{"id":282571,"date":"2025-11-13T21:29:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/282571\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T21:29:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:29:07","slug":"elias-orioles-seeking-top-of-rotation-starter-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/282571\/","title":{"rendered":"Elias: Orioles Seeking Top Of Rotation Starter, Closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the heels of a disappointing 2025 season, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias is striking a much more aggressive tenor in his early media appearances this offseason than last. Baltimore\u2019s baseball ops leader candidly acknowledged this week that he\u2019s hopeful of adding a starter who can give his team \u201cinnings and front-half-of-the-rotation stuff\u201d as well as a reliever \u201cwho has closer experience\u201d (links via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner<\/a> and Jake Rill of MLB.com<\/a>. Just as notably, Elias voiced that he is \u201cfully prepared\u201d to forfeit draft pick(s) to sign free agents who have rejected a qualifying offer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a notable departure from Baltimore\u2019s 2024-25 offseason. The O\u2019s made a multi-year offer to Corbin Burnes<\/a> that wasn\u2019t accepted. It\u2019s not clear how many \u2014 if any \u2014 other free agents received multi-year offers from the Orioles.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Elias & Co. handed out almost exclusively one-year deals, signing Charlie Morton<\/a> ($15MM), Tomoyuki Sugano<\/a> ($13MM), Andrew Kittredge<\/a> ($10MM), Gary Sanchez<\/a> ($8.5MM), Ramon Laureano<\/a> ($4MM) and Dylan Carlson<\/a> ($975K) for the 2025 season. Outfielder Tyler O\u2019Neill<\/a> was the lone recipient of a multi-year guarantee, landing three years and $49.5MM. Even that deal came with an opt-out opportunity following the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill was not only the lone multi-year free agent signing for the Orioles last winter \u2014 he\u2019s the only free agent Elias has signed to a multi-year deal in seven offseasons leading Baltimore\u2019s baseball operations. For much of that time, the team has been rebuilding, which helps to explain the lack of a multi-year investment. Elias told Darragh McDonald in a recent guest appearance on the MLBTR Podcast<\/a> that there\u2019s no organizational aversion to multi-year free agent deals, they simply haven\u2019t lined up on one during his tenure.<\/p>\n

At least based on his early comments, Elias seems more resolute in his efforts to pursue higher-end talent. The O\u2019s have a pair of notable arms in Kyle Bradish<\/a> and the resurgent Trevor Rogers<\/a> atop their rotation, but Rogers is a free agent next winter and Bradish only returned from Tommy John surgery this past summer. Voicing a preference to sign someone who can pitch in the \u201cfront half\u201d of the rotation and expressing a willingness to punt draft picks both signal a more aggressive playbook this winter.<\/p>\n

On the free agent side of things, the market has several interesting names. Dylan Cease<\/a>, Framber Valdez<\/a>, Ranger Suarez<\/a>, Michael King<\/a>, Brandon Woodruff<\/a>\u00a0and Zac Gallen<\/a> all received qualifying offers. None are expected to accept. NPB star Tatsuya Imai<\/a> will also be posted for MLB clubs, adding a 28-year-old wild card to the mix. Notably, Elias was the Astros\u2019 scouting director when the team signed Valdez as an amateur in 2016. The two overlapped in Houston\u2019s organization for a couple years.<\/p>\n

On the trade side of the coin, there are a number of high-profile arms likely to be available. Much as it pains fans of pitching-hungry clubs, there\u2019s minimal chance the Tigers will trade Tarik Skubal<\/a>. The Brewers seem inclined<\/a> to hang onto Freddy Peralta<\/a>. Twins president Derek Falvey has said he plans to add to the roster<\/a> until he\u2019s told otherwise, which casts some doubt on the immediate availability of Joe Ryan<\/a> and\/or Pablo Lopez<\/a>. But the market still includes names like MacKenzie Gore<\/a>, Sonny Gray<\/a>, Sandy Alcantara<\/a>, Edward Cabrera<\/a> and Mitch Keller<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, whether it\u2019s via free agency or trade, there\u2019s benefit in the Orioles adding a starter who\u2019s controlled\/signed beyond 2026. Rogers, as mentioned, is a free agent next winter. Righties Dean Kremer<\/a> and Tyler Wells<\/a> will be free agents after the 2027 season. There\u2019s little doubting the pure talent of righty Grayson Rodriguez<\/a>, but by the time Opening Day 2026 rolls around, he\u2019ll be 20 months removed from pitching in a big league game. There\u2019s very little long-term stability in the group.<\/p>\n

As for the relief market, the number of qualified free agents is far lower. Devin Williams<\/a> didn\u2019t receive a QO from the Yankees. Robert Suarez<\/a> didn\u2019t get one from the Padres. Edwin Diaz<\/a> was the only reliever tagged with a QO. That said, there are a number of a high-profile names from which to choose. Diaz, Suarez, Williams, Ryan Helsley<\/a>, Raisel Iglesias<\/a>, Kyle Finnegan<\/a> and Pete Fairbanks<\/a> all have extensive closing experience in the majors. If the preference is a one-year deal, 38-year-old Kenley Jansen<\/a> keeps getting the job done even as he inches closer to his 40th birthday.<\/p>\n

Whoever ends up emerging as the priority, payroll shouldn\u2019t be an issue. The only players guaranteed anything beyond the 2026 season are O\u2019Neill and catcher Samuel Basallo<\/a>, who inked a long-term extension just days after making his MLB debut. They\u2019re owed a combined $17.5MM in 2027. After \u201927, Basallo\u2019s eight-year, $67MM deal is the only contract on the books. It\u2019d be a surprise to see the Orioles sign a high-end starter\u00a0and a prominent reliever to multi-year deals, but only because they haven\u2019t operated that way in quite some time. Payroll-wise, there\u2019s no reason they couldn\u2019t bring in a pair of prominent free agents.<\/p>\n

Elias also suggested that the O\u2019s will be on the lookout for an additional option in center field. While he praised Colton Cowser<\/a>\u2019s long-term outlook and expressed confidence that the 25-year-old (26 next March) can handle the position defensively, Baltimore\u2019s president also noted that \u201cyou can\u2019t get through the year with one center fielder.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reunion with Cedric Mullins<\/a> seems unlikely, as he\u2019ll presumably want everyday at-bats (or close to it) wherever he goes, while the O\u2019s have O\u2019Neill, Cowser and Dylan Beavers<\/a> already in the mix for playing time, to say nothing of recently signed Leody Taveras<\/a> and former top prospect Heston Kjerstad<\/a>. Enrique Bradfield<\/a> Jr., the No. 17 overall pick in 2023 and one of the system\u2019s top prospects, reached Triple-A last year and could debut in 2026.<\/p>\n

Part-time center field options on the market could include Lane Thomas<\/a>, Harrison Bader<\/a> or Chas McCormick<\/a>, whom Elias drafted with the Astros back in 2017. Trade possibilities could include Arizona\u2019s Alek Thomas<\/a> or Colorado\u2019s Brenton Doyle<\/a>. If Twins ownership winds up pushing the front office to further scale back payroll, then not only would Lopez and Ryan be available \u2014 Byron Buxton<\/a> may even be amenable to waiving his no-trade clause<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As always, this is far from an exhaustive list of targets for the Orioles or possibilities to fill those needs. In all likelihood, the O\u2019s will be looking for multiple relievers, additional bench pieces and ample minor league depth in both the rotation and bullpen (at the very least). There\u2019s been some suggestion that they could pursue a more prominent bat to hit in the middle of the lineup. The New York Post\u2019s Jon Heyman<\/a> called them a dark horse for Pete Alonso<\/a>, noting that there\u2019s \u201csome interest\u201d from the O\u2019s. Be that as it may, it\u2019d be a surprise if they did anything more than lurk on the periphery of his market to offer a soft landing if Alonso again struggles to find a long-term deal this winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the heels of a disappointing 2025 season, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias is striking a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,105833,6108,32129,29673,6102,591,22730,85,6109],"class_list":{"0":"post-282571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-brandon-woodruff","11":"tag-dylan-cease","12":"tag-edwin-diaz","13":"tag-framber-valdez","14":"tag-michael-king","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-ranger-suarez","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-zac-gallen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}