Acquiring Past World Series Winner Makes Sense for Baltimore Orioles

It has been a busy offseason for the Baltimore Orioles, who will look a bit different than they did in 2024.

Coming into the winter, the Orioles knew they would have two of their best players hitting free agency. Both Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander were two of the top free agents available, and neither will be playing in Baltimore next season.

Burnes signed a long-term deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Santander recently signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. Losing both will certainly have an impact on the team, considering the right-hander was their ace and the switch-hitting slugger led the team in home runs.

So far, the Orioles have been active in trying to replace both players with free agents. However, when it comes to Burnes, replacing an ace isn’t easy.

This offseason, Baltimore signed both Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, the latter of whom will be coming over from Japan. While both are solid veterans, neither will be able to lead this rotation in 2025.

Based on the moves this offseason, the Orioles might be prioritizing depth in the rotation rather than trying to find an ace to lead it.

With that in mind, one potential intriguing option for them in the trade market is left-hander Jordan Montgomery.

It was a dreadful campaign for the southpaw in 2024 with the Diamondbacks. After signing late in the offseason, the left-hander never got going with Arizona and had the worst showing of his career.

When things start poorly, it is easy to press and for things to spiral, and that is exactly what happened with Montgomery.

Last year, he totaled an 8-7 record and 6.23 ERA. It was pretty shocking to see his record finish over .500 despite the high ERA, but it wasn’t a good campaign for the 32-year-old.

Even though the owner of the Diamondbacks made some harsh comments about signing the southpaw, he wisely elected to opt in to his player option for 2025.

Especially after signing Burnes, Arizona will likely be trying to trade him and save as much money as they possibly can on the contract.

For the Orioles, that makes him an appealing option.

In 2023, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, he totaled a 3.20 ERA and won a World Series. The southpaw isn’t too far removed from that successful season, and with just the one-year contract now, he wouldn’t be a potential burden long-term.

While the money Baltimore would have to take on would likely determine any potential interest, Montgomery could be a low-risk, high-reward option if he can pitch like he did in 2023 and in years prior.