Tarik Skubal is one of the best starting pitchers to reach free agency in recent memory. The two-time Cy Young winner’s quality rivals the likes of Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and CC Sabathia in open markets of late, though only time will tell if he’s able to match their post-contract production. 

The lefty is, without a doubt, the headliner of an otherwise underwhelming free agent class. Second place isn’t particularly close. 

The 2027 crop does have some quality options, especially starting pitchers, but is widely considered to be one of the weaker classes of the decade. After a laundry list of roster moves, “The Bird’s Nest” began to preview how the Orioles may approach this free agent period in our most recent episode.  

Luckily for Baltimore, that strength in the starting rotation class may be their primary focus. 

And that may just start with an old friend: Trevor Rogers. 

Rogers was one of eight players around baseball to receive a qualifying offer from his club, and rightfully so. The big lefty was the brightest spot of the O’s 2025 season, with a 1.81 ERA in 18 games. His 4.03 ERA in 2026 didn’t quite live up to that previous year’s promise, but a 2.90 ERA from June 1 on showed that his flash as a high-end starter wasn’t a fluke. 

It’s unlikely that Rogers will accept the qualifying offer, which would keep him in Baltimore for one year and 23.15 million dollars, as most players worthy of receiving the QO are also worthy of multi-year deals on the open market. So, if the Orioles want to keep the starter whose career they helped revive, they’ll almost surely have to compete with other bidders. 

If the O’s are looking elsewhere for high-end options, perhaps their attention will turn towards Michael King, Freddy Peralta, or Sonny Gray, among others. 

It’s not just the top of the rotation that Baltimore needs to address, though. The Orioles declined Zach Eflin’s 2027 option, and Chris Bassitt’s one-year deal has come and gone. That leaves just Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz and Brandon Young as surefire rotation pieces. 

My math tells me that the O’s will need more than three starters to get through a season. More than five, too. 

There are plenty of quality depth pieces available, but some particularly intriguing names include old friend Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes and Casey Mize. An Eflin return could make sense, too. 

The bullpen feels relatively set, especially after Ryan Helsley picked up his option for 2027 to return to Baltimore. And despite appearing in just 17 games last year and posting a 4.11 ERA, there are plenty of reasons to be encouraged by the right-hander’s return. 

Helsley is not far removed from a three-year stretch from 2022 to 2024 where he was one of the best closers in baseball. During that stretch, he made two All-Star teams, had a 1.83 ERA in 152 games, and led the majors in saves in 2024. That Helsley was in there last year, too, with a 2.92 xERA and exceptional underlying stats like a 38 percent whiff rate, 31 percent strikeout rate and 60.5 percent groundball rate. 

He gives the Orioles a second closing option, alongside Félix Bautista, and will rejoin a relief group that had the third-best bullpen ERA in baseball from June 1 on. Yennier Cano bounced back, Rico Garcia and Josh Walker emerged, and Anthony Nunez, Alex Hoppe, Grant Wolfram and Cam Sanders showed great flashes. 

Adrian Morejon, one of the best left-handed relievers in the game, would be very fun. Whether or not the Orioles will prioritize a bullpen addition of his caliber is another question entirely. 

Another position group that feels relatively set is the infielders, as seen in the club declining Ryan Mountcastle’s 2027 option. Mountcastle burst onto the scene in 2020 and 2021, but hasn’t been able to replicate that kind of production since. His most valuable role, prowess against left-handed pitching, is an area in which Coby Mayo has emerged as one of the best in the game. And his position of first base is occupied by Pete Alonso. 

A lack of room in the infield is a common theme. There’s a logjam at third base with Mayo, Jordan Westburg, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Blaze Alexander. Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday have the talent to be franchise staples, and Alonso hasn’t been too bad in Baltimore thus far, either. 

There’s likely room to add a backup catcher, as Carlos Narváez’s .315 OPS in Baltimore left something to be desired, though he did earn praise for his defense. Perhaps the O’s feel confident that Narváez can get back to his 2025 form, a season in which he posted a .726 OPS, or that Ethan Anderson could be an answer sooner rather than later.  

Finally, there’s the outfield, where the Orioles opted not to retain Luis Robert or Heston Kjerstad. 

Kjerstad, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, was fighting an uphill battle with health issues from the moment he got drafted. When he came back strong in 2023 and 2024, a concussion halted his progress. Things never really clicked in Baltimore, and his time as a high-upside prospect is in the rear-view mirror. 

Neither Robert or Kjerstad played large roles for the O’s in 2026, so the outfield picture remains relatively unchanged since last year’s deadline: murky. There wasn’t much offensive production to speak of, though Colton Cowser did provide great defense in center field. 

And with Leody Taveras’ departure, the Orioles will have to account for his nearly 140 games played. That could be made up by Enrique Bradfield Jr., the former first-round pick that could even break camp with the team, or a combination of a healthier Dylan Beavers and the do-it-all Alexander. 

In free agency, Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki might just be the two best position players available, regardless of position. They present the high-end options, and while they are good fits in Baltimore, the competition for their services will likely be fierce. After those two, there’s Ian Happ, old friends Taylor Ward, Ramon Laureano and Cedric Mullins, and great defenders like Daulton Varsho and Myles Straw. 

There’s always the trade market, too. 

The Orioles hit a home run in last year’s class with the addition of Alonso, and made moves for impact big leaguers on the trade market like Alexander and Baz. If they’re able to replicate that success, they’ll be in a good position for 2027.