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With spring training underway for the Baltimore Orioles, the team is looking forward to what they hope will be an excellent 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
This winter, the Orioles were one of the most talked about teams due to their two star free agents.<\/p>\n
Outfielder Anthony Santander and starter pitcher Corbin Burnes were two of the best players available this winter. Both ended up getting nice long-term deals, but neither returned to Baltimore.<\/p>\n
Losing the leading home run hitter on the team and the ace of the pitching staff is a tough look for a franchise. Considering the Orioles started to spend money a bit this winter, losing two key players, and most importantly Burnes does sting.<\/p>\n
The addition of Burnes last year sparked a lot of hope and optimism for Baltimore coming into last year. He lived up to the hype with a 15-9 record and a 2.92 ERA.<\/p>\n
However, even though he pitched excellent in the American League Wild Card Round, the Orioles didn\u2019t win a game in the postseason for the second straight year.<\/p>\n
With the ace of the staff gone, Baltimore appears like they will be going into the campaign without a proven front-end starter to lead the staff.<\/p>\n
This certainly feels risky for the franchise, but they could look to explore the trade market to improve.<\/p>\n
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Orioles making sense as a trade partner with the Pittsburgh Pirates for second-year pitcher Jared Jones. He was classified under “young players whose names have come up.”<\/p>\n
Even though it was Paul Skenes who received most of the attention for the Pirates in 2024, Jones also pitched well in his rookie season.<\/p>\n
The former second-round pick totaled a 6-8 record and a 4.12 ERA in 121.2 innings pitched. While Jones isn’t currently a front-end starter, at just 23 years old he\u2019s far from a finished product.<\/p>\n
With a young core of talent in Baltimore, pursuing a young pitcher like Jones to grow with the lineup makes a lot of sense.<\/p>\n
For the Pirates, they are desperate to improve a lineup that was one of the worst in baseball last year. The Orioles have a plethora of young hitters who could facilitate a deal that makes sense for both sides.<\/p>\n
While Jones might not be an ace yet, he would give Baltimore more depth in the rotation, with the upside to get better.<\/p>\n
The starting rotation for the Orioles is going to be under a microscope for much of the season until they prove themselves without an ace.<\/p>\n
For a team that has big goals in October, they will likely need to upgrade their rotation at some point.<\/p>\n
With Jones being under team control for many years, he makes sense not only for now but for the long-term plan as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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