Baltimore Orioles Linked To Twins Starter in Free Agency

The Baltimore Orioles are likely to sign at least one starting pitcher this offseason, a veteran that can help provide some support to their sharp, but young, rotation.

The Athletic recently did a “Black Friday” story for free agency. The idea was to line up one Black Friday deal for each MLB team in free agency.

Some were the kind of deals you stand in line for hours for. Some are the kind of deals you could get online.

For the Orioles, the site gave them a Black Friday deal that might lie somewhere in the middle — pitcher Kenta Maeda.

Maeda is not a pitcher the Orioles have been linked to this offseason. But he may be one worth investigating as free agency continues, the Athletic writes:

The biggest obstacle Baltimore faces in 2024 will likely be regression, as the club thrived in one-run games en route to a first-place finish in the American League East. The lineup looks set. The bullpen was excellent. The top of the rotation should be fine, especially if you believe in the long-term viability of Grayson Rodriguez. The back half of the rotation could use a boost, though. Maeda comes with the added bonus of being a capable reliever in October.

Maeda is about hit his age 36 season in 2024 and he may be past the form that put his third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 2016 (16-11 with the LA Dodgers) or second in Cy Young voting in 2020 (6-1 with the Twins).

He is coming off a 2023 in which he went 6-8 with a 4.23 ERA after not playing in 2022 due to Tommy John surgery.

So, it’s possible that Maeda could see an upward trend in 2024 based on being two years removed from the surgery and recovery.

Before the surgery he was an innings eater. From 2016-19 he threw at least 125 innings in a season, with 2019 seeing him bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen.

He could, potentially, do the same for the Orioles.