Baltimore Orioles Should Use Rangers as Inspiration During Offseason
The Baltimore Orioles put together an incredible season in 2023.
They finished with the American League's best record and won the AL East, enroute to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
Their opponent in the ALDS round was the eventual World Series champion, Texas Rangers, who swept them in three games to end their season.
It was a disappointing end to the year after preforming at such a high level throughout the regular season.
But that can be used as a lesson in what it takes to win a World Series title and the Orioles should draw inspiration from the Rangers when building their roster for years to come.
Texas spent tons of money to acquire star hitters and starting pitchers in free agency.
That's what wins in the playoffs.
Corey Seager was World Series MVP. Marcus Semien was huge throughout the entire year. Nathan Eovaldi now has the most wins for a starting pitcher in a single postseason run.
Baltimore doesn't have the payroll to emulate what the Rangers did these past couple offseasons, so expecting them to follow that same pattern is unrealistic.
What they should do, however, is see how aggressive Texas was to acquire winning pieces and apply that to their own roster.
The Rangers got starters Jordan Montgomery and Max Scherzer at the deadline and bolstered their bullpen, adding even more talent to their star studded group.
Having a top-rated farm system is nice, but that won't equal winning championships for the Orioles.
They are in win-now mode.
Baltimore should be identifying which prospects they are willing to part ways with and aggressively package those players for winning pieces of their own.
Despite the regular season success that the Orioles had, Texas completely dismantled them in the playoffs.
To reach the goal of bringing a World Series title back to Baltimore, the front office needs to start changing their mindset and start gathering pieces that can help them win in the postseason.
