At this point in time, the Baltimore Orioles are just eyeing the finish line of the regular season and hoping their many injured stars can return to get some games under their belt before the playoffs begin.
That’s really been the story for this team throughout the year.
With so much talent, young and proven, on their roster, the only thing that really could have slowed them down, or stopped them, would have been because they were injured.
And that’s exactly what has happened.
The Orioles are banged up in every area of their team with three starting pitchers out after undergoing season-ending surgeries, and another being on the injured list currently. Their bullpen is hoping Danny Coulombe comes back soon after just getting back Jacob Webb, the infield is also without Jorge Mateo for the rest of the way, and is hoping All-Star Jordan Westburg and slugger Ryan Mountcastle will be able to return.
Dire straits indeed.
When taking a huge step back and looking at things from a big picture, Baltimore is way ahead of schedule, something that should give everyone an exciting feeling no matter what happens in the playoffs.
Pundits were predicting they wouldn’t be able to accomplish what they did last season, and while that is true on the surface, it’s largely due to who is missing on this roster instead of them not having the talent to do so.
Unfortunately, it might be those injuries that ultimately is their undoing early in October again.
If that’s the case, the Orioles’ front office is going to be front and center trying to reshape this roster in the hopes of finally making a deep playoff run.
They’ll have their hands full with Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander scheduled to hit free agency, but with a new ownership group led by billionaire David Rubenstein, there’s a chance they can finally compete with cash-rich teams and keep their best players in town on lucrative contracts.
When looking to the outside, though, the headliner is going to be Blake Snell.
While adding him would make a lot of sense, Baltimore could also go a different route and add 2023 World Series champion Nathan Eovaldi if he hits the threshold he needs to trigger his player option, something that’s expected to happen with only four more innings needed for that to happen.
If he does become available, Mike Axisa of CBS Sports thinks he could be signed for a reasonable price.
“Eovaldi throws the four he needs to get the player option, then declines it, tests the free-agent waters, and ultimately returns to the Rangers on a new contract. Perhaps something like two years and $40 million with an option for a third year,” he predicts.
While he doesn’t say anything about the Orioles, the fact he thinks all it will take to land the ace is roughly $40 million should have general manager Mike Elias lined up at his door ready to make him an offer.
Eovaldi is still a top-of-the-line starting pitcher in this league with a 3.67 ERA across 26 starts and 152 innings pitched this year, making him a huge addition to Baltimore’s rotation.
This is something they should seriously consider if the World Series champ hits the open market.
