Well, it is finally over.
The Framber Valdez sweepstakes have reached a conclusion. It ends with the left-hander signing a three-year, $115 million deal with the Detroit Tigers.
Yes, the same Detroit Tigers who told Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher alive on the planet and beyond, that he is only worth $19 million.
This signing implies a lot. However, the relevant point to the Baltimore Orioles is simple.
Firstly, it shows that, simply put, Valdez just did not want to be an Oriole. Secondly, it shows that president of baseball operations and acting-GM Mike Elias just can not finish the job when it comes to getting high-end pitchers to sign.
Every team will be interested in free agents and inevitably miss out on a large portion of those free agents. What does not happen often, and has become quite the trend for Elias, is this offseason-long debacle where he is in talks, constantly admitting about how that position needs to be improved and then simply just fails to do so.
This offseason alone, we have seen the Orioles be the front-runner to sign both Ranger Suárez and Valdez. Sometimes, you just miss out. But time and time again, watching these “sure deals” never work out while we watch those same deals being made by AL East and divisional rivals is annoying.
Does Valdez make the Orioles World Series contenders? Possibly. Would it have been smart to sign him to $38 million AAV? No. Does Valdez guarantee you can beat the dodgers? Again, possibly, but most likely not.
Is constantly ranting about how much money our ownership has, just to only ever flex that muscle one single time in multiple years frustrating? Absolutely.
Here is the frustrating part: While this charade for Valdez was being drawn out for months, the bullpen is still not in very good shape.
With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training within the week, it just seems unlikely either spot sees further upgrades.
That being said, the addition of Shane Baz to this starting rotation proved larger. Elias did also re-sign Zach Eflin. However with him being on the team last year, albeit hurt for most of it, I can not really call it two acquisitions.
The way things have worked out does show that Baz deal was needed but also drops a load of pressure on his shoulders now. Outside of Baz, the O’s are staring at almost the exact same rotation as last year, which was borderline abysmal outside of Trevor Rogers‘ career season and Kyle Bradish returning.
It is safe to say that Bradish will not be throwing 200 innings, and it is just not likely Rogers replicates that same dominance over a 32 to 33-start season.
That leaves Baz as the one who either turns the rotation around or is the unfortunate catalyst for another horrid pitching year. Baz absolutely has the potential to make the former happen, though.
All eyes, hopefully including Elias’, turn to right-hander Zac Gallen being brought into this rotation. Simply put, I just do not believe Elias will do it, but I would love to be wrong.
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