Report: Orioles’ Offseason Grades Revisited After…
The Baltimore Orioles made some intriguing moves in the 2023 offseason that ended up with a mixed bag of results.
From trading for seemingly one season of an ace and the failed signing of veteran closer, the moves can now be looked at under new context following the disappointing season that the Orioles just had.
Corbin Burnes trade
This was a massive trade that saw Baltimore send a haul consisting of D.L. Hall, Joey Ortiz and a compensatory draft pick to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Burnes.
The pitcher ended up living up to expectations for the most part, even though it didn’t even matter come playoff time given how bad the offense was.
He ended up finishing the year with a 2.92 ERA and winning a career-high 15 wins while making his fourth-straight All-Star appearance.
For most of the season, he was right near the top of the Cy Young race before Tarik Skubal ran away with it.
Hall ended up pitching in 13 games at the MLB level this season, but regressed back to a 5.02 ERA. Ortiz posted a .239/.329/.398 slashing line as a rookie starter for the playoff contenders.
All in all, it wasn’t too much to give up for Cy Young-worthy season of pitching from Burnes. Now they just need to hope they can be competitive as a suitor in his free agency.
Grade: A
Craig Kimbrel
As where the Burnes traded ended up working out well, the Kimbrel contract ended up blowing up in the Orioles’ face.
Baltimore needed to bring in a new closer after losing Felix Bautista for the season, so they opted for the veteran on a one-year deal after he collapsed in the playoffs a season before.
Kimbrel had a 5.33 ERA over 57 games this season before he was cut loose. He also forced the Orioles to be more active in finding bullpen options at the trade deadline, rather than freeing up more resources for bats.
Grade: F
Albert Suarez
Suarez was just a nice surprise that ended up working well for the Orioles.
The 35-year-old stepped up big time when Baltimore ended up having extreme injury troubles in their pitching staff. He posted a 3.70 ERA over 133.2 innings of work, acting as the perfect innings eater.
Grade: B+
Overall Grade
The signings that they did make ended up as a mixed bag, but maybe the biggest issue was the inaction to find more offensive depth.
The Orioles seemed content to let their young bats try to fill their bench with reliable plate appearances, but they mostly ended up struggling. Most of their work on offense came the trade deadline and was never enough.
Now, with Burnes potentially the door in free agency, they remain a largely unchanged franchise.
Grade: C
