What would it take for the Orioles to land one of these two aces via trade?

Over the last two seasons, the Baltimore Orioles have been one of baseball’s best teams. They have a combined record of 192-132, with a division title and a wild card birth to show for their efforts.

They traded for an ace prior to the 2024 season with great results and they could be looking to try and duplicate those results in 2025.

Now that Corbin Burnes is a free agent and Kyle Bradish is yet to return from Tommy John surgery, the top spot in the team’s rotation is up for grabs.

Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin are the two candidates to be the Orioles’ number one guy, but outside help could be on the way.

The Orioles have been linked to both Dylan Cease and Luis Castillo since their respective teams have made them available for trade. But which pitcher is a better fit?

Going into his age 29 season, Dylan Cease has solidified himself as a true MLB ace, and a durable one at that.

He’s made at least 32 starts in each of the last four seasons and pitched an average of 179 innings per season, with a career best 189.1 last season.

Cease has averaged 223 strikeouts in those four seasons and would sit atop the Orioles rotation if he can be acquired from the San Diego Padres.

The Padres appear to be doing a minor tear down of their team, listening to trade offers for Manny Machado, Luis Arraez and Xander Bogaerts along with Cease.

Younger stars like Fernando Tatis Jr, Jackson Merrill, and Michael King have not been made available. This suggests that they’re looking towards the future as opposed to trying to win now.

What would it take for the Orioles to land one of Dylan Cease or Luis Castillo?

Any trade with San Diego is going to be prospect heavy. The load would get a little lighter due to Cease only having one year of team control before he can become a free agent, similar to Burnes last year. Cease isn’t as established as Burnes was last season but he won’t come cheap.