Orioles seeking additions for top half of rotation, back of bullpen

The Orioles’ rebuild came to a definitive end with this year’s 101-win season, and general manager Mike Elias is already speaking accordingly as he enters his sixth offseason with the team. Elias tells Mark Feinsand of MLB.com that adding a starting pitcher who “projects for the front half of the rotation would be wonderful” and that he also hopes to add a late-inning reliever — ideally someone with closing experience.

The free-agent market isn’t short on either type of pitcher. Playoff-caliber starters in free agency include Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Aaron Nola, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez, Lucas Giolito and Marcus Stroman, to say nothing of incoming NPB stars like 25-year-old righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto and 30-year-old lefty Shota Imanaga.

Currently, the Orioles’ rotation is set to include Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer. Assuming he’s back to health after a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery, southpaw John Means should slot into the group. Other options include Tyler Wells, DL Hall, Cole Irvin, Bruce Zimmermann and prospect Cade Povich (who’s not yet on the 40-man roster but will surely be added by next week). Baltimore starters ranked 11th in the Majors with a 4.14 ERA this year — a mark that includes results from current free agents Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty.

As far as relievers go, former O’s prospect Josh Hader tops the class and could set a record for the largest contract ever given to a reliever. Beyond him, former closing options on the market include David Robertson, Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, Hector Neris and Craig Kimbrel.

The trade market, of course, will feature prominent names in both regards, but the Orioles’ payroll is practically a blank slate, which gives them the opportunity to pursue just about any pitcher — assuming ownership is willing to commit to a long-term free agent for the first time in Elias’ tenure. Incredibly, James McCann and Felix Bautista — owed a combined $3.5M in 2024 — are the only two players guaranteed any money this coming season.

Of course, the Orioles also have a deep and talented arbitration class. Each of Anthony Santander, John Means, Danny Coulombe, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, Ryan O’Hearn, Dillon Tate, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Cionel Perez, Cole Irvin, Keegan Akin, Jacob Webb, Ramon Urias, Tyler Wells, Ryan McKenna and recent waiver claim Sam Hilliard is eligible for arbitration. That whopping group of 17 players projects to combine for $56.17M in arbitration, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Some from the bunch will be non-tendered or traded, but the most expensive names among the bunch (Santander, Mullins, Hays, Means, Mountcastle) seem likely to stay put.

Not long ago, a reliever with closing experience might not have seemed like a dire need for the O’s, but All-Star Felix Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October and is expected to miss the entire 2024 campaign as a result. The O’s have another All-Star, Yennier Cano, as a potential alternative option in the ninth inning, though he was far more successful in the season’s first three months (1.14 ERA) than in the second three (3.24 ERA). That’s not at all to suggest he can’t be an effective endgame option for the Birds, but rather to simply point out that as the year progressed, Cano didn’t quite look to be Bautista’s equal (as he did in the early going).

The Orioles’ ability to add to the pitching staff (and payroll in general) is only buoyed by the fact that so much of the team’s excellent young core is not yet even into arbitration. Each of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Bradish, Rodriguez and Cano will make the league minimum or only slightly more in 2024. The same is true of prospects like Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday, each of whom could play a significant role for the ’24 club.

It’ll likely become a rather expensive core at some point, but for the time being, their minimal financial commitments give the O’s considerable flexibility to creatively pursue just about any pitcher they like. High-profile arms seeking short-term rebound deals could fit into the payroll for a year or two without issue, and if the Orioles want to pursue a longer-term fit, they could always frontload the contract to pay out more of the guarantee in 2024-25, when the so much of the roster is still in its pre-arbitration years.