Baltimore Orioles 'Casting a Wide Net' for Starting Pitcher in MLB Free Agency

The Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias believes that the new ownership group will drastically change the way the team can approach the offseason moving forward.

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We may be in for an aggressive offseason from the Baltimore Orioles.

The league leaders are currently in San Antonio, Texas, for the GM Meeting. Teams are preparing to make some moves this offseason after free agency officially opened this past Monday. 

According to the Athletic, Orioles general manager Mike Elias has made it clear that they will aggressively add a front-line starter to their rotation this winter. The report stated that Baltimore's front office would ‘cast a wide net’ when looking to add a top starting pitcher to their roster. 

This comes as the Orioles traded for staff ace Corbin Burnes last winter from the Milwaukee Brewers. After the team reaches the postseason for the second straight season, they will be on the hunt for another top arm to lead the staff as Burnes will test free agency for the first time in his career. It’s worth mentioning, however, that a reunion with him has not been ruled out of the question. 

The Orioles one change this offseason is the organization's new ownership. Elias feels that the change will help them be aggressive among the top free agents in the market.

“We just went through a team sale and got a fresh new ownership group that is very well equipped, robust and eager to get going,” Elias said. “They understand that there’s some measurement to how you do business and they are empowering us to look for opportunities that are going to bear out well.

Local businessman David Rubenstein now owns Baltimore. After the Orioles were eliminated from the postseason last month, he said in an interview with NPR that he hopes to “speed up the effort” to get the team to a World Series. Adding another top man for the rotation would undoubtedly help the efforts. 

“We have everything that we need from them if we find those opportunities,” said Elias. “And if finances are what’s required for us to execute on those, I’m very confident and bullish that those are going to be there for us.

“The best way to put it is that this ownership group is going to enable us to run this franchise optimally. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to do things that are short-sighted or destructive long term.”

If the Orioles decide to go in a different direction than Burnes during MLB Free Agency this winter, there are still plenty of solid options that could ace a staff. 

Two left-handed pitchers lead as the top candidates as Atlanta Braves Max Fried is on the market for the first time, as well as Blake Snell, who opted out of his contract with the San Francisco Giants.

Jake Flaherty, the top right-handed option on the market besides Burnes, would also be a prime candidate to lead the Orioles' rotation after winning a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Flaherty was with the organization for the second half of the 2023 season after being acquired by Baltimore from the St. Louis Cardinals. 

They will certainly have some competition and most likely will get into a bidding war for the services of these top arms on the market, but that may not be a problem for the Orioles with the new group leading the charge.