Baltimore Orioles Seemingly Have 'No Interest' In Controversial Star Pitcher

When thinking about who the Baltimore Orioles might pursue in the free agency market, it's best to start with who makes the most sense financially.

While landing someone like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery would certainly be something they'd love to do, they just don't have the capability of meeting the prices those players are looking for in their next contracts.

So, if they are going to sign a free agent, it will be as cost effective as possible.

With controversial pitcher, Trevor Bauer, looking to make his Major League return after a year playing Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, some might have thought the Orioles would at least think about signing him because of his likely cheap asking price.

However, Roch Kubatko of MASN doesn't think Baltimore will go down that road.

"I don’t know everything that goes on behind closed Orioles doors, but I haven’t heard about any interest ... The Orioles always do [due diligence] and then make their own decisions based on their information and comfort level. We’ll see what happens," he writes.

Bauer was a solid pitcher in the league for a long time before his career took off in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He won the NL Cy Young award after posting a 1.73 ERA across 11 starts and 73 innings pitched.

This got him a $102 million payday from the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into the 2021 season.

He made 17 starts and had a record of 8-5 record with a 2.59 ERA before he was investigated for sexual assault claims that ultimately landed him a 324 game suspension for violating the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. This was eventually reduced to 194 games, but the Dodgers released him on Jan. 12, 2023.

Bauer repeatedly denied the allegations and eventually settled the legal dispute.

The right-hander played last season with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars and posted a 2.76 ERA across 19 starts and 130 2/3 innings pitched.

Looking to get back into Major League Baseball, he could be an option for the Orioles.

But like Kubatko said, the organization will do their own research into Bauer before deciding if they want to bring him in.

As it looks right now, they have no interest in doing that.