Baltimore Orioles' Starting Pitching Target Headed to Dodgers

The Baltimore Orioles seemingly missed out on another pitching target this offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers swooping up this starter.

As the possibility of the Baltimore Orioles landing the top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher they have been looking for this entire offseason begins to dwindle, it seemed like they would target back-end starters like they have in years past.

Multiple names were rumored as possible connections, but one who played in their division last season stood out.

After missing the better part of three years, James Paxton had a bounce back type of season with the Boston Red Sox in 2023, recording an ERA of 4.50 across 19 starts and 96 innings pitched.

The left-hander had a very solid start to his career, going six-straight years without posting an ERA over 4.00.

2020 is where things took a detour as Paxton only appeared in five games and had his ERA balloon to 6.64 after getting a microscopic lumbar discectomy to remove a peridiscal cyst.

On paper, with the injury concerns the 35-year-old has had the past few years, he didn't seem like he would be a fit for the Orioles.

After all, they need to replace 190 innings that Kyle Gibson threw last season, and adding someone who's only thrown 97 1/3 the past three, didn't seem to line up with their philosophy.

Whether Baltimore was interested enough in Paxton to offer a contract doesn't matter now as Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports he's agreed to a one-year, roughly $12 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He likely will fill that same role on the back-end with the Dodgers as he would have done with the Orioles.

If Baltimore wants to add another starting rotation piece this offseason, they have to start getting deals done soon as more and more options continue to come off the board.