Despite going to the postseason two seasons in a row, having a young core of stars, and a new owner who wants to have a great team; the Baltimore Orioles haven’t made a big move this offseason. The only players the team has added are Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sanchez, Tomoyuki Sugano, and most recently Charlie Morton, hardly names to get excited over. Meanwhile, key players like all-stars Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander have all departed. This offseason has been a major disappointment for the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles Failed To Show Up In The Postseason Again
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Baltimore Orioles had another fantastic season last year. They went 91-71 and made the postseason for the second consecutive season. The last time the Orioles went to the postseason in back-to-back years was in 1996 and 1997. However, the Baltimore Orioles would be swept out of the Wild Card round by the upstart Kansas City Royals. Orioles’ stars Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, and Colton Cowser combined to go just 4 for 36 with no extra-base hits or RBI. It was the second year in a row Baltimore failed to win a playoff series. This also extended the Baltimore Orioles’ postseason losing streak to ten games in a row. However, with the team now under new ownership, Oriole fans had reasons to be optimistic heading into the offseason.
The Team Hasn’t Put The Money Where Their Mouth Is
Once Baltimore’s offseason began, there were plenty of needs the team needed to address specifically in their outfield and pitching staff. With a new owner and General Manager Mike Elias talking about having a bigger payroll; Oriole fans thought the team would finally spend money on a marquee name. However, the Orioles have not signed a big-name free agent and it’s almost as if the Angelos family still owns the team. So far, Baltimore has signed veteran outfielder Tyler O’Neill, journeyman catcher Gary Sanchez, career Japanese league pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, and 41-year-old starter Charlie Morton. This wasn’t the offseason that Oriole fans were expecting under new owner David Rubenstein. It’s almost as if John Angelos didn’t sell the team.
Compared to what the team lost in free agency this offseason; these moves can be considered downgrades. The team has lost ace Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks and last year’s team home run leader Anthony Santander will be playing elsewhere. Meanwhile, the AL East has gotten much tougher with the improvements the Yankees and Red Sox have made to their teams. Compared to last season and what Baltimore lost this offseason, the team seems to be taking a step backward.
The Orioles Were Cheap With Their Starting Rotation Again
Embed from Getty ImagesBaltimore had plenty of reasons to pursue marquee free-agent starting pitchers. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are still recovering from Tommy John surgery and won’t be available until July. While Albert Suarez had a career year, however, he had an ERA of 4.87 after the all-star break. Outside of Burnes, Suarez, and Zach Eflin, Orioles starting pitching left much to be desired last season. Grayson Rodriguez was mediocre while other starters like Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin, and Trevor Rogers were disasters. Rogers would even be sent down to the minors after three starts and Irvin would be designated for assignment in mid-September.
As the pitching staff currently stands, the team has no front-line starter. Free agent signee Charlie Morton is 41-years-old and it won’t be long until Father Time catches up to him. He’s coming off a year where he had a mediocre 4.19 ERA and gave up 23 homers. Morton’s strikeout rate has been slowly declining over the past four years as well. Tomoyuki Sugano is a big question mark given that he’s never pitched in an MLB game.
The Orioles missed out on big opportunities to improve their rotation this offseason. If Mike Elias had more courage, the team could’ve acquired Garrett Crochet. This would’ve given the team a controllable ace for the next two years. Every team in baseball craves to have a controllable all-star caliber pitcher. Instead, Elias continues to be too scared to trade prospects for proven talent.
Signing Tyler O’Neill Is Like Finding Fool’s Gold
Embed from Getty ImagesThe signing of Tyler O’Neill meant that Anthony Santander’s time in Baltimore was coming to an end. Baltimore inked O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million deal. While he hit 31 homers, which was the second most of his career, O’Neill benefited greatly from playing in Fenway Park. Fenway Park is a heavenly place for right-handed power hitters like O’Neill. Out of the 31 home runs he hit last season, 16 of them were hit in Boston. Despite having 31-round trippers, the former longtime Cardinal only had 61 RBI. He also had a very high strikeout rate of 33.6%. As a team, the Orioles struck out 1,359 times which was the fourth most in the American League. Adding a player like O’Neill only makes this issue worse.
The 29-year-old will now play in a more pitcher-friendly ballpark at Camden Yards. The ballpark only allowed 79 home runs to righties last season. Throughout his entire career, Tyler O’Neill has had durability issues. He’s only played more than 100 games just twice in his career. While the team was never going to be in contention for Juan Soto, better outfielders like Teoscar Hernandez and Michael Conforto were available.
Nothing Has Changed With The Orioles
Despite the excitement surrounding the team being sold, this offseason has been one giant letdown. The team neglected to sign a star. Baltimore has taken a step backward compared to last season. While stars like Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander have departed, Baltimore’s response has been to replace them with less talented players. The Orioles had every opportunity to strengthen their starting rotation but were left in the dust. GM Mike Elias’s apparent fear of trading prospects cost them the opportunity to get Garrett Crochet. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Red Sox have both gotten a lot better this offseason.
While the Orioles will most likely make the postseason in 2025, don’t be surprised if they’re eliminated early again. A team isn’t going to win the World Series when it loses two all-stars, signs less talented players to replace them, ignores the opportunity to augment its rotation, and has its biggest signing be an injury-prone Tyler O’Neill.
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