Orioles Join Pitching Arms Race: Batilmore Looks to Acquire Top Talent for Rotation
It has been a busy winter for the Baltimore Orioles, who ended up being pretty aggressive in free agency this offseason.
After another solid regular season, the Orioles were unable once again to win a playoff game in 2024. This winter, trying to improve a team that has been great during the year, but has struggled in October was the goal.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, they did suffer a big loss with their ace Corbin Burnes signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Losing their ace was always going to be a risk, and so far the Orioles didn’t add a pitcher near that caliber this offseason.
However, while they might have lost their ace, they do have a lot of depth in the rotation currently. That should help them continue to win in the regular season, but might not be a recipe for success in October.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently broke down what the starting rotation will look like for the Orioles in 2025. He highlighted the additions of veterans Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano while praising the potential depth of the unit.
“The bigger question for the Orioles might be whether Grayson Rodriguez can stay healthy and emerge as the frontline starter, as he has flashed plenty of potential during his first two seasons in the majors. A step forward from him and a full season of Zach Eflin could potentially make this an improved rotation overall.”
When looking at the rotation for Baltimore, they are fairly solid from top to bottom. Barring injuries, this could be a unit that performs well throughout a long regular season. However, not having an ace will make winning in the postseason a difficult task.
In their division alone, the New York Yankees have two stars Gerrit Cole and Max Fried leading the top of their rotation.
For the Orioles, they will likely be hoping that Grayson Rodriguez takes a step forward and can stay healthy in 2025. In 43 starts over the last two seasons, the right-hander has totaled a (20-8) record with a 4.11 ERA.
There were certainly some improvements by the 25-year-old in 2024, but his campaign was cut short due to injury.
If the young right-hander can build off of what he accomplished last year, he has the potential to be the top guy in the rotation.
In addition to Rodrguez at the top of the rotation, Zach Eflin also pitched very well in the second half of the year for Baltimore after being traded by the Tampa Bay Rays. The 30-year-old totaled (5-2) record and 2.60 in nine starts with the Orioles.
If he can also sustain that for a full season, Baltimore might be able to survive losing their ace and could potentially have a better rotation overall than last year.
