It is still at the start of the MLB 2025 season, but Baltimore Orioles have a problem. Worse, this is not a new problem. In fact, it was the Achille de Baltimore heel in the last three seasons.
Orioles seriously need to start pitch. Their ERA of the 5.48 team ranks to death in baseball. They need to start the depth of pitching and need high -end legitimate options. But the way they have met these needs in recent years have been best questionable.
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In 2023, when they needed an ace, Baltimore made a mid-season business for Jack Flaherty, who had a 4.43 MPM in Saint-Louis in the first half, before letting him walk by free will. In 2024, Baltimore actually achieved his goal of adding an ace, a merchant for the former winner of the Cy Young Award Corbin Burnes by Milwaukee Brewers. But then, after a successful season which saw Burnes go from 15-9 with an MPM of 2.92 and finish the top-five in the vote of Al Cy Young, the Orioles could not keep it in Baltimore. Worse, the Orioles have never really been considered serious contenders in the Burnes free agency.
And now, in 2025, the rotation of the Orioles left a lot to be desired to start the season. The starters Cade Povich and Dean Kremer each have an era of more than 6.00, while the 41 -year -old veteran Charlie Morton has a time north of 10:00 am. The two best starters of the team, Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez, are currently on the injured list. Rodriguez, who has not launched since July 31 of last year, has been on the IL due to inflammation of the right elbow and is now looking for second opinions on a painful right shoulder.
The injuries were an unhappy rupture for the Orioles, but to predict baseball injuries, which is why the depth is so crucial. Baltimore's failure to plan in advance for injuries combined with its inability to add a productive start -up tightening has really harmed this team to face a moment when its window should be wide open, even in one of the most difficult baseball divisions.
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The Orioles added the 35-year-old Japanese right-hander, Tomoyuki Sugano, during the off-season, and he was solid to start his MLB career, but beyond Sugano and Morton, there were no major additions to the rotation of Baltimore. Meanwhile, Trevor Rogers, who was acquired from the Marlins on the deadline last summer, was completely ineffective for the Orioles and sent to Triple-A just two weeks after his arrival. He started this season on IL and is not expected before May.
One of the main advantages of a young talented young game players like Baltimore is that the organization has very little money related to pay. The majority of actors in the position of the Orioles are pre-arbitration, which means that they are not delivered with major financial commitments. This should offer the organization the flexibility to add more wage veterans without exceeding its financial limits.
However, the Orioles simply chose not to do it. Even with a new billionaire owner in David Rubenstein, the Orioles have chosen – not one, but twice – to avoid going to the top of the free agent pitch market, and now the team deals with consequences. But moreover, the inability to achieve their rotation has a snowball effect.
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The start of pitching could be the most expensive product in baseball, in particular with regard to an acquisition of mid-season. In July, there will be steep competition for the best arms on the commercial market, a list probably directed by Sandy Alcantara de Miami. And after playing cool the last two winters, the Orioles will probably have to pay well above the market value if they want to acquire a solid starter this summer.
In the future, the greatest concern is how the team's inconsistency in the rotation will affect its place in the classification and position of the playoffs. At 9-13, Baltimore is currently Fourth in Al East. With the Yankees who are starting to understand things, the Red Sox play better this season and the Blue Jays Revitalized after the extension of Vlad Guerrero Jr.Orioles will find themselves catching up in a loaded division for the rest of the season if they do not turn things soon.
It can be difficult to make transactions so early in the season, and the trade market probably does not move at the moment, the sellers waiting for interest to develop, but it would belong to the director general Mike Elias to try to identify where the improvements of his team will come before it is too late.
