{"id":109968,"date":"2025-10-20T09:08:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=109968"},"modified":"2025-10-20T09:08:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:08:20","slug":"inside-look-free-agent-contract-predictions-reveal-the-orioles-will-need-to-break-the-bank-to-keep-their-promise-will-they-pay-the-price-for-future-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=109968","title":{"rendered":"INSIDE LOOK: Free agent contract predictions reveal the Orioles will need to break the bank to keep their promise \u2014 will they pay the price for future success?"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"relative z-10\">\n<h3 class=\"my-2.5 text-black font-group-gigantic !leading-[30px] md:!leading-[44px]\">Free agent contract predictions show Orioles will have to pay up to keep their word<\/h3>\n<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large !mb-2.5 md:mb-5\">Orioles face major offseason test as contract projections climb<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 1x,  \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 2x,\n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F11%2F01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1192,y_0,w_3536,h_1989\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/11\/01k7ppp2z0mgt4pk85fd.jpg\" alt=\"Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros\" width=\"3536\" height=\"1989\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros | Houston Astros\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1 odesa-article-main\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<figure class=\"player-wrapper relative aspect-video mb-[18px] bg-grey rounded-md hidden player-wrapper-lg md:block\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"article-content [&amp;_p]:leading-[30px] [&amp;_p]:md:leading-[28px] [&amp;_li]:leading-[30px] [&amp;_li]:md:leading-[28px]\">\n<p>Once the Baltimore Orioles\u00a0find their next manager\u00a0and complete the restructuring of the front office, pitching should be the theme of their offseason. It&#8217;s no secret that the Orioles desperately need\u00a0to address their pitching staff this offseason, and it can&#8217;t be in the same way they did last winter&#8211;Charlie Morton was never going to be a suitable replacement for Corbin Burnes.<\/p>\n<p>The good news for the Orioles is that it is a healthy free-agent market for starting pitchers. Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, and Ranger Suarez are all available this offseason. Looking beyond the free-agent market, controllable pitchers such as Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Mitch Keller, Joe Ryan, and\u00a0Hunter Greene may be on the trade market.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of opportunities for the Orioles to finally replace Burnes at the top of their rotation. For an Orioles team that has been hesitant to trade its top prospects in recent years, it would seem that the free-agent market will be the path they take to make the upgrade.<\/p>\n<p>If so, the team will need to be ready to spend. Bleacher Report&#8217;s Joel Reuter made some early contract projections, and if they become true,\u00a0pitchers are about to be paid.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Bleacher Report&#8217;s free agent predictions show that the Orioles can\u2019t afford to cheap out this offseason<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Surprisingly, Reuter has Suarez getting the largest contract with $160MM for 6 years. Valdez has the higher AAV with a projection of $135MM for 5 years, and Cease rounds it out with a projection of $125MM for 5 years. Cease may be the biggest surprise, considering some insiders expect him to seek a short-term, high-AAV deal after an inconsistent season with the San Diego Padres.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">After seeing these projections, it makes sense why Reuter\u00a0circled Tyler Mahle\u00a0as the answer for the Orioles&#8217; need for pitching this history. Spending at the top of the market hasn&#8217;t exactly been what Mike Elias has been known for during his time with the Orioles, and Mahle figures to be in the group of pitchers that sign after the top three options are off the market.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">That said, desperate times call for desperate measures. The Orioles were one of the biggest disappointments in 2025, and if they operate this offseason in the same way they did last year, Elias almost certainly will be out of a job next winter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The solution is for the Orioles to finally spend money and get the ace that the fanbase has been begging for since the start of last season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"voltax-recirculation-widget\" data-experiment=\"article-bottom-recirc|control\" data-mm-recirc=\"\">\n<div class=\"rw-widget rw-my-4 renderer-lightning\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"rw-widget-1760950952616-36krxrwxi-title\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free agent contract predictions show Orioles will have to pay up to keep their word Orioles face major offseason test as contract projections climb Seattle Mariners v&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":109976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>INSIDE LOOK: Free agent contract predictions reveal the Orioles will need to break the bank to keep their promise \u2014 will they pay the price for future success? 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