New Baltimore Orioles Trade Idea Swaps First Baseman for Pitching Depth

The Baltimore Orioles are in dire need of starting pitchers and could move one of their expendable bats to acquire one.

Aug 19, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (6) runs out a double against the New York Mets during the seventh inning at Citi Field. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles are in desperate need of pitching depth and have an influx of talent on the infield. A player swap to balance their roster out could be in the cards this winter.

One of the most expendable players on the roster right now is first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Despite being a talented player, he doesn't exactly fit into the future plans on the roster.

The Orioles pitching staff took plenty of hits with injuries this past season and is now going under even more change with free agency coming up.

Moving Mountcastle to acquire some more pitching depth seems like a no-brainer right now.

One team that has a lot of pitching with the desperate need of a first baseman is the Houston Astros.

A potential trade between the two teams could see Baltimore sending Mountcastle to the Astros in exchange for starting pitcher J.P. France and pitching prospect A.J. Blubaugh.

France has already been connected to the Orioles this offseason and does make sense as someone they would take a chance on in the middle of their rotation.

Looking at his 2024 season would lead most people to be wary of acquiring him, but looking further shows that he has real potential to become a solid mainstay in the middle and backend of a rotation.

The 29-year-old is coming off of a disappointing campaign that saw him post a 7.46 ERA in just five starts due to injury. That's a big number, but small sample size.

His ERA was mostly inflated by two games in which he got shelled, but he never really had a shutdown performance.

The best game he had last year was a five inning, two run performance against the Atlanta Braves.

If he is a trade target for Baltimore, the line of thinking would be that he can return to the form he showed in the minors and as a rookie.

France posted a 3.83 ERA in 2023 over 136.1 innings pitched. He hasn't shown the same strikeout potential that he did in the minors, but has great off-speed stuff that doesn't get bit much. The southpaw also dosn't walk batters at a high rate.

Blubaugh would be an interesting prospect piece that could actually end up being the most impactful player in the deal.

He's close to being big league ready and has a fastball that's only getting better. He had a 3.83 ERA in Triple-A last season after being called up to that level for the first time early in the year.

While Mountcastle is a solid player, this seems like it would be a good enough value for Baltimore to say goodbye to him.