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Ranger Suárez signed with the Red Sox. The Marlins traded Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for three prospects. The Brewers traded Freddy Peralta to the Mets for two prospects. The Nationals traded MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers yesterday for five prospects.
The options for the Orioles’ rotation are dwindling.
So is the competition for the other starters.
Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen remain available in free agency. The trade market isn’t dry, though Peralta and Gore were two of the more appealing candidates. Gore has two more years of team control.
The industry seems braced for the Orioles to make the next big move, but yesterday’s activity was confined to the waiver claim of infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson from the Phillies.
How the East Division is won could hinge on whether the Orioles find another impactful arm. The lineup has potent potential with the signing of first baseman Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract and the Taylor Ward trade that cost oft-injured starter Grayson Rodriguez. But is the pitching staff strong enough to push the team over the top?
The rotation today would have Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers at No. 1 and 2, with Shane Baz perhaps at No. 3 and the rest scrambled. Dean Kremer fits somewhere in the back, but Zach Eflin’s uncertain status for Opening Day is a complication.
Tyler Wells is in if Eflin goes on the injured list following his August back surgery, and he’s out if Eflin is ready. But that’s only under the current conditions. The arrival of another starter, even a fallback option like Justin Verlander, really messes with the math.
Eflin completed a bullpen session on Jan. 6. A week earlier, he told the media in a video call that he felt “fantastic.”
“As of now my goal is to be ready for Opening Day for the first start of the season,” he said. “It could change. I don’t know. We still have another month and a half to go until I get to spring, but I feel better than I ever have in my life and I’m fully prepared to be ready for that first week of the season.”
The latest mock roster will include Eflin as the No. 4 or 5. Take your pick. Perhaps his early innings can be more easily manipulated if he’s fifth.
Wells moves to the bullpen in this scenario. Albert Suárez, re-signed to a minor league deal, also can fill the role of a swingman.
Ryan Helsley is the new closer and Andrew Kittredge returned to assist in a set-up role. Left-handers Keegan Akin and Dietrich Enns appear to have spots waiting for them.
That leaves two more openings.
Yennier Cano would have to pitch his way off the roster, and it’s possible because he has minor league options. I think he stays in the latest attempt to recapture his 2023 All-Star form.
Kade Strowd allowed five earned runs in 26 1/3 innings as a rookie and should get strong consideration. Rico Garcia also is in the competition after signing a split contract, but Grant Wolfram would give the Orioles a third left-hander.
There’s also Yaramil Hiraldo, Anthony Nunez, Colin Selby, Chayce McDermott and starters like Cade Povich and Brandon Young who could become relievers or head back to Triple-A Norfolk.
I have Strowd, Garcia and Wolfram battling for the last spot, but I also like Nunez as a spring training dark horse. And I also know that president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias could acquire at least one more reliever, perhaps a high-leverage lefty, and blow up the mock.
The position side hasn’t changed, and neither have the questions about how the Orioles will make it work.
Of course, Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo are the catchers, and a third seems impossible to squeeze onto the roster. Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo are the infielders. Ward, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers and Leody Taveras are the outfielders.
Where’s the utility infielder? Or Jeremiah Jackson to attempt it?
Trading for a starting pitcher might create a spot or two on the major league roster. Jackson has three minor league options, if he can't win a job.
We’re less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to camp and the Orioles aren’t ready to crumple their shopping list.
