Another season has come and gone in Birdland, with the Baltimore Orioles falling short of a postseason berth for the second consecutive year.
Oriole fans are rightfully not very optimistic about the state of the organization. However, Baltimore will have a new general manager for the first time since Mike Elias arrived in 2018.
With Elias moving into the president of baseball operations role, the Orioles have hired former Chicago Cubs assistant general manager Jared Banner to take over as the club’s new GM, bringing a new voice to the front office.
As we do every offseason at The Baltimore Battery, our first free agent position group to tackle is the starting pitching market. The Orioles’ rotation honestly outperformed expectations in 2026, but you can never have enough pitching in this league.
We are also not including players who were on the 2026 team and are now free agents in each article of this series. Therefore, Trevor Rogers and Chris Bassitt, will not be appearing in this piece.
With that in mind, here are five starting pitchers we think could be in play for the Birds this offseason.
NICK MARTINEZ – RHP
The first pitcher we will be discussing is a familiar foe: former Tampa Bay Rays right-hander, Nick Martinez.
On the surface, there is not much to get excited about when looking at a 36-year-old with an average fastball velocity below 93 mph who just played for his third team in four years. However, Martinez offers something any O’s fan would sign right up for: stability.
Martinez has made 57 starts over the last two seasons, has experience coming out of the bullpen and just turned in the best season of his career with the Rays, pitching to a 3.10 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.
The most impressive part of Martinez’s success last season was how he accomplished it. His 17.4% whiff rate and 15.1% strikeout rate ranked in the second and fourth percentiles, respectively. However, he led the league with a 3.6% walk rate and was a master at inducing weak contact, allowing an average exit velocity of just 87 mph (86th percentile).
In typical Rays fashion, we saw an uptick in changeup usage for Martinez in 2026, but we also saw him incorporate considerably more sinkers as well.
Spotrac projects Martinez to land a two-year deal in the $43 million range. While regression is inevitable, if Martinez can remain a mid-3.00 ERA pitcher, that is an easy deal to make for a middle-to-back-end starter in Baltimore.
CLAY HOLMES – RHP
The second pitcher we expect the Orioles to show interest in is another familiar face: right-hander Clay Holmes.
Holmes was with the New York Yankees from 2021-2024, where he served as a high-leverage reliever before heading to Queens, where the New York Mets converted him into a starting pitcher.
The interesting connection to the Orioles is that Holmes was traded to the Cubs at this year’s trade deadline. As we mentioned earlier, Jared Banner served in Chicago’s front office and likely had some input in that decision.
Holmes’ first season as a starter came in 2025, when he made 31 starts for the Mets, pitching to a 3.53 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 165.2 innings.
His second season in the rotation was a much tougher evaluation, as he made just 18 starts due to a leg injury. He made nine starts with the Mets before being traded to the Cubs, where he made another nine, and still managed to pitch to a 3.29 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
Holmes’ biggest calling card is his ability to keep the ball on the ground. The 33-year-old owns a career ground-ball rate of 62.3%, while the 60.8% mark he posted in 2026 ranked in the 99th percentile.
His limited experience as a starter and ability to work deep into games are fair criticisms, but the analytics have loved Holmes for a long time. With a projected contract in the two-year, $28 million range, the potential reward is far greater than the risk.
MATTHEW BOYD – LHP
Adding another former Cub to the list, we have left-hander Matthew Boyd.
Boyd is an interesting option for Baltimore, especially considering the Orioles could use another reliable left-handed arm in the rotation. After a strong 2025 campaign, Boyd took a slight step back in 2026 but still offers plenty of reasons for optimism.
Boyd was one of baseball’s better comeback stories in 2025, earning an All-Star selection after posting a 3.21 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 179.2 innings. In 2026, he posted a 3.91 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, although injuries limited him to 22 starts and 126.2 innings.
Boyd is not going to overwhelm hitters with velocity, but he does an excellent job mixing his pitches and keeping hitters off balance. His four-seam fastball and changeup are his primary weapons, while his slider and curveball give him additional options to attack hitters from both sides of the plate.
At 35 years old, Boyd is not a long-term solution, but he could provide Baltimore with a dependable veteran presence. A projected two-year, $42 million deal by Spotrac would also make him a relatively affordable addition compared to some of the other names on this list.
Boyd could give the Orioles another experienced arm capable of eating innings and keeping them competitive every fifth day. If Baltimore wants to add some veteran stability without breaking the bank, Boyd is certainly worth a look.
KEVIN GAUSMAN – RHP
Moving on, we have a former Cub and a former Oriole: right-hander Kevin Gausman.
Gausman obviously did not work out in Baltimore after being drafted by the Orioles in 2012. However, after bouncing around the league, he eventually found his stride with the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays.
However, the 2026 campaign was a difficult one for Gausman. He made 23 starts for Toronto, pitching to a 4.38 ERA, before being shipped to the Cubs at the trade deadline, where he struggled even more, posting a 4.83 ERA.
If you look past the ERA, there are still plenty of reasons for optimism. Gausman posted a 3.74 FIP, 3.58 xFIP and 3.66 SIERA, all right in line with his career averages. That makes 2026 look more like an outlier than a complete decline. He has also topped 170 innings in six consecutive seasons, making him a true workhorse.
His arsenal is relatively simple, with 90% of his pitches consisting of either a four-seam fastball or splitter. That combination has helped him generate a 35% chase rate (88th percentile) and a 24.5% strikeout rate (66th percentile).
Spotrac projects Gausman to land a four-year deal in the $76 million range. That is a little uncomfortable for a 35-year-old pitcher coming off a down season, but we have seen ace-caliber performances from Gausman throughout much of the 2020s. He would immediately become one of the most reliable starters in Baltimore’s rotation.
MICHAEL KING – RHP
To wrap things up, we have a pitcher we have been linking to the Orioles for years, and that is right-hander Michael King.
King was part of the infamous Juan Soto trade between the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees and has been one of the Padres’ best pitchers ever since.
In 2026, King made 32 starts, pitching to a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 185 innings. The 31-year-old has now posted a sub-4.00 ERA in six consecutive seasons, with three of those campaigns coming in below 3.00.
King consistently induces soft contact, ranking in the 86th percentile in average exit velocity and the 89th percentile in hard-hit rate. He also keeps the ball on the ground, posting a ground-ball rate in the 66th percentile in 2026.
King’s bread and butter is his sinker and changeup, both of which feature plenty of arm-side run and complement his sweeper perfectly. That combination creates plenty of uncomfortable swings for opposing hitters.
Health has been an issue for King throughout his career, but he was able to stay on the field last season and played a huge role in the Padres’ success.
This one would require the Orioles’ front office to open the checkbook the most. Spotrac projects King’s market to be in the five-year, $150 million range, so we will have to see whether Baltimore is comfortable going that high, especially if they want to also try and re-sign Trevor Rogers.
However, King would immediately become the Orioles’ ace and form a formidable one-two punch at the top of the rotation alongside Kyle Bradish. Needless to say, this would be the best-case scenario when to comes to a free agent starting acquisition.
This concludes our starting pitcher free agent piece. Stay tuned, as we will have our relief pitchers and position players versions coming soon in the near future.
In the meantime, let us know what you think. Do the Orioles end up signing anyone on this list? Is there someone we did not mention who should be on the radar? Let us know in the comments below. Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content.
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