Could Baltimore Orioles Be Landing Spot For Two-Time All-Star Ace?

The Baltimore Orioles are the type of team that could add an ace to their rotation ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

May 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles need to add to their rotation ahead of the MLB trade deadline and they could add a big name thanks to their deep farm system.

ESPN Insider Jeff Passan recently mentioned the team's need to add starters after the injuries of John Means and Tyler Wells. One star pitcher that he also hinted could be on the move was Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez.

Valdez has had an interesting 2024 that saw him suffer an early injury as well as getting shelled by the Los Angeles Angels for eight runs in five innings of work, but he's been mostly still impressive this year.

So far, in 54.2 innings of work, he has a 3.95 ERA and 1.244 WHIP. If you took out the one game in which he got hit really hard, he would have a sub-3.00 ERA, though.

The southpaw has made an All-Star team in each of the past two seasons and has emerged as one of baseball's best pitchers.

He finds most of his outs by forcing hitters to hit ground balls. He relies on a sinker that has more movement than the average pitcher. It's his most thrown pitch as well as his most valuable.

One of the biggest reasons that the 30-year-old has taken a step back this season has been the regression of his breaking/offspeeed pitches, though.

He's been able to rely on both his curveball and changeup for the past few seasons but isn't having the same success right now. While it's not a positive, it also isn't the end of the world. He's shown the ability to throw the pitches very well in the past and could just be hitting a rough spot right now.

His time in Houston could be coming to an end after the 2025 seasons either way, but the Astros could possibly be convinced to trade him before that.

Passan mentioned that while Houston is not a team that rushes into making big trades, they also know that the futures of star players like Valdez or Kyle Tucker likely see them leaving.

Most of these types of trades happen in the offseason, but combining what the Orioles have to offer with what the Astros would likely need to accept a trade in the middle of a season.

Players like Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby, Dylan Beavers or Enrique Bradfield Jr. could be on the move while also allowing Baltimore to hold on to their most valuable names. If Houston would rather a pitcher, both Chayce McDermott and Cade Povich have been performing at a level that should make them attractive pieces in a trade offer.

The pieces are there for a trade to get done, it just depends on how much the Orioles front office feels like they need another pitcher in this rotation.