Baltimore Orioles Not Adequately Replacing Ace Has Come Back To Haunt Them

The decision not to replace Corbin Burnes has come back to haunt the Baltimore Orioles.

Apr 12, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Chase Field. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

It has been a poor start to the season for the Baltimore Orioles, but the team is hopeful to be able to turn things around sooner rather than later.

Coming into the year, expectations were high for the Orioles. This is a franchise that has won the most regular season games in the American League over the last two campaigns, and appeared to be on a trajectory toward becoming a staple atop the league.

However, while there has been plenty of success, they have yet to achieve that in October, when it matters the most.

Now, with the slow start coupled by a concerning offseason, it feels like Baltimore might have missed a huge opportunity to build something special.

Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription required) recently spoke about the biggest issue with the Orioles being the offseason decision to not aggressively pursue an ace to replace Corbin Burnes.

“The Orioles did not act aggressively enough to replace Corbin Burnes. Baltimore’s back-end veteran acquisitions in Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton have looked like back-end veteran acquisitions.”

The starting rotation has been a looming issue for Baltimore to begin the year with some really ineffective performances early on. Furthermore, injuries have also become a major issue.

While the decision to let Burnes go can be defended, the lack of action to replace him can’t. The right-hander was 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA last campaign, proving that he is one of the best in the game.

Replacing him were two veterans in Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton. While Sugano has gotten off to a nice start to his career in the Majors, Morton has been terrible.

What has really been the issue as well is the injuries to their projected top two starters. Both Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin have missed a lot of starts already this season, and a recent setback for Rodriguez is worrisome.

In 18 games, the starting rotation ranks only above the Colorado Rockies in starter’s ERA. This is not the company that the Orioles want to be with, considering the Rockies are one of the worst teams in baseball.

While it is still early in the campaign, Baltimore does have a major issue with the rotation. With key players out and seemingly not enough talent, the unit is destined to struggle.

Luckily, the lineup has started to heat up a bit in recent games. While the rotation has garnered a lot of attention, the lineup has also underperformed. However, there is reason to believe that will turn around.

Furthermore, if the Orioles want to be a contender, they need to find an ace to lead this staff.