Baltimore Orioles Shouldn't Overlook This Pitching Free Agent

Since Aaron Nola re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, the starting pitching market has been relatively quiet.

Is that good news or bad news for the Baltimore Orioles?

The winter meetings are less than two weeks away and if the Orioles are laying groundwork for free agent signings they’re keeping it on the down low.

But the need for starting pitching is clear. Kyle Gibson is now out the door after he signed with St. Louis and Jack Flaherty is likely to follow.

Even with a young rotation made up of Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells, Baltimore is in need of at least one veteran starting pitcher.

It’s why the Orioles shouldn’t forget about a Top-50 free agent that hasn’t gotten much chatter of late, but could help back-stop their current rotation — Marcus Stroman.

Lately, the dots have been connected more to pitchers like Minnesota’s Sonny Gray, his teammate Kenta Maeda or a trade for a pitcher like Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease.

But Cease’s cross-town rival is worth tracking too, especially as free agent pitchers continue to set the market below Nola’s deal, which was for seven years and $172 million.

Stroman opted out of a $21 million option with the Chicago Cubs to test the market, and he’s been connected to the San Diego Padres recently, especially if the Padres lose their free agents, Blake Snell and Seth Lugo.

Stroman may not get that much on the open market, and that’s where the Orioles can offer him a soft spot to land if he doesn’t get top dollar.

In two seasons with Chicago, Stroman had a record of 16-16, an ERA of 4.22 and 238 strikeouts across 275.1 innings pitched.

He had a great start to his 2023 season and earned his second All-Star Game selection. But, a couple of injuries curtailed the second half of his season. He stressed during the season that he wanted to work out a long-term extension with the Cubs, but the team didn’t explore the option.

The Orioles may only want Stroman for a couple of seasons. But, when healthy, he’s productive. MLB Trade Rumors recently predicted that Stroman would get a two-year deal worth $44 million.

That’s a small raise for Stroman — and a potential bargain for the Orioles, when compared to the rest of the market.