The Baltimore Orioles have had a busy offseason, but there are certainly some reasons to be concerned about what 2025 will look like.
Coming into the offseason, the Orioles knew that it was going to be a challenging offseason with two of their key players in 2024 being free agents. Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander were two of the best free agents available, and they have signed elsewhere.
Burnes went to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Santander will be staying in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays. While Baltimore seemingly made the decision to replace their slugger before he signed elsewhere, they haven’t done an adequate job of replacing their ace.
In his one and only season with the Orioles, the talented right-hander totaled a (15-9) record, a 2.92 ERA, and was a leader and point of stability for the starting rotation.
So far this winter, the two notable additions to the rotation were more depth pieces rather than impact pitchers. Baltimore signed both veterans Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano this offseason, but both come with a lot of risk due to their age. Also for Sugano, he has never pitched in the majors before.
Since the Orioles seemingly are trying to build depth in their rotation rather than adding an ace, one player who could make a lot of sense for them is Marcus Stroman of the New York Yankees.
The Yankees have had a busy offseason after losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets in free agency. One of their notable moves was to bring in Max Fried on a lucrative long-term deal.
This move has resulted in Stroman potentially being the odd man out with the Yankees trying to move him and shed his salary.
The right-hander has performed well in his career, and could be a solid option for Baltimore. As a two-time All-Star, with one of the appearances being as recent as in 2023, there is some potential there.
With the Yankees last year, the right-hander totaled a (10-9) record and 4.31 ERA. It was a mediocre season in New York, but a veteran like Stroman can provide more rotation depth and value for the Orioles.
Creating stability in the rotation is going to be important for Baltimore after losing their ace. Adding an All-Star starter from just two years ago, likely at a reasonable cost due to his circumstances with his current team, makes a lot of sense.
As long as the price is right, the Orioles should certainly pursue Stroman before the start of the year.