Re-Grading Baltimore Orioles 2023 Offseason Moves After Second Half Collapse

The Baltimore Orioles 2023 offseason moves did enough to have them looking dominant in the first half, but then the team fell apart in the second half.

Dylan Sanders | Oct 30, 2024

Oct 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

In this story:

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles made some intriguing moves in the 2023 offseason that ended up with a mixed bag of results.

From trading for seemingly one season of an ace and the failed signing of veteran closer, the moves can now be looked at under new context following the disappointing season that the Orioles just had.

Corbin Burnes trade

This was a massive trade that saw Baltimore send a haul consisting of D.L. Hall, Joey Ortiz and a compensatory draft pick to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Burnes.

The pitcher ended up living up to expectations for the most part, even though it didn't even matter come playoff time given how bad the offense was.

He ended up finishing the year with a 2.92 ERA and winning a career-high 15 wins while making his fourth-straight All-Star appearance.

For most of the season, he was right near the top of the Cy Young race before Tarik Skubal ran away with it.

Hall ended up pitching in 13 games at the MLB level this season, but regressed back to a 5.02 ERA. Ortiz posted a .239/.329/.398 slashing line as a rookie starter for the playoff contenders.

All in all, it wasn't too much to give up for Cy Young-worthy season of pitching from Burnes. Now they just need to hope they can be competitive as a suitor in his free agency.

Grade: A

Craig Kimbrel

As where the Burnes traded ended up working out well, the Kimbrel contract ended up blowing up in the Orioles' face.

Baltimore needed to bring in a new closer after losing Felix Bautista for the season, so they opted for the veteran on a one-year deal after he collapsed in the playoffs a season before.

Kimbrel had a 5.33 ERA over 57 games this season before he was cut loose. He also forced the Orioles to be more active in finding bullpen options at the trade deadline, rather than freeing up more resources for bats.

Grade: F

Albert Suarez

Suarez was just a nice surprise that ended up working well for the Orioles.

The 35-year-old stepped up big time when Baltimore ended up having extreme injury troubles in their pitching staff. He posted a 3.70 ERA over 133.2 innings of work, acting as the perfect innings eater.

Grade: B+

Overall Grade

The signings that they did make ended up as a mixed bag, but maybe the biggest issue was the inaction to find more offensive depth.

The Orioles seemed content to let their young bats try to fill their bench with reliable plate appearances, but they mostly ended up struggling. Most of their work on offense came the trade deadline and was never enough.

Now, with Burnes potentially the door in free agency, they remain a largely unchanged franchise.

Grade: C

Published Oct 30, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders