Can the Baltimore Orioles figure out their starting rotation before it’s too late?

Sports

add

It’s still early in the 2025 MLB season, but the Baltimore Orioles have a problem. Worse, it isn’t a new problem. In fact, it has been Baltimore’s Achilles’ heel for the past three seasons.

The Orioles are in serious need of starting pitching. Their 5.48 team ERA ranks dead last in baseball. They need starting pitching depth, and they need legitimate top-of-the-rotation options. But how they’ve gone about addressing those needs over the past few years has been questionable at best.

Advertisement

In 2023, when they needed an ace, Baltimore made a midseason trade for Jack Flaherty, who had a 4.43 ERA in St. Louis in the first half, before letting him walk in free agency. Entering 2024, Baltimore actually accomplished their goal of adding an ace, trading for former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers. But then, after a successful season that saw Burnes go 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA and finish top-five in AL Cy Young voting, the Orioles were unable to keep him in Baltimore. Worse, the Orioles were never really considered serious contenders in Burnes’ free agency.

And now, in 2025, the Orioles’ rotation has left a lot to be desired to start the season. Starters Cade Povich and Dean Kremer each have an ERA over 6.00, while 41-year-old veteran Charlie Morton has an ERA north of 10.00. The team’s two best starters, Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez, are currently on the injured list. Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched since July 31 of last year, went on the IL due to right elbow inflammation and is now seeking second opinions on a sore right shoulder.

The injuries have been an unfortunate break for the Orioles, but pitching injuries are to be expected in baseball, which is why depth is so crucial. Baltimore’s failure to plan ahead for injuries combined with its inability to add productive starting pitching has really hurt this team’s chances to contend at a time when its window should be wide open, even in one of baseball’s toughest divisions.

Advertisement

The Orioles did add 35-year-old Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano this past offseason, and he has been solid to begin his MLB career, but beyond Sugano and Morton, there were no major additions to the Baltimore rotation. Meanwhile, Trevor Rogers, who was acquired from the Marlins at the deadline last summer, was totally ineffective for the Orioles and sent to Triple-A just two weeks after his arrival. He began this season on the IL and isn’t expected back before May.

One of the key benefits of a young, talented core of position players like Baltimore’s is that the organization has very little money tied up in the payroll. The majority of the Orioles’ position players are pre-arbitration, meaning they don’t come with major financial commitments. That should provide the organization the flexibility to add higher-salary veterans without exceeding its financial limits.

Yet the Orioles have simply chosen not to do that. Even with a new billionaire owner in David Rubenstein, the Orioles have chosen — not once, but twice — to avoid spending at the top of the free-agent pitching market, and now the team is dealing with the consequences. But what’s more, the inability to get their rotation right has a snowball effect.

Advertisement

Starting pitching might be the most expensive commodity in baseball, especially when it comes to a midseason acquisition. Come July, there’s going to be steep competition for the top arms on the trade market, a list likely led by Miami’s Sandy Alcantara. And after playing it cool the past two winters, the Orioles will likely have to pay well above market value if they want to acquire a solid starter this summer.

Going forward, the biggest concern is how the team’s inconsistency in the rotation will affect its place in the standings and playoff position. At 9-13, Baltimore is currently fourth in the AL East. With the Yankees starting to figure things out, the Red Sox playing better this season and the Blue Jays revitalized following Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s extension, the Orioles are going to find themselves playing catch-up in a loaded division for the remainder of the season if they don’t turn things around soon.

It can be difficult to make trades this early in the season, and the trade market is likely not moving right now, with sellers waiting for interest to develop, but it would behoove general manager Mike Elias to try to identify where his team’s improvements will come from before it’s too late.

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Arsenal cede o empate e Liverpool pode conquistar o Campeonato Inglês nesta rodada

O Globo

Next

trending_flat

Hall of Fame linebacker Steve McMichael being moved into hospice care

nfl