The Orioles Rotation Has Been Their Biggest Surprise. So It's Time To Sell High On 2 Starters

The focus on whether Mike Elias should buy or sell has mostly been on the bats, but he has some interesting arms that could fetch real returns too

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers (28) throws a pitch in the first inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, Friday, July 3, 2026, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Orioles starting pitching has been the strength of the ballclub, in so much as a team that is flirting with last place in a bad year in the American League has them.

A franchise that the GM said would compete to win the division, is anything but a true contender, and is on an identical pace to the 2025 edition that Mike Elias used to sell off pieces and purge as much as possible last August as part of his perpetual rebuild. A lot of the attention ahead of the deadline has gone to the many position players in Baltimore who have not developed as planned.

And understandably so, with Elias’s first ever draft pick, Adley Rutschman, among those who absolutely should be dealt in the coming weeks. But what about that pitching that has proven to be so surprising? Where does that rotation figure into the short-term plan and long-term plan to actually put a competitive product on the field?

As always, we have some ideas about what should be on the agenda. And even if they moved a few starters, in what has already been a largely lost season with a rotation that is built far more for the regular season than October, they can still get through this season and, with a little luck, continue to be essentially the same caliber of team as they’ve been (low bar to be sure).

Because for the fans of the franchise, it’s about winning big in October and having a parade. And with Trevor Rogers wildly inconsistent and displaying serious issues handling pressure and with Kyle Bradish not having thrown even 40 innings in a season the past two years, just nursing him through regular season will be tricky enough.

Shane Baz is the very definition of a league-average guy who also doesn’t get the whiffs his frame and minor league profile would suggest, and with this proving to be another useful opportunity to audition the few interesting arms they have in the high minors, Elias had best get real about how to reposition this organization.

Rogers Must Go

Sell while he's hot. Because nothing last for too long with him.

In a great run of form after an eight-game stretch where he looked like he belonged in AAA. There was the 18-game stretch before that, last year, after they fired the manager and the season was over, where Rogers looked like Cy Young … but the season before that he pitched four times after being acquired at the deadline and was shipped off to AAA with a WHIP around 2.00.

He is a free agent after the season. The Orioles have almost no payroll obligations next year. So re-sign him. The idea of hoping you get a comp pick for him – when Elias is suspect at drafting – and getting an asset that far away from helping you is silly. Get close-to-MLB ready stuff for him now and buy him back if you really think he’s fixed.

Replacement: Trey Gibson is really raw and has obvious command issues, as evidenced by his first stint here. He also has swing-and-miss stuff and between him and 2023 draft pick Nestor German there is room for the Orioles to look at another young arm and start seeing what they can do with it. I’m only enough to remember Elias talking about Cade Povich being a future front of the rotation starter when they traded for him; that’s not going to be the case but the lefty piggybacking with either of these guys would make sense to me.

Kremer Should Go

Dean Kremer is an inning eater who can, most years, give you are ERA right around the MLB average. There is a definite value in that. But he has also started to break down more the past two years and he has one more year of arbitration control (2027) in what could be a labor-shortened season.

He is the kind of guy who is available to sign every offseason if you know what you are doing and this franchise has, again, almost no guaranteed contracts on the books and also has a middling-at-best farm system with a terrible track record with pitchers, so the more lottery tickets the better. Another strong start or two and they would actually be selling relatively high on someone for once. His ERA+ of 104 is the second-highest of his career.

Replacement: They are going to be stuck with Chris Bassitt, who is on his way back from injury and is making $18M. He’s hailed for being great with kid pitchers and all that stuff, so have him do plenty of that on the days he’s not eating innings or trying to eat innings.

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