Could Baltimore Orioles Pull Off Shrewd Trade With Miami Marlins?

Yes, the Baltimore Orioles have plenty of options when it comes to their pitching pursuits. And, while the vast majority of the talk has been about finding a veteran starter to go along with their young rotation, the O’s need relief help, too.

After all, closer Félix Bautista won’t pitch in 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. Bautista just won the Mariano Rivera award as baseball’s best closer, in spite of missing the final month with the injury.

No matter who the Orioles find to close games, they’ll need relievers to either set up a new closer or work as a closer-by-committee.

While the Orioles have been connected to trades with starting pitchers like White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease, one shouldn’t rule out the Orioles making stealthier moves to help their bullpen.

The Athletic connected the Orioles to a pair of relievers that could draw interest from the Orioles, along with other teams, at the Winter Meetings in Nashville:

The Orioles and other clubs also might show interest in late-inning relievers such as Tanner Scott and A.J. Puk.

Scott is familiar to Orioles fans. He was the Orioles’ sixth-round pick in 2014 and he broke in with the O’s in 2017. He spent his first five seasons with the Orioles, where he made 170 appearances, as he went 9-8 with a 4.73 ERA. He worked mostly as a set-up man and struck out 12 hitters per nine innings.

Since Scott moved to Miami in 2022, he’s grown into a pitcher that can close games. He’s 13-10 with a 3.20 ERA with 32 saves in 141 appearances. He had just one save with Baltimore.

Puk also spent last season in Miami and went 7-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 58 games, saving 15 of them. He strikes out 11.2 hitters per nine innings. Before Miami, he was in Oakland for three seasons, where he made his MLB debut in 2019.

The Orioles have a wealth of prospects they can use to make big moves, or lower-level moves like this that could easily pay dividends next season.