The A's Have to Avoid the Baltimore Orioles Mistakes This Offseason

Aug 21, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) looks toward the crowd after an at bat during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images | James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles were postseason contenders off and on from 2012-2016, playing in October every other year. After a 75-win season in 2017, they absolutely fell apart and combined to go 178-365 over the following four seasons. Those bad seasons led to some good draft picks, and as those players reached the big leagues, the team returned to relevance.

In 2023, they made the postseason again, losing 3-0 in the ALDS, and then losing again in the Wild Card round, 2-0. Even with all of the losing they did to acquire the draft picks, and those picks panning out fairly well, the team has yet to win a game in the postseason during this current stretch.

Now, there are questions about just how good the Orioles will be in 2026 and beyond, as that young core remains without long-term contracts.

Last winter it looked to be clear that Baltimore should go out and sign some pitching after they held a 3.94 ERA as a team, but that was with their one year of Corbin Burnes and his 2.92 ERA in nearly 200 innings. The rest of the rotation was much more league average and due for some upgrades.

But the Orioles didn't do much to supplement their rotation, or their pitching staff, and they ended up falling off a cliff in 2025, going from a 91-win club to a 75-win team. The A's finished with a 76-86 record this past season.

The team in West Sacramento also needs to add some pitching this offseason after posting a 4.71 ERA, which ranked them 27th in baseball in 2025. Coincidentally, that's one spot below the Orioles, who finished 26th with a 4.62.

While the A's have a little more team control over their young group of burgeoning stars on the offensive side of the ball, they're in a similar position to where the Orioles find themselves, needing to capitalize on the talent that they have while they are still affordable.

After Nick Kurtz became arguably the best first baseman in baseball in his rookie season, it's likely we'll see him start making huge sums of money when he hits arbitration in 2028. Tyler Soderstrom, who broke out in a big way in 2025, hits arbitration in 2027, while Jacob WIlson and Jacob Lopez both join Kurtz in 2028.

These coming years will be the A's best chances to maximize the talent on their roster, and they're going to need to be bold with their decisions moving forward.

While they can blame their minor-league ballpark for not being able to attract free agents, that was a decision the organization made for itself. Nobody was forcing them into that situation, so now they have to figure out how to maximize their window in the most budget-friendly way they can for their owner.

The Orioles are expected to target pitching this offseason, which could put them in on similar players as the A's in terms of free agency. The A's best path forward to acquiring pitching talent may be on the trade market, since those players wouldn't have a choice in joining the green and gold.

It doesn't matter how the A's end up improving their pitching staff this winter, it's just important that they made some good, solid additions rather than sitting out the entire offseason. Otherwise, they could end up wasting a year of their talented core like the Orioles in 2025.