Shane Baz acquisition has direct impact on other Orioles' starters

The Baltimore Orioles' acquisition of Shane Baz came at a significant cost, as the club traded prospects Slater de Brun, Caden Bodine, Michael Forret, Austin Overn, and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to Tampa Bay for the former Rays right-hander.

But president of baseball operations Mike Elias sees Baz as a high-upside addition to Baltimore's starting rotation. Baz remains under team control for three more seasons and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time starting next season, giving Baltimore a controllable arm with untapped potential for years to come.

Qualified starters who ranked among the top 20 in both strikeout rate and groundball rate last season:

Paul Skenes
Garrett Crochet
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Hunter Brown
Logan Webb
Sonny Gray
Gavin Williams
Shane Baz

Not a bad list for the new Orioles starter to be on.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) December 19, 2025

Baz's arrival, however, has created questions for several current Orioles starters, including Tyler Wells, Cade Povich, and Brandon Young.

Roch Kubatko on the Shane Baz trade fallout

In a December 24 article, MASN's Roch Kubatko addressed several offseason questions that remain for Baltimore. Among those questions was what the fallout of the Baz trade would look like.

According to Kubatko, if the season were to begin today, Baltimore's starting pitching rotation would mostly likely comprise of Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Baz, Dean Kremer, and Wells. While Baz strengthens the staff, Baltimore remains in search of additional rotation upgrades, leaving Wells' status uncertain.

Orioles' Mike Elias in a Zoom press conference says he sees Shane Baz's ceiling as a "top of the rotation starter" but that they aren't expecting him to get there right away.

He said they're still looking at other rotation upgrades.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) December 20, 2025

Adding another starter could significantly affect Wells' role, and potentially move him permanently to the bullpen. Wells made his debut with Baltimore in 2021 as a reliever, but transitioned to a starter in 2022.

In 55 appearances (50 starts) since then, he has gone 16-16 with a 3.96 ERA. Injuries, however, have hindered Wells, including right UCL revision surgery that limited him to just seven combined starts in 2024 and 2025. A bullpen role could allow Wells to manage workload concerns as he continues to recover.

In addition to the impact on Wells, Baz's arrival seems to have a more direct impact on young starters Cade Povich and Brandon Young. Both battled injuries last season (Povich with left hip inflammation and Young with a left hamstring strain) and have struggled to find consistency at the big league level.

Povich has a 5.20 ERA across 38 career appearances, while Young went 1-7 with a 6.24 ERA in 12 starts during his rookie season. In all likelihood, Baz pushes both young starters down the depth chart.

The Orioles' pitching staff struggled in 2025, as their 4.60 team ERA was tied for the fifth-worst in baseball. Baltimore has already added help for the starting rotation and bullpen in the form of Baz and Ryan Helsley, and are expected to continue pursuing pitching help on both ends.

If the O's land another starter this offseason, it almost certainly would change the role of Wells, Povich, or Young, and could see them move to the bullpen, or even begin 2026 in Triple-A Norfolk.

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Roch Kubatko on the Shane Baz trade fallout

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