Baltimore Orioles Maybe Won’t Land Ace After All?
When looking at the biggest weakness on the Baltimore Orioles’ roster, it’s easy to point to the starting rotation.
Their starters were shredded in the postseason, one of the main reasons why they were swept out of the ALDS after winning the most games in the American League.
Another year of development should help out the young arms for the Orioles, but getting a bona fide ace would go a long way to ensure they are true contenders to win a World Series title.
That’s why Baltimore has been linked to just about every top arm available on the trade market this offseason.
Mike Elias will always look for value when deciding to ship out players and won’t make a hasty decision, despite having a plethora of star prospects he could package.
Will he find an offer that he thinks will benefit his club without giving up too much in return?
Roch Kubatko of MASN isn’t so sure.
“The Orioles will acquire a starting pitcher but he won’t be on the mound for Opening Day … Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias could aim for the middle or backend of the rotation, which he’s willing to do, and give Kyle Bradish the Opening Day assignment if the right-hander earns it in camp,” he writes.
This might be disappointing for fans to hear who want them to make a move for Dylan Cease or one of the top arms from the Miami Marlins.
Kubatko isn’t ruling out they could still trade for an ace, but notes the asking price might be too high for Elias to consider because of the star-studded farm system other teams want to take advantage of looting.
It’s still early and teams who have an eye on rebuilding could eventually reduce their asking price to a level that interests the Orioles, but if that’s not the case, they would be comfortable starting their current ace Kyle Bradish on Opening Day.
Baltimore has mainly added back-end rotation pitchers the past two offseasons, so them potentially pivoting from a No. 1 guy to a middle-level starter would still be an upgrade.
