Baltimore Orioles Strange Offseason Got Even Stranger With Their Latest Signing

The Baltimore Orioles will compete for an AL East title this season.

They have too many good players to not contend for the division and an automatic berth into the playoffs.

But if they'll actually be able to finish in first place or win a playoff series is unknown.

A lot of that has to do with the departures that took place this winter, highlighted by Corbin Burnes leaving his post as the ace of this staff and Anthony Santander cashing in with a lucrative deal.

The Orioles replaced both in different ways; signing power-hitter Tyler O'Neill to take over in right and adding multiple starters to the rotation to create depth.

However, it's hard to look at what Baltimore has done this winter and not think it's been strange.

After missing out on Burnes despite offering him a significant financial package that would have reportedly been the most lucrative contract handed out in franchise history, general manager Mike Elias and the rest of the organization decided to not maintain their aggressive mindset.

Instead, they have added fringe players.

And perhaps nothing was more strange than their most recent signing.

The Orioles have added Ramon Laureano to the mix, now the fifth Major League-ready outfielder in the equation with a sixth, Daz Cameron, on the 40-man roster.

This comes on the heels of signing Dylan Carlson, something that wasn't a huge financial commitment, but already created a murky outlook for the outfield unit before they added Laureano.

Coming in, outfield seemed to be one of the lesser concerns on this roster, behind only the infield that's loaded with All-Star players, solid veterans and a plethora of former top prospects.

Yet, even after addressing the hole in right field by signing O'Neill, Baltimore still felt the need to add two more outfielders when it seemed like Heston Kjerstad was already inline to get more playing time this season.

It's strange.

Elias said the goal was to add as much depth as possible to avoid what happened last year when they were derailed by injuries, but for an organization that operates under such a tight budget, allocating resources to an area of the roster that didn't have a noticeable weakness is head-scratching.

There's still time left for Baltimore to make a significant move before the 2025 campaign gets underway.

If they're able to pull off a trade for Dylan Cease or Luis Castillo, then this entire argument is a moot point.

However, if this is how the offseason finishes for the Orioles, strange would be the only appropriate way to describe things.

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