Dylan Carlson Trade Rumors: Cardinals Outfielder at Center of Blockbuster Talks This Week

BALTIMORE – Baltimore Orioles outfielder Dylan Carlson delivered his loudest statement yet in orange and black, blasting a 107.6 mph, 397-foot three-run homer to right-center at Camden Yards on Monday afternoon to power a 5-0 lead over his former club, the St. Louis Cardinals. The shot, coming off a 92.7 mph sinker from Erick Fedde in the fourth inning, was Carlson’s second home run in as many days and his second of the 2025 MLB season. Twenty-four hours earlier the 26-year-old switch-hitter cleared the right-field seats at Fenway Park with his first long ball of the year, a 374-foot drive against Boston ace Walker Buehler that helped Baltimore secure a 5-1 win. Carlson entered the weekend batting just .115, but the back-to-back blasts have fans buzzing about a possible breakout for the former top prospect. Through Sunday’s action he was slashing .133/.182/.267 with four RBIs; Monday’s three-run shot pushed his RBI total to seven and his slugging percentage north of .400 for the first time this year. Baltimore signed Carlson to a one-year, $975,000 deal in January after he spent 2024 shuttling between the Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays organizations. The low-risk flyer was designed to add switch-hitting depth to a right-field mix that has battled injuries, but Carlson’s recent surge is rapidly turning him into an everyday option for manager Brandon Hyde. Key numbers driving the optimism • Exit velocity: Monday’s drive left the bat at 107.6 mph; Sunday’s shot was clocked at 105.8 mph, proof that Carlson’s bat speed is returning after an oblique strain slowed him in April. • Launch angle: Both homers fell in the Statcast sweet spot (21° and 39°), matching the approach that produced 18 HRs during his 2021 rookie campaign. • Hard-hit resurgence: Seven of Carlson’s last 12 batted balls have exceeded 95 mph, a dramatic uptick from his 28 percent hard-hit rate over the first six weeks of the season. Facing familiar foes Monday’s matchup added extra intrigue: the Cardinals originally drafted Carlson 33rd overall in 2016 and envisioned him as a cornerstone before shipping him to Tampa Bay at last July’s trade deadline. Punctuating his big day against the organization that once dubbed him “the next great Cardinal” only intensified social-media chatter, with “Dylan Carlson revenge game” trending across X (formerly Twitter) by the late innings. Path forward in Birdland Baltimore’s corner-outfield picture remains fluid with Anthony Santander working back from a wrist issue and top prospect Heston Kjerstad continuing to clobber Triple-A pitching. But Carlson’s switch-hit versatility, above-average defense and recent thump give executive vice president Mike Elias another weapon as the Orioles chase their first playoff berth since 2023. If Carlson sustains even league-average production, the Orioles will have uncovered one of the offseason’s shrewdest bargains. For now, the focus is on riding the wave: two games, two homers, seven RBIs, and a fanbase suddenly searching “Dylan Carlson highlight video” on loop. With Baltimore set to welcome St. Louis for two more games this week, the storyline writes itself: Can Carlson keep punishing his old team and cement his spot in the everyday lineup? The next chapter unfolds Tuesday night at Camden Yards—run-don’t-walk to your nearest screen; Dylan Carlson is heating up.