Baltimore Orioles Continue to Leave Multiple Offseason Goals and Needs Incomplete

The Baltimore Orioles haven't done enough to keep up with the other American League contenders.

Jul 13, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (left) is joined by catcher Adley Rutschman (center) and coach Drew French (right) during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

This offseason has been a somewhat difficult one for the Baltimore Orioles.

Right off the bat, they were preparing for some significant losses of talent. Their best starting pitcher, Corbin Burnes, and right fielder Anthony Santander were both hitting free agency.

Of the two, Santander would be the easier one to replace.

The Orioles are overflowing with hitting talent, including former No. 2 overall pick Heston Kjerstad, who is patiently waiting for an expanded role. Tyler O’Neill was also signed early in free agency, as the writing was on the wall for weeks that Santander wouldn’t be returning.

That became official when he agreed to a massive deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that could be for as long as 4-6 years depending on what happens with opt-outs and options.

Burnes's departure, as he signed a six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, hurts a lot more.

There aren’t any ready-made aces in the organization that were waiting to assume his position atop the rotation. The options in free agency were quickly signed, not that Baltimore was going to pay the premium it would cost to land a player of that caliber.

To this point, the Orioles have opted to take the quantity approach to fill their rotation, signing veteran Charlie Morton and importing Tomoyuki Sugano from Japan.

Their depth is excellent with Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer penciled in to start along with the two veterans. Albert Suarez remains in the mix, as does Trevor Rogers and eventually Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells.

But, that lack of a true No. 1 is going to be costly when trying to keep up with the other contenders in the American League.

In their own division, they will be facing off against Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Garrett Crochet and Tanner Houck. Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans and Jacob deGrom headline other playoff-hopeful teams, along with the Seattle Mariners' top-flight rotation.

As MLB expert David Schoenfield of ESPN put it, “There are lot of "ifs" in this group.”

That is a big reason why he gave them a grade of “C” for their offseason work and it is hard to argue against that.

The team’s window to contend is open right now. They have more lineup depth than virtually any team in baseball, loaded with young emerging stars at the Major League level and stud prospects knocking on the door.

But, it does not matter how many runs a team can score if they are unable to prevent their opponent from racking them up as well.

Right now, pitching remains their biggest need and until they can land an ace to anchor the rotation, they will be a tier below their peers.