as no disrespect towards Jared Jones who has had an electric rookie season in his own right. He isn’t Paul Skenes, but Jones has ace stuff and has posted a 3.56 ERA in 16 starts and 91 innings of work. He looks like a future high-end No. 2 starter who can fit in perfectly behind Skenes. As valuable as he is, he’s not Holliday, a player who can be a superstar. He’s finally beginning to show that, and that’s why the Orioles are better off having not executed this so-called near trade.