The Corbin Burnes news drop this past week once again sent Baltimore Orioles fans into a tizzy.
It does seam that GM Mike Elias and the Orioles made a competitive offer to Mr. Burnes, but given that the Birds’ former ace’s family resides in Arizona, he ultimately wanted to play 81 games a year where his family is just around the corner.
Would I have liked to see the Orioles continue to be competitive in the free agent market by signing a top-tier arm? Absolutely. However, I do have a lot of optimism with this rotation, even without an elite arm like Corbin Burnes.
We can assume who the five guys will be by the time Opening Day rosters are announced. Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich.
Who knows what the availability of Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells will be during the 2025 campaign, so for now, they are off this list.
Also, the news of Grayson Rodriguez missing time with elbow discomfort will see him on the injured list to start the season.
Rodriguez has continued to show a lot of promise and growth over the last two seasons in the bigs. If he can get healthy, you can expect both his strikeout and whiff rate to climb.
In nine games with the Orioles last season, Zach Eflin had a very respectable ERA of 2.60. While being in the starting rotation for an AL East contender, his ERA is at 3.54.
The Orioles’ pitching coaches and development team have done a wonderful job at getting the most out of the guys they have. Maybe a sub-three ERA is a big ask, but we should expect Eflin to continue to pitch well for the Birds.
“Big Game Kremer” has been a solid contributor and a fan favorite since joining the O’s in 2020.
The former centerpiece of the Manny Machado trade has an above average arm in the majors, as his average exit velocity, hard hit percentage and wOBP are lower than the league average. His K/9 is also lower than league average, which means he’s great at creating routine plays for his defense.
Charlie Morton, though aging, has a great track record, winning 49 games over the last few seasons with the Atlanta Braves and posting a 4.09 ERA.
We know how the O’s front office operates, and it seems like they always pick up a savvy vet to help keep the rotation together. We saw it in 2022 and 2023 with Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson, respectively, and we can expect a similar, if not better, outcome from Ground Chuck in 2025.
Speaking of savvy vets, Tomoyuki Sugano is an unknown in the big leagues. The Orioles hope the 35-year-old from Japan is able to put together the magic he had in the NPB.
With a lifetime record of 136-74, an career ERA of 2.43 and 1,585 strikeouts over 1,857 innings, Sugano is looking to make an impact at the highest level.
The fifth man in all of this is Cade Povich, who had some struggles over the course of last year but has been a standout so far this spring.
Back in 2022, when the Orioles traded Jorge López to the Minnesota Twins, the O’s hoped they would be able to develop Slim into a crafty starting arm, and they might just be doing that.
During his first two appearances this spring, Slim has pitched a combined five innings and has given up just one hit and a walk while striking out seven.
Given the way he turned things around last September and the two outings he has put together this spring, he now has a serious chance of making the rotation due to the injury to Rodriguez.
Don’t forget, the Orioles are also building up Albert Suárez as a starter this spring. Although he will likely pitch in bulk out of the bullpen, he is out of minor league options, so barring something drastic, Big Al will make the 26-man roster out of camp.
Although this rotation won’t be as intimidating to many on paper, the product on the field will speak louder than anything. There’s still some optimism here.
What are your thoughts on the O’s starting rotation? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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