Former Baltimore Orioles Pitcher Linked to Rebuilding AL Team
Pitching has been on the mind of the Baltimore Orioles since last season. That's one of the reasons why they made two splashy trades to get starter Jack Flaherty and reliever Shintaro Fujinami onto their roster before the deadline.
Unfortunately, the Orioles didn't reap rewards from those trades.
Flaherty posted a 6.75 ERA and gave up a batting average of .311 to opposing hitters. Fujinami's 4.85 ERA was much better than what he produced with the Oakland Athletics, but his 15 walks across 29 2/3 innings pitched made it difficult for Baltimore to use him in high-leverage situations.
Now, it appears that the Orioles are willing to let them both walk in free agency, despite the need for arms that they have.
Andy McCullough of The Athletic has linked the Cleveland Guardians to Flaherty this offseason as a reclamation project within their proven developmental system.
"It would be cool to see if Cleveland’s vaunted pitching infrastructure could help revive Flaherty, who once looked like one of the best young pitchers in the sport. Perhaps they could reshape his slider into the weapon it was in 2018 and 2019," he writes.
The Guardians are expected to undergo some sort of rebuild after a disappointing 76-86 year in 2023.
They aren't projected to be aggressive in free agency, but Flaherty shouldn't cost them too much money if they want to go this route.
As a cheap option, if they can turn the talented pitcher back into one of the best arms in the game, then that is definitely worth taking a flyer on this offseason.
Baltimore on the other hand, doesn't have time to develop reclamation projects as they are ready to compete for division titles and championships right now.
