Best Orioles Fits Among Remaining Top Free Agents
The Baltimore Orioles have made one big transaction so far in free agency, and that was to shore up the closer role with veteran Craig Kimbrel.
With a cadre of young stars the Orioles could be the next great team in the American League. And with a potential sale of the team, there’s a chance they could start spending money down the line.
But, right now? The Orioles don’t look like they will be big spenders in free agency, unless something changes. But it doesn’t mean they don’t have needs.
Earlier this year, The Athletic published its Top 40 free agents. Some have flown off the board, such as Shohei Ohtani. But, as of this writing, more than half of the free agents listed are still available.
Here are the five players that would be the best fit for the Orioles among the remaining free agents on the list.
DH J.D. Martinez
The acquisition of Ohtani in Los Angeles made the veteran slugger superfluous. For the team that signs him, they would get a 36-year-old who hit 33 home runs and drove in 103 runs in 2023. He’s at the point in his career where a one- or two-year deal is the expectation and joining an team on an upswing like the O’s would be of interest. Yes, he would be the full-time DH. But he hit more home runs than any Oriole last season.
1B Rhys Hoskins
Hoskins falls into the category of cheap power right now, as he’s coming off an ACL tear last Spring Training and didn’t play in 2023. He hit 30 home runs with Philadelphia in 2022 and he averages 20-30 home runs per season. He fits here because he may be a bit cheaper than Martinez, can slide into the DH role and spell Ryan Mountcastle when needed.
SP Shota Imanaga
The Orioles lost both of their veteran starters and could use at least one more arm to back-stop their young, impressive staff. The O’s aren’t players for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But Imanaga should be cheaper, comes with impressive credentials of his own (career 3.18 ERA, struck out 30 percent of hitters last season) and is a left-hander that can give the O’s some security if a pitcher like John Means has a setback. He would require a longer-term deal and a posting fee.
RP Aroldis Chapman
The Orioles are going to need to need pitchers that can hand the ball off to Kimbrel in the ninth inning. Chapman fits the profile. His fastball came back to life last season, getting back above 100 miles per hour. He struck out 103 and allowed 37 hits in 58.1 innings. He’s not a closer anymore. But as an eighth-inning set-up man he can be had for cheap.
SP James Paxton
Paxton is 36 and while he made only a handful of starts from 2020-22, he’s coming off a 2023 in which he went 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA for Boston. He struck out 101 in 96 innings. Assuming he’s over the right hip inflammation that ended his season, he’s a low-cost veteran backstop for this young rotation.
