Baltimore Orioles Have Two Questions That Will Determine Success Next Season

If the Baltimore Orioles can overcome these two questions, they will find success in 2025.

Aug 14, 2023; San Diego, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Felix Bautista (74) prepares to pitch against the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning at Petco Park. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

There are some people concerned about the outlook of the Baltimore Orioles with only one month until Spring Training.

They lost some impact talent this offseason in free agency with their ace, Corbin Burnes, signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks and right fielder Anthony Santander landing with their American League East rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Any time a team loses All-Star talent, there will be questions about how their production will be replaced.

The Orioles wasted no time in finding a Santander replacement, as they signed Tyler O’Neill in free agency early on. Replacing Burnes, however, will be a challenge as they have yet to bring on a true No. 1 starter.

But, there is some really solid depth in place with Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, Dean Kremer, Albert Suarez, Trevor Rogers and eventually the injured Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells joining the mix.

There are two bigger questions for Baltimore with Spring Training right around the corner, as shared by Joel Rueter of Bleacher Report; their bullpen and a star prospect living up to expectations.

“The biggest question marks are how closer Félix Bautista performs in his return from Tommy John surgery and whether Jackson Holliday can take a step forward in his development after struggling to establish himself in 2024.”

Did the front office do enough to shore up the bullpen in the event that Felix Bautista needs some time to knock off the rust?

A full season of Seranthony Dominguez will certainly help and one of the most underrated moves of the winter was their signing of Andrew Kittredge. 

A Gregory Soto bounceback is certainly possible, especially if Brandon Hyde can find a defined role for him as the fluidity of Rob Thomson’s usage of the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen did not jive with the former All-Star well.

Don’t forget about Keegan Akin and Yannier Cano as well.

This is a deep group with enough arms to compensate for Bautista to round into form. If he returns to his previous levels of dominance, this could be among the best bullpens in baseball.

As for the lineup, if there was one team that had enough firepower to overcome a slow start for a star prospect, it is the Orioles.

They would assuredly love to see Holliday get on track and blossom, but if he shows that he isn’t ready for the full-time job at second base, they have options to turn to.

Jordan Westburg, who was an All-Star in his second professional season in 2024, can shift over to second, clearing out third base for another star prospect, Coby Mayo.

Jorge Mateo, if he is healthy enough to play, can step into a larger role and Ramon Urias stepped up nicely when called upon last campaign.