I know, I know. Add pitching.

Now that that’s settled, let’s acknowledge that the question of what the Orioles should be pursuing from other clubs as they look to offload anyone not under club control beyond the end of the summer is a complicated one.

We know they’ll be indiscriminate in the pursuit of talent and the best value possible for their players. We know that targeting certain archetypes, as the club did at the 2018 deadline, doesn’t always work.

But just because, as general manager Mike Elias has often pointed out lately, the Orioles didn’t expect to be in this position doesn’t mean they should lower their expectations for what comes back.

It’s actually the opposite. This is a rare opportunity for a team in its competitive position, and hitting on this could further the Orioles’ long-stated goal of building a perennial contender that’s immune to off years like this.

Here’s how I think they can do that and, in the process, win the trade deadline:

Package players to enhance the return

Scroll through any deadline preview and you’ll notice that the clubs considered to be buyers have myriad needs. Take ESPN’s list, for example: The Phillies are seeking a reliever and an outfielder. The Mets could use a reliever, center fielder, third baseman and starter. The Tigers are in the market for a starter and reliever. The Dodgers need a reliever and outfielder. Pretty much everyone could use pitching, and teams such as the Cubs and Yankees have third base needs as well.

Sure, the Orioles can try to squeeze as much juice out of a half-dozen or so players individually as they can and try to drive up the market for their players that way. They can also, in theory, get a lot more juice by putting, say, Cedric Mullins and Seranthony Domínguez together in a deal. Ryan O’Hearn could be attractive on his own, but paired with a Charlie Morton or a Gregory Soto, that’s a one-stop shop that a contending team might be interested in visiting.

If a team misses out on Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez, Ramón Urías would be an underwhelming consolation prize, but not if he came along with Andrew Kittredge. Zach Eflin’s market could be a strong one, as would Ramón Laureano’s.

They’d be worth more together for the simple reason that an acquiring team may be getting, say, two wins above replacement worth of value over these two months as opposed to one. That means the Orioles can try to get commensurate value in return and may be able to ask for a higher caliber of player. Maybe instead of three lower-level prospects for one player, two more polished or promising ones would come back.

It doesn’t feel to me as if the Orioles need to be in the business of depth for its own sake. They have a flourishing international program and continue to draft well, both at the plate and on the mound. They’re lighter on high-end talent than in years past, but this year’s draft may change that.

Without undermining the idea of adding as much talent as possible, reinforcing the middle of the farm system with some high floors and reachable upside feels like the play to me, given what they have internally. You could bring in those types of players— which teams are loath to give up — a bit more easily if the acquiring team is meeting more than one of its deadline needs in a trade with the Orioles.

Play to their strengths

The Orioles’ pro scouting department under Mike Snyder has uncovered countless gems and generated a lot of value, be it in trades, waiver claims or free agency. The group is well equipped to identify targets at this deadline, and there are a handful of segments of other teams’ systems that the Orioles frequently target in trades: recently drafted pitchers and recent international signings.

I’m sure we’ll see some complex league guys the Orioles really like thrown into some deals over the next week, but the pitching aspect feels like the place to focus for me. In the early years, acquiring all the Angels’ recently drafted pitchers was helpful because the Orioles weren’t drafting them early themselves. Kyle Bradish had a full year under his belt in A-ball in 2019 before the Orioles acquired him, but more recently, Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott and Patrick Reilly were all second-day picks who were in their first full pro seasons when they were acquired in trades.

The Orioles’ process of identifying traits they like and scaling out development plans for pitchers they believe they can improve is yielding real results. Once that wave reaches Camden Yards, it will be a durable source of talent. They clearly do a good job keeping tabs on these pitchers as they debut, and I would think there are a good number of recently drafted pitchers in contending organizations that would be good fits.

Engage with the rest of the sellers

Considering how uncomfortable the Orioles have been with some of the deadline asking prices for other teams’ big leaguers when they are pushing for a playoff spot, I’m not holding out much hope for them being compelled to give up a ton for a player they covet at this deadline. Even as they let it rip last July and made a bunch of trades, paying a premium in young talent for major leaguers this time doesn’t sound like the Orioles I know.

Still, they’d be wise to keep an eye on the starters who could move with a year or more of control left.

If the Orioles execute something like the Eflin or Trevor Rogers deals (minus giving up an All-Star) again in the next week, that would serve a lot of purposes. For one, it would give clarity to a rotation that down the stretch and into next year only has Dean Kremer to count on, crossing off a winter to-do list item early. It would also, in a week when things are probably going to get pretty unpleasant where Orioles fans are concerned, signal that the expectation is for next year to be better. A move toward that amid all the selling would help a lot.