This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TORONTO -- The Orioles needed more pitching help. So even when the clock on Tuesday got dangerously close to 6 p.m. ET -- the time of the 2023 Trade Deadline -- it always seemed likely that Baltimore’s July 19 acquisition of right-handed reliever Shintaro Fujinami wouldn’t stand as the club’s lone move.

The starting rotation could be upgraded. The innings counts for a sizable group of youngsters had become a growing concern.

That’s why the O’s swung a trade with the Cardinals for right-hander Jack Flaherty. Even though the 27-year-old has an expiring contract -- he’s set to become a free agent this offseason -- and despite Baltimore having to part with three solid prospects (infielder César Prieto and pitchers Drew Rom and Zack Showalter), it was a move that felt necessary.

Here’s the looming question: Was that one additional move enough?

It wasn’t the only move the Orioles tried to make. Reports of the Flaherty deal started trickling onto social media at about 5:50. Meanwhile, Orioles general manager Mike Elias was still having conversations about other pitchers at that time, including some on the reliever market.

“We got very close to some things. We took some very big swings, and some things came close,” Elias said. “Even as we got the Flaherty trade done in the last couple of minutes, we still had an appetite to bring in relief depth or relief options. It just didn’t happen.”

Flaherty is a talented pitcher, as he’s shown in the past. In 2019, he had a 2.75 ERA over 33 starts and finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting. This year, he has a 4.43 ERA in 20 starts, but that mark is inflated from his tough showings in May (5.88) and June (5.32) and improved with his performance over five July outings (3.03).

However, Flaherty isn’t exactly known for being an innings-eater. After he pitched 151 innings in 2018 and 196 1/3 in ‘19, he tossed only 154 2/3 total from 2020-22. Part of the reason for that is the pandemic-shortened season in ‘20, but he also dealt with oblique and shoulder injuries that limited him in both ‘21 and ‘22.

In 2023, Flaherty has pitched 109 2/3 innings, but his season high in a game is seven (done twice) and he’s failed to complete six in half of his outings.

Why are innings totals such a concern with the Orioles’ staff? This is the state of the four starters who are 28 or younger, including their work in the Minors (for those who apply):

Tyler Wells (28): 113 2/3 innings, 5 2/3 shy of his professional career high (2018)

Dean Kremer (27): 119 2/3 innings, 14 2/3 shy of his professional career high (2022)

Kyle Bradish (26): 111 innings, 34 1/3 shy of his professional career high (2022)

Grayson Rodriguez (23): 103 2/3 innings, his professional career high

Baltimore was proactive in optioning Wells (who had an 11.00 ERA in his first three second-half starts) to Double-A Bowie on Sunday to first give him a bit of a breather and to attempt to get him back on track while also keeping him fresh for the stretch run.

Plus, the O’s have three members of their bullpen who rank among the top seven in the AL in relief innings pitched -- Mike Baumann (51 2/3), closer Félix Bautista (51 2/3) and Yennier Cano (51 1/3). Neither Bautista nor Cano has pitched 70 or more in a professional season.

“We’ve got a lot of young starters that haven’t done this before,” Elias said. “We’ve got members of our relief corps that are injured or tired, and so, we were just looking for pitching help in all shapes and sizes.”

Make no mistake about it, Flaherty’s presence can only help. The better he pitches -- and the deeper he goes into starts -- will only lower the number of innings other pitchers must cover.

But adding one more experienced arm, or maybe even two, would have helped even more.

Now, Baltimore may have to hope that John Means (rehabbing after Tommy John surgery and an upper-back injury) and DL Hall (back into Minor League game action after taking about a month to focus on his strengthening program) can contribute in September, even if they’re in bullpen roles. Perhaps the O’s could also get creative by incorporating Cole Irvin into a six-man rotation or by utilizing the left-hander to allow others to skip an occasional start or two.

A lot of the Orioles’ pitchers who have been key to their success are entering uncharted territory with the highest workloads of their careers. Whether the club can balance keeping its arms fresh and winning amid a competitive AL East race is yet to be determined.

But Elias is confident the acquisitions of Flaherty and Fujinami -- as well as the potential in-house reinforcements on the way -- was enough to do so.

“We’ve had some spots in the bullpen in flux, but we’ve got some guys getting healthy, we’ve got some players coming up through the system,” Elias said. “Bringing in an extra starter, you can always spill over into the bullpen to help with those innings.”