While Kyle Gibson struggled mightily in his 2025 debut, fellow free agent Andrew Heaney has been outstanding with the Pirates.

If early returns are any indication – and they’re all we have to go off at this point – the Orioles’ offseason would earn a grade of F.

If the grade of F- was available, it would be stamped all over the Orioles’ offseason report card.

Aside from signing Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year deal, it seems as if every decision Mike Elias and the front office made this past offseason was bad.

Examples are plentiful and easy to identify: (1) the still-baffling decision to retain Cionel Perez over the far-more effective Danny Coulombe; (2) the Orioles’ decision to throw $15M at a near-retirement Charlie Morton, who has been one of, if not the single most ineffective starter in baseball; (3) the Orioles’ decision to spend $8.5 million on backup catcher Gary Sanchez, who before hitting the IL had 3 hits and 12 strikeouts in 30 at bats; (4) the decision not to upgrade at first base (a Josh Naylor trade made a lot of sense) and instead stomach Ryan Mountcastle’s atrocious .512 OPS; and (5) the decision to sign Andrew Kittredge, who has not thrown a pitch as an Oriole, over Jeff Hoffman, who is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 6 saves with the rival Blue Jays. And the list could go further.

The Orioles’ insertion of Kyle Gibson into the rotation for Tuesday night’s start against the Yankees highlights yet another miss by the Orioles’ this year.

While the Yankees were eviscerating Gibson to the tune of nine runs over 3.2 innings, another starter who signed late in the offseason – lefty Andrew Heaney – is enjoying a strong start with the Pirates.

In six starts with Pittsburgh, Heaney is 2-2 with a 2.50 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 36 innings.

The Pirates signed Heaney to a one-year, $5 million deal. Guess how much the Orioles are paying Gibson, who’s ERA currently sits at 22.09? $5 million.

The Orioles decision to pass on signing left-hander Andrew Heaney in lieu of signing Kyle Gibson looks even worse after Heaney’s strong start to 2025

I am not blind to the fact that it is only April 30, and we are only 1/6 the way through the baseball season.

Nor am I blind to the fact that Gibson’s start was just “one bad start” against the Yankees, one of the top offenses in baseball.

And despite the awful struggles of the Orioles’ offseason acquisitions, the sample sizes are still small enough that these players could still have solid seasons overall.

But with the 11-18 Orioles not only losing games, but getting stomped on a semi-regular basis, the Orioles’ constant misses this past offseason are starting to wear on fans.

At this point, it has to only be a matter of time until David Rubenstein has seen enough and shows Mike Elias, Brandon Hyde, and pitching coach Drew French the door.