Early on they made it a point to add more right-handed power to their lineup, signing outfielder Tyler O’Neill and catcher Gary Sanchez.
O’Neill was signed to replace Anthony Santander, who agreed to a massive deal with the Toronto Blue Jays this past week. Sanchez will be taking over backup duties behind Adley Rutschman from James McCann and could find some at-bats as the designated hitter as well.
On the mound is where things get a little iffy for the Orioles, as their ace from the 2024 campaign, Corbin Burnes, left in free agency.
He signed a six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Baltimore was unable to lure any of the top pitchers available in free agency to help fill that void, instead adding veterans Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano for solid depth.
They look like they will join a rotation that already had Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer in place. Albert Suarez and Trevor Rogers are two more options, while Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells work their way back from injury.
The Orioles have an impressive amount of depth for the starting rotation but don’t have a bonafide ace to match up with the other contenders in the American League, let alone the entire MLB.
However, that could change in one move with the Seattle Mariners.
On paper, the teams are perfect trade partners.
Baltimore is overflowing with young hitting talent. So much so, they don’t have a spot to play all of them at the Major League level currently.
The Mariners are incredibly short on impact hitters but have the kind of starting pitching depth that teams dream of. They are right in the running as having the best starting rotation in the sport.
Logically, trading from a strength to improve a weakness makes a lot of sense and both teams can fulfill a need for the other.
That is part of the reason why Jim Bowden of The Athletic has pitched Seattle making a push to acquire one of the Orioles’ current top prospects, corner infielder Coby Mayo, in a deal that would dip into their stable of pitching.
“To land him, they’d have to give up one of their good young starters such as Bryan Woo, but that’s the price they need to pay at this point given their dire need to upgrade the infield corners,” Bowden wrote.
There is a current logjam at the Major League blocking Mayo from receiving consistent playing time. Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle are entrenched at first base while Jordan Westburg looks ready to handle the hot corner.
The designated hitter spot isn’t a wide-open path to playing time either as former No. 2 pick Heston Kjerstad will be getting reps there when he isn’t in the outfield.
If Baltimore is intent on keeping Mayo, maybe they can use Mountcastle as the centerpiece of a deal and take back one of the less-regarded Mariners pitchers.
But, they need to make a splash and acquire an ace-level talent. Seattle has them and if it means parting ways with Mayo, they need to pull the trigger.