Nearly two years ago, Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations and acting-GM Mike Elias pulled off a shrewd move before the trade deadline.
A trade was made with the Tampa Bay Rays that brought veteran right-hander Zach Eflin to Baltimore for the stretch run, a move no one anticipated.
Eflin would spend the rest of the 2024 (nine starts) and the 2025 season (14 starts) with the Orioles before becoming a free agent.
According to multiple industry sources, the Orioles are reuniting with Eflin on a one-year, $10 million deal for the 2026 season, with a mutual option for 2027.
Eflin would tally an 11-7 record across 23 starts for the Birds, compiling a 4.48 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP through 126.2 innings pitched. He would pitch 13 quality starts while picking up a 1.4 bWAR.
One of the big things Eflin brings to the Orioles is veteran leadership and postseason experience. While at 31 years of age he has relied more on a sweeper and sinker, Eflin provides the ability to eat innings and give the bullpen rest when on his game.
The area of concern with Eflin would have to be durability, as in a year and half of time with the Orioles, he did have five stints on the injured list. He recently had back surgery that is supposed to help alleviate the issues that plagued him the past few years.
With this signing, it would appear that Eflin will share rotation back-end duties with Dean Kremer behind Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers and the recently-acquired Shane Baz.
We welcome Zach Eflin back to Baltimore and look forward to him helping the Orioles take a leap forward in 2026.
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