Baltimore Orioles Can Transform Rotation with Trade for Three-Time All-Star

The Baltimore Orioles have time to make one more trade that could drastically improve its starting rotation before opening day.
Sep 8, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo (58) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium.
Sep 8, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo (58) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Le-Imagn Images
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It has been a hectic offseason so far for the Baltimore Orioles with players both coming and going.

After another solid campaign in 2024, the Orioles will be looking to make the postseason for the third straight year in 2025. While they have won more than 190 games in the regular season the last two years combined, that has yet to translate to success in the postseason.

After making the playoffs, winning a playoff series should be the primary goal for the franchise, but there are also some concerns with how the offseason has gone so far.

Coming into the winter, Baltimore knew that they would have two key free agents in Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander. While the team made the decision fairly quickly to move on from Santander, losing Burnes was a significant blow. With Santander gone, the O's have bolstered their offense with the signing of outfielder Tyler O'Neill.

As a true ace, Burnes is the type of pitcher that can lead a rotation in the playoffs. However, he will be heading to the Arizona Diamondbacks now, and the void has yet to be filled for the Orioles.

Currently, the starting rotation for Baltimore has depth but lacks star power. As of now, the rotation has Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, and Tomoyuki Sugano.

It is a nice mix of veterans and younger pitchers, but it feels like it could use a front-end starter if Baltimore is serious about competing in 2025.

With options in free agency being limited at this point, one pitcher who makes a lot of sense to pursue in a trade is Luis Castillo from the Seattle Mariners. The three-time All-Star is the type of pitcher that can help lead this rotation for the next few years.

The 32-year-old pitched well in 2024, totaling an 11-12 record and a 3.46 ERA. The Mariners had one of the worst offenses in the majors last season, which contributed to the veteran right-hander finishing under .500.

Since the Mariners seem keen to move on from his contract, the cost to acquire him may not be as significant. The trade-off is the O's would inherit his deal, which features an average annual salary of $24 million for each of the next three seasons.

Also, there is a vesting option in 2028 if Castillo can pitch over 180 innings in 2027.

With a lot of money owed to the former All-Star, the Orioles would likely want to see Seattle pick some of that up, which might be worth upping a potential trade package.

As a team that has a plethora of offensive weapons, Baltimore has always felt like a natural trade partner for the Mariners. Overall, the move makes a lot of sense for the Orioles to improve their rotation.


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