Zach Eflin reflects on being traded from his childhood team to the Orioles at MLB trade deadline amid intense AL East race (Exclusive)
When right-hander Zach Eflin was a free agent after the 2022 season, a year in which he recovered from injury to pitch well down the stretch for the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies, he didn’t have to wait around long for the perfect deal.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the club Elfin cheered for growing up in Oviedo, Fla., about two hours from Tropicana Field, offered him the largest free-agent deal in franchise history: Three years and $40 million.
Eflin was one of the first free-agent pitchers to sign that winter, securing a contract that would keep him close to home and with an organization known for its superb pitching program. In his first season with Tampa Bay, Eflin won 16 games, posted a career-best 3.50 ERA and finished sixth in the 2023 AL Cy Young race.
The small-market Rays are also known for trading veterans – especially ones with back-loaded contracts – if the team struggles. And, after making the postseason last year, that’s what happened in 2024, with Tampa Bay floating around the .500 mark.
Eflin, now 30, said he knew as this year’s deadline approached, he might be dealt. That’s why his original contract included a $1 million bonus if Tampa sent him away. The Rays did that on July 26, shipping him to the Baltimore Orioles for three minor leaguers.
Eflin is in a new city, but again on a team likely headed to the postseason. It would mark his third playoffs in three years with three different teams.
His first two appearances with the Orioles this summer went well – 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA and a 10-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. And he’s eager for more.
Eflin sat down recently for a Q&A to discuss his time in Tampa, the nature of being dealt away, joining a contender and maybe facing his old Phillies team in an October Classic.
You have been traded before, but never midseason or as a big leaguer. What’s it like to be in a trade deadline deal?
Eflin: It's a whirlwind. A little bittersweet. Full of excitement, obviously, to join a team that's doing so well and playing hard. But saying goodbye to people that I've been around for the last year and a half every single day pretty much is not an easy thing to do. Moving a family with three kids under three years old is not going to be easy to do, but it's going to be worth it in the end. I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to be a part of winning baseball, and all the guys have been so welcoming and so nice so far. So, that’s been a treat for me.
You were on some bad teams early in your career, but you’ve pitched in the postseason the past two years and likely will again in 2024. How important is it to you to be on another potential playoff team?
Eflin: I’m very grateful for this opportunity. I spent six years in Philly with under a .500 record (overall), so I knew what it was like to lose. My last year there we made the World Series, and it became an addiction in our clubhouse. Once you taste winning, it’s all you think about. It’s all you want to do. Nothing that we do at the field is worth it unless we win, in my mind. So, it’s amazing to come to a team that’s doing so well, fresh off a division title, and that all share that same burning passion of winning every single game.
The Orioles expect you to be a big part of this playoff run. How do you embrace that role without putting too much pressure on yourself to produce?
Eflin: Really, just don’t change anything when I go out there. I’m a pretty easygoing guy. I treat everything the same. I try not to overthink anything, never too high, never too low. I really rely on the energy of my teammates to go out there and believe that we're going to win every single game. I don't necessarily plan on changing anything, just being the best competitor I can be.
You signed a franchise-record deal with the Rays before the 2023 season, partially to be fairly close to your hometown. You also knew the Rays often trade pricey veterans. In retrospect, did you make the right call signing there?
Eflin: Absolutely. I learned so much going down there working with Kyle Snyder and the pitching staff. I grew up a Rays’ fan. So, it was awesome to be able to be on the field instead of the stands like I was when I was a kid. To meet everybody in that organization; they were far nicer than I ever thought that they would be. It's an extremely big family atmosphere, which I appreciated so much. But, at the end of the day, I knew what would happen if I was signing with Tampa.
I knew I had a backloaded contract. I knew there was always a possibility of change at any time when I was there. My last year in Philly, I was coming off an injury. I was able to finish the season out of the bullpen, and Tampa graciously came to me with an amazing contract that I felt was great for our family. We gave birth to twins last spring training, so it made it easy for both of our families to come over and help, being only two hours away in a car. So, it just all aligned, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
Given that proximity to your family, was it tough to leave there, knowing you’d be playing somewhere else through 2025?
Eflin: Yeah, I'm not gonna say it's easy. We bought a house last spring training. Pretty much the house is perfect for the twins that we have and our oldest daughter, she's just over two and a half. So, with the ease of access to everything and restaurants all over, it was easy to keep our kids occupied and still play baseball at the same time. It was a very good comfort spot for us. And we still plan on being there in the offseason splitting time between there and Orlando. But we're extremely excited about this opportunity to be here in Baltimore. My wife is through the roof about it. We're excited to bring our kids up. We brought our kids to the National Aquarium (in downtown Baltimore) and it's beautiful. So, there's gonna be a ton of things to do around here. As long as the kids are happy, I'm happy.
What about being traded in the middle of a contract? You aren’t a rental. You almost assuredly won’t have to be on the move again this offseason. Does that provide any comfort?
Eflin: Yeah, I’d say so. Especially, like I keep saying, with three kids. You always want to be in a spot for a long time. It just helps everything out. And I'm really, really excited to be a part of these guys. I've been watching these guys for a long time now and playing against them last year. I don't think I could be a bigger Orioles fan as an opposing player because I just saw how young they were and how hard they played and how much they pulled for each other. It’s just fun baseball to watch. As much as it sucked playing against them, it’s fun baseball to watch. So, I'm really happy to be in this clubhouse.
This is your second season in the AL East. You know how tough it is. What’s your take on the 2024 version of this race, with the Orioles, Yankees and lingering Red Sox in the mix?
Eflin: It's gonna be a dogfight, just like it was a dogfight with the Rays and the Orioles last year. It’s gonna take every single game. Every single win is gonna matter. So, it's gonna be a lot of fun to go to war with these guys.
In your first appearance with the Orioles, you saw an example of a baseball warrior, when catcher James McCann got hit in the face with a 95-mph fastball while in the batter’s box. He ultimately stayed in the game to keep catching you, making him a viral sensation. What was that experience like from your end?
Eflin: I've never seen anything like that on a baseball field. The grit, that determination, that competitiveness. I think a lot of guys, obviously, would have come straight out of the game, just to make sure they were OK. But he was fighting to stay in the game as soon as it happened, which just speaks to his character. And something like that’s contagious. It's inspirational. It's incredible what he did. I have no idea how he did it. I felt like he couldn't even see out of his eye and he’s still playing the game at the highest level. So, I have nothing but amazing things to say about James McCann.
Let’s switch to another catcher: All Star Adley Rutschman. What’s your take on getting to work with him?
Eflin: I’ve always loved the way he’s interacted with pitchers. The way he calls the game, the way he sets up for pitchers. And he's still so young. So, it's been fun to watch him mature. And now I’m looking forward to throwing to him more.
You spent most of your career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Disregarding a recent rough spot, they’ve been the best team in the majors for a chuck of this season. Is that a World Series club in your estimation?
Eflin: Yeah. I think they're a World Series contender every year. They’re a stacked team. They have pitching, they have defense, they have offense. They have a great bullpen. And they have a lot of really good guys on that team that I still root for.
What would it be like for you to get a chance to face them in the World Series?
Eflin: Pretty incredible. It would be insane. Just obviously being so close to them. I think last year when I faced them down in Tampa, I was pretty much smiling the whole time, just because I couldn't believe it. Probably have a little different emotion in the playoffs, but it would be a dream come true to face those guys.