The Baltimore Orioles have a lot of position player talent on their team and streaming up through their farm system. But they found out the hard way what can happen if a team doesn’t have enough pitching.
The Orioles are one of the worst teams in the American League this season, and a lot of the blame can be placed on their pitching staff. Baltimore has a couple of solid pitching prospects, but it will likely need to use free agency and the trade block to improve the starting rotation.
MLB’s Mark Feinsand recently listed the Orioles as a potential landing spot for San Diego Padres free agent pitcher Dylan Cease this offseason.
“Cease has struggled with consistency this season, posting a 5-11 record and 4.61 ERA in 25 starts,” Feinsand wrote. “His velocity, whiff percentage and strikeout percentage all remain near the top of the league rankings, though walks and a lack of ground balls have hurt him at times. Cease remains one of the most durable starters in the game — he’s on track for his fifth straight season with at least 32 starts — and will surely draw interest from a number of pitching-needy clubs.”
Cease might be a bit out of the Orioles’ price range, but considering he’s struggled a bit this season, he might have played himself into their price range. Spotrac projects the righty to sign for $156 million over six years, which is likely out of Baltimore’s budget.
Either way, there’s a chance the Orioles could offer some opt-outs in the early years of a deal to land the star. They need to add pitching in the offseason, and Cease would fit the team and their future perfectly.
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