Baseball is back. We all here at I-95 are super excited about that, with the Orioles looking to contend once again and the Nationals having really fun pieces starting to develop in MLB. However, there is one problem: the Orioles pitching. Could it be an overreaction? Yes. We are only a week in basically. But if this O's squad wants to push for a World Series, the pitching has to be better. If you are the Orioles front office, you have to address this issue ASAP. More starting pitching has to come in, and while reinforcements will hopefully come back from injury like Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, the staff needs better top end talent. Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are great, and they deserve to be at the top of the rotation, but it needs one more guy. Right now, they don't have that true ace, which they didn't replace after losing Corbin Burnes in free agency. I'll lay out the pitching situation, and at the end we'll decide how far these arms can take them and what can be done to improve then product.
Let's address the obvious. This rotation was never going to be the same after Corbin Burnes departed. He got the right contract, 6 years for 210 million dollars to be exact, to pitch at home for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was also reported by the Baltimore Sun over April 7-9 when the Orioles played the Diamondbacks on the road that Burnes got offered 4 years 180 million dollars to stay with the O's but declined stating it wasn't what he was looking for. After Burnes officially left, the Orioles didn't/couldn't pivot as left hander Max Fried signed with the division rival New York Yankees for eight years 218 million and fellow lefty Blake Snell inked a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for five years 185 million. The Bird's had minimal options beyond those big three aces who could truly be that Bonafide guy on opening day. While arms like Nate Eovaldi, Yusei Kikuchi, Sean Manaea, and Jack Flaherty were solid options, the O's didn't sign them either. This leaves us at this point early in the season. Grayson Rodriguez, who the club hoped would take a step forward, has been on the shelf with right elbow inflammation since March 24. Zach Eflin, who started opening day and was a huge trade acquisition last deadline, was put on the IL retroactive to April 8 with a right lat strain. Frontline caliber pitchers like Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells have been out with arm surgeries since last year. Even depth options like Albert Suarez, who was a saving grace last year and a long man/six starter this year, is on the 60-day IL with a right subscapularis strain. Other depth arms like Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott are on the 15-day IL. The Orioles basically have a whole rotation on the injured list right now, and the arms who are healthy aren't doing anything productive.
Many of these arms were brought in during the offseason, and while they can eat innings, the quality of those innings is flat out bad. Charlie Morton's ERA is over 10 in five starts, and took the loss on 4/20, aka Easter, in a brutal 24-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. That was the 2nd most runs let up in a single game O's history, only behind the infamous 30-3 loss back in 2007 to the Texas Rangers. Tomoyuki Sugano has pitched to a 3.43 ERA in four starts, but the stuff is not overwhelming which is made apparent with only eight strikeouts this year, as he's been an arm known for his command throughout his career in Japan. Dean Kremer's ERA sits at 6.43 through four starts, and he's been a consistent back end of the rotation arm during his time in Baltimore as the last piece left in the Manny Machado deal. While young crafty lefty Cade Povich had a great spring and won the five spot in the rotation, he's been less than impressive with a 6.38 ERA in four starts and a sky high 2.07 WHIP. And although guys like Brandon Young, a UDFA in the 2020 draft who made his debut on 4/19 in the Orioles 9-5 win over the Reds and Kyle Gibson, who signed late in spring training and is ramping up in the minors to join the team soon are good pitchers, they essentially do the same thing the other guys already starting for the Orioles do. The rotation isn't exciting, and with all the injuries, it's not going to get any better unless a front-line arm is outsourced.
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| RHP Charlie Morton has been the face of Orioles' pitching struggles |
In conclusion, the starting pitching is a problem. Obviously, it wasn't going to be the same without Corbin Burnes, and the Orioles didn't try and replace him or recreate him in the aggregate. While their philosophy to try and build a rotation to last the whole year without injury makes sense in this day and age, they have learned the hard way you have to take the risk on a higher-level arm. there is still a chance they problems could be fixed via trade, such as Sandy Alcantara, who has three years left on his deal, and Coby Mayo is essentially a sitting duck on the trade block. This feels like the last time the birds can use their farm, or what's left of it, to trade for that guy who can start game one of a playoff series if they get there. I can say personally that it is really frustrating knowing you have a strong offensive core and a top tier farm that has provided that talent just for all that to go to waste due to poor supplementation of the roster. The O's were active in free agency, but it was more so for quantity of major leaguers vs quality of talent. The small, one-year deals add up quickly, and the 15 million owed to Morton plus 13 million owed to Sugano equates to 28 million dollars, which could net a frontline starter. I'm sure plenty of Orioles fans would happily exchange the two for a better pitcher as frustration is building early in the year. The offense is explosive, but it can't do anything if the pitching doesn't give them a chance. Hopefully the struggles are signs of needed change to those in charge, and those changes need to happen ASAP so the season doesn't slip away early.
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