Baltimore Orioles ‘Biggest Weakness’ is Financial Situation of Young Core

The Baltimore Orioles will eventually have to figure out this potential problem with their young talent.

Sep 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (left) is greeted after his first inning solo home run by catcher Adley Rutschman (right) against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are in a better position than most teams around Major League Baseball to find success over the next decade.

They have some questions about their pitching staff moving forward, but if they re-sign Corbin Burnes and add others in the offseason, they should again be one of the top teams in the league next year.

While having talent as good as their youngsters are is always a positive, it also means the Orioles will eventually have to open the checkbook. Historically speaking, Baltimore hasn't handed out massive contracts.

However, with new ownership in place, the hope and expectation is for them to start spending money. 

Despite that expectation, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report believes the club's lack of extensions is its "biggest weakness."

"The Orioles' homegrown core of hitters is the envy of MLB, and they would certainly like to keep it in place for a long time." 

Rymer added the words of general manager Mike Elias, who said he was "examining opportunities to possibly keep some of these guys longer." He then added that, despite those words, there haven't been any extensions in place.

"Almost a year later, though, the O's still haven't extended Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson or anyone else. It doesn't mean deals won't ever materialize, but the passage of time doesn't figure to make anyone more amenable to forgoing a shot at free agency."

They don't have to extend many of their young players right now. Some teams do that to get ahead of the curve, but it doesn't need to happen.

Perhaps it'll become an issue if some of the players on the Orioles roster get upset about not being extended before they're eligible and then leave in free agency. However, that situation is still a few years away in most scenarios, at the very least.

Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman are the two they should be most aware of. Considering they're arguably the two best players in baseball at their positions, they need to wear a Baltimore jersey for the remainder of their careers.

That might cause them to spend nearly $600 million in contracts, but that's the price teams pay for players of their caliber.

First, they'll need to keep Burnes around, but if they let him walk, it could be because of their long-term outlook on keeping the young core together.

Only time will tell what the front office decides to do.