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Angelos Gave Duquette 'OK' To Trades For Top Relievers, Seth Smith

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Orioles have just under two weeks to make some moves before the trade deadline on July 31.

Rumors and discussions about the Orioles' struggling pitching rotation have been swirling.

Senior baseball writer and MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal recently shared news that Orioles owner Peter Angelos gave GM Dan Duquette the "go ahead" to trade some of the team's top relievers and designated hitter Seth Smith for some better prospects.

Some of the possible trade candidates in the Orioles' bullpen are Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O'Day.

Britton was one of the best closers in baseball in 2014-15. He missed a good amount of the 2017 season with a forearm injury. In his five games since his return, Britton has only struck out two while walking two and allowing a pair of earned runs. Britton would not be a free agent until after 2018. The Cubs, Dodgers and Astros have all shown interest in Britton.

Brach took over closing while Britton was on the DL. Since joining the Orioles prior to the 2014 season, Brach is pitching to a 2.62 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 278 strikeouts in 261 innings. Brach isn't a free agent until after 2018. O'Day is due $9 million in 2018 and again in 2019. He's also getting a bit older, he's 35 years old.  O'Day has posted a 4.00 ERA and 1.19 WHIP since the start of last season.

Smith hasn't been quite as good this year as he has been in the past. He's still a valuable trade. Trading higher profile players like Brach and Britton could return some good prospects to help stock the system.

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