Breaking: Orioles Made Shocking Bid for Former Cy Young Winner
After getting swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row, the Baltimore Orioles are on the hunt for a new ace to fortify their rotation this winter — especially if Corbin Burnes signs elsewhere in free agency.
The Orioles were targeting another former Cy Young winner — Blake Snell — in free agency as well, but he’s officially off the market after signing a massive five-year, $182 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week.
According to MASN’s Rich Kubatko, Baltimore had “legitimate interest” in the 31-year-old southpaw, who went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts with the San Francisco Giants last year.
Kubatko did not specify how far negotiations got with Snell’s agent, Scott Boras, or what the Orioles were willing to offer.
Baltimore was linked to Snell at the trade deadline too, so general manager Mike Elias had been eyeing him for a while. However, Snell ended up staying with the Giants for the rest of the regular season.
While the Orioles missed out on Snell, pursuing him is an encouraging sign that they are serious about contending next year and are finally willing to spend in free agency after largely avoiding big contracts under the previous ownership group.
With Snell off the board, Baltimore still has several top free-agent arms it can pivot to as a consolation prize, including Burnes, Max Fried and Nathan Eovaldi.
The Orioles will have to be aggressive, however, as the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and others are also looking to spend in free agency this winter. Baltimore must add an arm if it wants to compete with them for the AL East crown next year.
While Snell’s deal caught the public by surprise, it also set the market for this year’s free-agent class. The Orioles now have a better sense of what it will take to acquire a new ace — they just have to go out and get one.
