Inside The Orioles

Baltimore Orioles Rotation in Rough Shape After Devastating Injury News

The Baltimore Orioles' injury-riddled rotation, which looked like it had solid depth a month ago, looks concerningly thin heading into 2025.

Tyler Maher

Jul 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (30) and catcher Adley Rutschman (35) talk while walking back to the dugout.
Jul 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (30) and catcher Adley Rutschman (35) talk while walking back to the dugout. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
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The season hasn't even started yet, and the Baltimore Orioles' starting rotation is already in shambles.

With Grayson Rodriguez starting the year on the injured list with elbow soreness, the Orioles are already down their best starting pitcher. To make matters worse, they also lost former ace Corbin Burnes to the Arizona Diamondbacks in free agency this winter.

Sans those two, Baltimore's current rotation looks alarmingly suspect on paper. There's no clear ace at the top and the depth is lacking, even with newcomers Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano joining the rotation this offseason.

With Rodriguez out, Zach Eflin becomes the ace by default and will likely start on Opening Day. However, he's never been an All-Star and is more of a No. 2 or 3 starter than a true No. 1.

Eflin, who turns 31 this year, is 62-62 with a career 4.17 ERA. There are also questions about his durability, as he's averaged just 131 innings per season over the last four years.

He's the Orioles' best starter by a considerable margin, too, as the rest of the rotation looks pretty dicey, as writer Dan Clark noted in a post on X.

Morton's durable, but he's 41 and has over 2,000 innings on his arm. His strikeout rate has decreased in each of the last two seasons and he just posted his worst FIP (4.46) since 2010 -- concerning signs for a veteran approaching the end of his career.

Sugano is a 35-year-old rookie from Japan who's never pitched in the Major Leagues before, so he's a complete wild card.

Dean Kremer is 29, but he only has one season with over 130 innings. He's also been largely mediocre, going 30-30 with a 4.28 ERA.

Cade Povich is coming off a disastrous rookie season (3-9, 5.20 ERA) and still needs to prove himself. He only threw 79 2/3 innings last year, so it remains to be seen if his arm can handle a full season's workload.

Albert Suarez was surprisingly good last year, going 9-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 133 2/3 innings. He's 35, however, and will likely regress from his career year.

Baltimore can hit and has a good bullpen, but this rotation doesn't seem built to make the playoffs, especially in the AL East. There's still time for Mike Elias to sign someone before the season starts or swing a trade for a starter, but the Orioles need reinforcements ASAP if they want to contend this season.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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