Baltimore Orioles Executive Reiterates Clear Targets for the Front Office

There are clear positions the Baltimore Orioles will be going after this offseason, something their executive explicitly mentioned at the GM meetings.

Nov 7, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Executives from around the league are coming out of the General Manager Meetings that took place in San Antonio, and while nothing substantial happened for the Baltimore Orioles there, Mike Elias was able to share the clear areas they are targeting this offseason.

"That's going to be at least a starting pitcher, hopefully more than that. And we need some help in the outfield. Particularly, a lot of our at-bats from the right side of the plate are what we are prioritizing in the outfield. So those are the main conversations that we're having and we're listening and looking for opportunities. Those are our priorities right now as we kick off the offseason," he said per Steve Melewski of MASN.

This isn't surprising.

Virtually everyone knows the Orioles will be looking at ways to upgrade their starting rotation and outfield with the expected departures of Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander in free agency, but the GM made it clear that is exactly what they're targeting.

What that means isn't clear right now.

Baltimore landed Burnes in a trade last winter, and there is a chance they could look around the league and try to do that again.

If that's the direction they go, they preferably would add someone who has multiple years of club control remaining so they don't run into the same situation they are currently dealing with, but based on the amount of talent they shipped out last offseason and at the deadline, they could be hesitant to make another deal of that magnitude.

The Orioles have added some backend arms in the past who are able to eat innings for them throughout the long campaign, so that could be another route they take this winter.

As for outfield, that's likely the area they go after hard in free agency.

There's a pretty robust market for power-hitting right fielders, especially from the right side of the plate like Elias explicitly mentioned is a target of theirs.

Teoscar Hernandez and Tyler O'Neill are some names who have repeatedly been linked to Baltimore in the early part of the offseason, but that would also require the team to hand out a fairly lucrative contract to either player.

Upgrades are certainly coming to this roster, though.

Elias said as much when he stated, "... we definitely are looking to augment the roster and add to the team."

How they ultimately go about that will be seen, but expect them to be in the market for starting pitching and an outfielder before they turn to other positions that could also use some improvements.