The Baltimore Orioles finally made a move. After going over the teams that we wish were doing more in free agency, the Orioles were at the very top of the list. The idea was for them to land a pitcher and they have indeed landed a pitcher.

Veteran pitcher Charlie Morton is signed for one year and $15 million. This came after their prized ace Corbin Burnes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. This is not exactly the type of pitching move you’d expect the Orioles to make, especially after losing Burnes. Which begs the question, what are they doing?

What’s Going on in Birdland?

There’s no denying that the Orioles were aggressive in bringing Burnes back to Baltimore. However, you cannot blame a man for wanting to be home and being with his family. Some things are bigger than the game of baseball. However, the Orioles need to pivot and they desperately need to add to their rotation.

Morton is a veteran and a stable veteran. He will be able to give you innings, as he has pitched 160+ innings the last two seasons. Also, he finished with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP and did finish with a 23.8 strikeout percentage. Not entirely bad, but Morton will be 41 years old heading into the 2025 season. That’s not exactly ideal.

Morton is a fine pitcher and has had a very good career. However, given the outlook of the rotation as it currently stands, the Orioles do not have a playoff caliber rotation and this is a team that plans on contending for a World Series.

Zach Eflin is a fine pitcher, but not the ace of the rotation. He was brought in for depth behind Burnes and now is vying for the number one spot. Eflin finished with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He is not the highest strikeout guy, but had impeccable command and ranks in the 98th percentile for walks percentage. Grayson Rodriguez is a player that’s also gotten better. His ERA dropped to 3.86 and his 1.24 WHIP was also better than the year prior. These two will be the front line starters but after that’s its bleak.

Braddish underwent Tommy John surgery and will not be ready. Eflin, Rodriguez, Morton, and newly signed Tomoyuki Sugano round out the top four in the rotation. You can have a healthy competition for the fifth spot. Now ask yourself, is this rotation good enough? What are they doing? 

This is not what Orioles fans had to have in the back of their mind when new owner David Rubenstein said things would be different. In fact, this rotation is a step behind what others in the division have done.

Yes the Yankees lost their superstar in Juan Soto. However, they went out and signed Max Fried and also landed closer Devin Williams, outfielder Cody Bellinger, and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. So they’ve improved and especially deepened the rotation. The Boston Red Sox made the big splash trade for Garrett Crochet and traded away two of their top five prospects in the system. Their rotation got much deeper and that’s also with them adding Walker Buehler.

You can make a compelling case that those two teams are a step ahead of the Orioles right now. That rotation constructed by the Orioles is not bad, but none of those guys are replicating what Burnes brought to the mound. There is still time in the winter, so here’s how they can improve.

Add Another Starter…Even Via Trade

As mentioned above, the Red Sox managed to part with two of their top five prospects in their farm system. With how deep the Orioles system is, the Orioles easily could’ve made that trade and Crochet still has two more years of team control. If they want to truly bolster their rotation, they could swing a trade.

The most obvious fits are players such as Luis Castillo, who has been linked to the rumor mill already. Castillo has two more years left and with a vesting option for 2028. Castillo would easily become their ace and be a legit front line starter. Also, with the Padres aiming to shed payroll, Dylan Cease is a top target. The only issue is do the Orioles really want to enter that ring again? A pitcher that will need a new contract and in a walk year? That remains to be seen. If the Orioles were to add either of the two pitchers, it puts them in a better competitive position in the division and the conference.

Trades are great, but so is spending money, which seems to be something they’ve been shy to doing. You can be aggressive on a player all the way through, but if you do not come away with that player it’s all for nothing. The starting pitching pool is beginning to get more and more shallow by the day. Jack Flaherty is the best remaining pitcher and someone the Orioles have been linked to.

Flaherty is coming off a monstrous season. A 3.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, while also having the most innings and strikeouts in the last two seasons. Flaherty did everything good last season and won a World Series. He’d be a great fit for this young team and stabilizing the rotation.

This is a very good Orioles team and the time to compete and win is now. The AL is wide open, but if they don’t lock down the rotation it could be something that puts a nail in the coffin at some point in 2025.