Insider Says Baltimore Orioles Could Pursue Miami Starter Again
The Baltimore Orioles have taken bad news on the pitching front during spring training this week.
Kyle Bradish will start the season on the injured list with a torn UCL in his throwing arm, an ominous injury that could lead to Tommy John surgery. The Orioles and Bradish are going to the rehab route first.
Meanwhile, John Means — who had Tommy John surgery in 2022 and returned briefly for the end of the 2023 season — is questions for Opening Day with an elbow injury.
The Orioles have the arms to withstand the losses in spring training, and perhaps even in the short term in the regular season. But if the O’s lost both for the season, that that would damage their hopes of a successful AL East Division title defense.
After one seismic trade this offseason, the Orioles may be inclined to reboot talks with Miami about another veteran pitcher as protection.
USA Today insider Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday that the O’s could “get back in touch” with the Marlins after they had “extensive” talks about Jesus Luzardo before they ultimately traded for Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes.
Luzardo is coming off his best Major League season in 2023, as he went 10-10 with a 3.58 ERA. It was the first time the left-hander reached double-digit wins in a season. He also made a career-high 32 starts. He had never started more than 18 games in a season since he broke in with Oakland in 2019.
He has a career 23-28 record with a 4.18 ERA while striking out 10.1 hitters per nine innings.
Luzardo is also desirable because he comes with two more years of team control. He can’t become a free agent until 2027.
That also means the price to acquire him could be higher.
But given the Orioles’ sudden issues in the rotation, making a move for a pitcher Luzardo might be wise.
