Orioles Exploring Justin Verlander as Veteran Option While Still Seeking a Rotation Anchor
The Baltimore Orioles continue to explore ways to fortify their starting rotation, and one of the most intriguing names now connected to them is also one of the most accomplished pitchers in baseball history. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Orioles have shown interest in Justin Verlander, the future Hall of Famer who remains on the free-agent market.
Baltimore is the first team beyond Verlander’s incumbent San Francisco Giants to be publicly linked to the veteran right-hander, though Rosenthal notes it would be misleading to view the Orioles as the only suitor. Unsurprisingly, Verlander has drawn interest from multiple clubs across the league, particularly teams seeking experience, reliability, and short-term rotation stability.
For the Orioles, however, the connection to Verlander reflects more than simple curiosity. It highlights both their ongoing search for a dependable top-end starter and the delicate balance they are trying to strike between long-term flexibility and immediate contention.
Where the Orioles’ Rotation Stands Entering the Offseason’s Final Phase
Baltimore has not been inactive when it comes to pitching. The club has already made two notable rotation moves this offseason, each aimed at bolstering depth rather than redefining the staff.
First, the Orioles acquired Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays, sending four prospects and a draft pick in return. Baz, once one of baseball’s most highly regarded pitching prospects, is under team control for three more seasons and brings intriguing upside. When healthy, he has flashed mid-rotation or better stuff, but durability and consistency remain unresolved questions.
Baltimore also reunited with Zach Eflin, signing the veteran right-hander to a one-year, $10 million deal after an injury-plagued season. Eflin provides innings and familiarity with the organization, but at this stage of his career, he profiles more as a stabilizer than a rotation leader.
From a pure depth standpoint, the Orioles are in respectable shape. From a championship standpoint, the picture is murkier.
The top of the rotation still carries significant uncertainty. Kyle Bradish is set to begin his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, a scenario that often comes with workload management and inconsistency. Trevor Rogers delivered an outstanding stretch over 18 starts but was pitching in Triple-A as recently as last May. Baz, while talented, has yet to prove he can deliver quality starts consistently across a full season.
For a team with legitimate postseason aspirations in the hyper-competitive AL East, that combination feels incomplete.
Why Verlander Is Viewed as a Fallback — Not the Primary Target
The Orioles’ long-term preference remains clear. Framber Valdez, widely regarded as the best free-agent pitcher still available, has been on Baltimore’s radar throughout the winter. Valdez offers durability, top-of-the-rotation performance, and a skill set that would immediately elevate the staff.
Baltimore also possesses the controllable position-player talent necessary to explore the trade market should someone like Freddy Peralta or MacKenzie Gore become available. Those options would require significant prospect capital but would provide higher ceilings than a short-term veteran signing.
Rosenthal suggests that Verlander fits into the Orioles’ plans as more of a contingency option — a reliable fallback if they fail to land a pitcher with true ace-level upside.
That framing makes sense.
At 43 years old, Verlander no longer projects as a Cy Young frontrunner. The days of expecting 200 innings of dominance are gone. But dismissing him as merely a symbolic signing would be a mistake.
Verlander Still Has Plenty Left
Despite his age, Verlander proved in 2025 that he remains a capable and effective major league starter. Pitching for the Giants, he made 29 starts and logged 152 innings with a 3.85 ERA, numbers that would represent a meaningful upgrade for many rotations.
His underlying metrics were equally encouraging.
Verlander posted a 20.7% strikeout rate while walking approximately 8% of batters faced. Most notably, his 11% swinging-strike rate was his highest since 2022, when he captured his third career Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros.
Velocity, often the first thing to fade for aging pitchers, has held steady. Verlander averaged 94 mph on his fastball and actually improved as the season progressed after missing a month early due to a pectoral strain. Over his final 19 starts, he recorded a 3.60 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate, suggesting his performance was trending upward rather than declining.
For a team seeking stability rather than stardom, those numbers carry real weight.
Familiarity With the Orioles’ Front Office
There is also a strong personal and philosophical connection between Verlander and the Orioles’ decision-makers.
Baltimore president of baseball operations Mike Elias served as an assistant general manager in Houston during Verlander’s first season and a half with the Astros. That overlap created familiarity not only with Verlander the pitcher, but with Verlander the professional — his preparation, leadership, and influence in a clubhouse.
That relationship matters, particularly when evaluating veteran pitchers whose value extends beyond raw performance.
Verlander also fits cleanly into the Orioles’ historical free-agent approach under Elias. To date, Baltimore has not signed a free-agent starter to a multi-year contract during his tenure. Instead, the organization has frequently targeted older pitchers on shorter commitments, such as Kyle Gibson, Charlie Morton, and Tomoyuki Sugano.
Verlander, who is expected to sign one-year deals for the remainder of his career, aligns perfectly with that pattern.
Lessons From Last Winter’s Rotation Gamble
Of course, this strategy carries risk — and Baltimore has felt it before.
Last offseason’s pitching moves largely backfired. None of Gibson, Morton, or Sugano met expectations, and the rotation’s early-season struggles created a hole the Orioles were never able to climb out of. That experience underscores the danger of relying too heavily on veteran stopgaps.
Still, it’s worth noting that Baltimore is not ideologically opposed to longer commitments. The club reportedly made a four-year offer to Corbin Burnes and absorbed a year and a half of Zach Eflin’s contract via trade in 2024. The front office is flexible — just cautious.
In that context, signing Verlander would be more consistent with past behavior than committing five or six years to Valdez, even if Valdez represents a higher ceiling.
Payroll Flexibility Remains
Financially, the Orioles are positioned to act.
They have already opened the checkbook this offseason, most notably with their $155 million signing of Pete Alonso. According to RosterResource, Baltimore’s projected 2026 payroll sits at approximately $149 million, roughly $10 million below where they opened the 2025 season.
Only three players — Alonso, Tyler O’Neill, and Samuel Basallo — are signed beyond this season. O’Neill’s contract runs through 2027, while Basallo’s salary does not exceed $4 million annually until 2030, the final year of Alonso’s deal.
That flexibility gives Baltimore room to pursue both a short-term solution like Verlander and a bigger swing if the right opportunity emerges.
What Verlander Would Mean for Baltimore
Signing Verlander would not solve all of Baltimore’s rotation questions. It would not eliminate the need for another frontline arm. But it would add experience, credibility, and a stabilizing presence to a staff filled with uncertainty.
In a division where every marginal win matters, that could be the difference between a wild-card berth and another frustrating near-miss.
Whether Verlander becomes an Oriole or remains a fallback plan will depend on how the rest of the market unfolds. But his connection to Baltimore underscores a larger truth: the Orioles are no longer dabbling on the margins.
They are actively searching for the final pieces of a contender — and time is running short.
