Never say never. Traded as part of the haul that the Orioles gave up this offseason for starter Shane Baz, minor league right-hander Michael Forret is back with the Orioles after being reacquired for reliever Tyler Wells.
The Orioles originally selected Forret in the 14th round of the 2023 draft and now has recovered the best pitching prospect from that deal without surrendering a player expected to be part of its long-term core.
For a team trying to balance its present roster with its future pitching needs, this looks like strong value.
Wells has been excellent since settling into a relief role. The 31-year-old had a 2.82 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 53 strikeouts over 51 innings at the time of the trade. He is also under team control through the 2027 season. Tampa Bay is acquiring a proven, versatile major-league pitcher who can work important innings out of the bullpen and potentially provide length when needed.
Forret has already reached Triple-A at 22 and has a legitimate chance to develop into a major-league starting pitcher. Through 19 starts between Double-A and Triple-A, he has produced a 3.29 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 93 innings. His 4.89 Triple-A ERA is misleading because his 3.86 xERA, 3.45 FIP and extremely low barrel rate suggest he has pitched considerably better than the surface results.
His four-seam fastball sits around 94 mph but has generated a 36% whiff rate. His slider has also missed bats at a 36.4% rate while holding hitters to a .186 expected wOBA. That gives him two legitimate major-league weapons, with a changeup that offers the potential for a third.
MLB Pipeline grades Forret’s fastball, slider and changeup as future 55 offerings and gives him an overall 50 grade. Baseball America ranked him ninth in Tampa Bay’s system, while FanGraphs placed him seventh in the organization and inside its updated Top 100 prospects.
There are risks. Forret’s walk rate has increased from 7.4% in 2025 to 10.4% this season, and his sinker and cutter have been much less effective than his four-seamer and slider. He will also need to be placed on the 40-man roster this offseason, which may have contributed to Tampa Bay’s willingness to move him.
Still, those are manageable concerns for a pitcher this young and advanced.
The Orioles essentially exchanged an effective but 31-year-old reliever for six-plus years of control over a potential No. 4 starter who could be ready to help the major-league club as soon as 2027. Forret also provides inexpensive upper-level rotation depth at a time when established starting pitching continues to be extremely expensive to acquire.
Forret may never become more than a back-end starter, but even that outcome would make this a strong trade for the Orioles.
