The Orioles declined a $4M option on Danny Coulombe — only to watch him dominate for the Twins. Was it a misstep they couldn’t afford to make?

It’s no secret at this point that the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching staff is hanging by a thread. What began as a season full of promise has quickly unraveled into a patchwork rotation, riddled with injuries, underperformance, and questionable front-office decisions.

With future ace Grayson Rodriguez sidelined indefinitely and Zach Eflin joining him on the injured list, the O’s were already in damage control to begin the season.

Add in Kyle Bradish, still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the team’s once-promising rotation is now being put together on the fly. The results delivered have been predictably shaky.

Veteran Charlie Morton, brought in on a one-year, $15 million deal, has been a disaster so far — his 10.89 ERA through five starts makes it clear that age may have finally caught up to the 41-year-old.

Meanwhile, 35-year-old Japanese rookie Tomoyuki Sugano, signed for $13 million, holds a respectable 3.43 ERA but has been anything but dominant. His MLB-low 3.43 K/9 is raising more red flags than optimism.

And now, as the bullpen is forced to take on heavier workloads, the front office’s offseason decisions — especially one in particular — are beginning to look more and more suspect.

Danny Coulombe is making the Orioles regret their offseason decisions

Among the more puzzling decisions this winter was Baltimore’s choice to decline Danny Coulombe’s modest $4 million club option for 2025. At the time, the move raised eyebrows. Now, it’s coming back to haunt them.

Coulombe was one of the more consistent and reliable arms in the Orioles’ bullpen across the last two seasons, compiling a stellar 2.56 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 94 appearances. While he missed over three months of the 2024 campaign following elbow surgery, he returned in September and proved effective.

Still, the Orioles walked away. Coulombe rejoined the Minnesota Twins on a one-year, $3 million deal — notably less than what Baltimore shelled out for other arms this offseason. And all he’s done since is post a 0.00 ERA across 10 appearances, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out five in 8.2 innings of clean, efficient pitching. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s own bullpen is being stretched thin by the failures of a starting staff that can’t work deep into games.

The Orioles didn’t pass on Coulombe to save money — that much is clear. With nearly $40 million committed to Morton, Sugano, and reliever Andrew Kittredge this offseason, it’s difficult to see how $4 million for a proven bullpen arm like Coulombe was where they drew the line.

Whether it was concerns about age — which seems highly unlikely — health, or sheer miscalculation, the decision not to retain him now looks like a critical error for a franchise teetering on the edge. The O’s entered 2025 with serious expectations as a rising AL contender. But with a sub-.500 record, a decimated rotation, and questionable spending, Baltimore looks more like a team regressing than one taking the next step.

There’s still time to right the ship — but as the losses pile up and offseason mistakes come to light, it’s becoming harder to ignore the fact that some of the Orioles’ wounds are self-inflicted.