The Orioles made their first main splash on the free agent market this night after they agreed with outfielder Tyler O’Neill on a three-year deal. That signing addressed their want so as to add a right-handed bat to the lineup following the departure of switch-hitting free agent Anthony Santander, who was their greatest hitter within the outfield in opposition to left-handed pitching. The membership’s largest want of the winter stays unaddressed, nonetheless: a top-of-the-rotation arm to fill the void left by Corbin Burnes when he elected free company final month.
Whereas the membership has beforehand been related to top-of-the-market hurlers together with former Braves southpaw Max Fried, a report this afternoon from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic shed some gentle on the membership’s technique for this winter’s pitching market by noting that the membership is “reluctant” to pursue certified free agent pitchers from different golf equipment. That stance would seemingly exclude them from not solely the Fried sweepstakes but additionally the marketplace for Sean Manaea and Nick Pivetta, the latter of whom they had been beforehand related to this winter.
There’s nonetheless a lot of attention-grabbing free agent starters obtainable this winter who don’t match that description, led by a reunion with Burnes. Re-signing Burnes wouldn’t trigger the Orioles to lose a draft choose past the chance price of not receiving the choose after the primary spherical they’d be in line to obtain ought to he land elsewhere, however Rosenthal and Sammon advised the possibilities of Burnes returning to Baltimore appear “distant” at this level given the chance that the winter’s #2 free agent turns into the focal point for Juan Soto bidders who fail to land the celebrity slugger. For the Orioles’ half, GM Mike Elias made clear throughout an look on MLB Community Radio final month that the membership would “love” to carry Burnes again into the fold for 2025 and past.
Ought to they discover themselves outbid for Burnes, nonetheless, he’s removed from the one viable choice to enhance the membership’s rotation with out forfeiting a draft choose. Rosenthal and Sammon describe each veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and righty Jack Flaherty as extra interesting to the Orioles than a pursuit of Fried, Manaea, or Pivetta. Of the 2, they report that the Orioles seem to favor Eovaldi after Flaherty’s disastrous run with Baltimore following the commerce deadline again in 2023, the place he surrendered a 6.75 ERA in 34 2/3 innings of labor earlier than turning issues round with the Tigers and Dodgers this previous yr with a 3.17 ERA and three.47 FIP in 28 begins.
Eovaldi additionally figures to be less expensive than Flaherty this winter; on our annual Prime 50 MLB Free Brokers record, MLBTR predicted a two-year, $41MM contract for the veteran whereas predicting Flaherty would land $115MM over 5 years. Rosenthal and Sammon additionally counsel that Flaherty figures to land a contract within the four- to six-year vary this winter, and whereas they don’t touch upon Eovaldi’s anticipated contract it’s value noting that offers of that size for a pitcher coming into their age-35 season as Eovaldi is are all however remarkable in immediately’s sport, with Jacob deGrom standing out because the notable exception to that rule. Eovaldi’s platform season noticed him pitch to a 3.80 ERA and three.83 FIP in 29 begins that don’t fairly match as much as Flaherty’s efficiency, although the veteran does provide a prolonged monitor report of mid-rotation success that compares favorably to Flaherty’s up-and-down profession by way of on-field outcomes over the previous half decade.
It additionally appears at the very least believable that the Orioles may look to get artistic as they seek for rotation upgrades. Rosenthal and Sammon report that Baltimore was among the many golf equipment that had curiosity in right-hander Clay Holmes earlier than he signed with the Mets yesterday. Whereas Holmes has been a reliever for almost all of his MLB profession, the Mets signed him to pitch of their rotation and Rosenthal and Sammon indicated that Baltimore would’ve completed the identical had they landed him, although a few of his different suitors deliberate to maintain him within the aid position through which he turned in a dominant three-and-a-half yr stretch with the Yankees. Whereas it’s presently unclear if the membership would contemplate every other free agent aid arms for a transfer to the rotation, each Michael Soroka and Jeff Hoffman have acquired buzz as potential beginning pitching choices this winter after profitable runs in aid in 2024.
