Baltimore Orioles Reportedly Interested In Astros' World Series Winning Ace

Now that the Baltimore Orioles are locked into a long-term lease to stay at Camden Yards, all attention is now back on what this front office will do this offseason to ensure they can compete for a World Series.

After winning 101 games last year, they were swept out of the playoffs.

Now, the New York Yankees have improved, the Boston Red Sox are looking to aggressively spend and the Toronto Blue Jays have been linked with some of the best names on the market.

The Orioles can make sure they're not a one-hit wonder by improving the things that are glaring on this roster.

That's starting pitching.

It was their downfall during the 2023 postseason and could present the same challenges if it's not addressed. With so many good options seemingly available, it would be a mistake to not do something.

One starter that Baltimore is reportedly interested in is World Series winning ace Framber Valdez, who teams are monitoring to be potentially traded by the Houston Astros.

Ryan Bunton of Chowder & Champions writes, "Boston's AL East foe Baltimore Orioles, as well as the Chicago Cubs are also expected to be in contention for Valdez."

In six years with the Astros, Valdez has accumulated a record of 53-34 with an ERA of 3.40 across 129 appearances and 107 games started. He has finished inside the Top-10 of AL Cy Young voting the past two years and has pitched 80 2/3 innings in the postseason.

The Orioles have the prospects that would make Houston interested in dealing their ace as they would like to start rebuilding their pipeline that has become depleted.

As far as cost goes, Valdez is scheduled to make roughly $12 million in 2024, something that is well in Baltimore's comfort zone. He also has one more year of club control which adds to the appeal.

Whether anything develops out of this besides general interest will be seen, but if the Orioles want to become aggressive and get one of the top starters on the market, Valdez would be a great option.