Less than a month into the season and there are clear frontrunners for the best and worst moves from the Orioles offseason

The Baltimore Orioles offseason was spent in search of replacing a couple of key pieces of the playoff team from 2024.

Corbin Burnes moved West to Arizona and Anthony Santander went North to Toronto, leaving the Orioles to fill the holes in right field and the number one spot in the rotation.

Baltimore would pick up right-hander Charlie Morton who so far has been the worst addition to the team in the 2025 campaign.

Morton entered Sunday’s start with an 8.84 ERA and based on his performance thus far, the 18-year veteran has not added the depth to an already floundering rotation that was hoped.

Morton signed a one-year $15 million contract to continue his Major League career in Baltimore.

In Sunday’s game against the Reds, Morton would leave the game after only 2.1 innings giving up 7 earned runs on 7 hits and 4 walks, raising his ERA on the year to a brutal 10.89 mark.

Morton’s struggles are making it evident that the former World Series champion does not have the same stuff that he had during his runs to a title with the Braves and the Astros.

The veteran’s time with the Orioles may be short-lived as Kyle Gibson was signed during spring training and is working back to be in the rotation.

Gibson has started for Norfolk and is working back after missing most of spring training. When he returns, expect Morton to be on the chopping block due to his poor performance.

The Orioles’ best and worst signings from the 2025 offseason

On the side of the best signing for the Orioles, a couple of options come to mind, in particular outfielder Tyler O’Neill and starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.

O’Neill began the season on a strong note going deep in his first game with Baltimore and extending his major league record of consecutive Opening Day home runs to six. Since then he has cooled off with only one home run and an average of .246.

Sugano was an unknown coming from Japan due to his age as a rookie in Major League Baseball. So far the elder rookie has been fantastic for the Orioles with a 2-1 record and a 3.43 ERA to begin the 2025 season.

Inside the rotation, which has been the focal point of fans’ frustrations to begin the season, Sugano has been a stable piece for the Orioles in the early going.

The one fault to Sugano’s game has been his inability to strike out hitters, posting a 3.43 K/9 through his first 4 starts of the season.

If Sugano begins to keep hitters off balance and send them walking back to the dugout then he may be the replacement to Corbin Burnes that the team went hunting for in the offseason.

The Orioles’ frustrating start has a correlation to their offseason signings being below par of what they were hoping for when they made agreements in the offseason.

If Sugano and O’Neill stay healthy and on their path, they will be the pillars of a turnaround in the Orioles season.