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<\/p>\nThe Orioles declined a $4M option on Danny Coulombe \u2014 only to watch him dominate for the Twins. Was it a misstep they couldn\u2019t afford to make?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret at this point that the Baltimore Orioles\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
With future ace Grayson Rodriguez sidelined indefinitely and\u00a0Zach Eflin joining him on the injured list,\u00a0the O\u2019s were already in damage control to begin the season.<\/p>\n
Add in Kyle Bradish, still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the team\u2019s once-promising rotation is now being put together on the fly. The results delivered have been predictably shaky.<\/p>\n
Veteran Charlie Morton, brought in on a one-year, $15 million deal, has been a disaster so far \u2014 his 10.89 ERA through five starts makes it clear that age may have finally caught up to the 41-year-old.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And now, as the bullpen is forced to take on heavier workloads, the front office’s offseason decisions \u2014 especially one in particular \u2014 are beginning to look more and more suspect.<\/p>\n
Among the more puzzling decisions this winter was Baltimore’s choice to\u00a0decline Danny Coulombe\u2019s modest $4 million club option\u00a0for 2025. At the time, the move raised eyebrows. Now, it\u2019s coming back to haunt them.<\/p>\n
Coulombe was one of the\u00a0more consistent and reliable arms in the Orioles’ bullpen\u00a0across 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.<\/p>\n
Still, the Orioles walked away. Coulombe rejoined the\u00a0Minnesota Twins on a one-year, $3 million deal\u00a0\u2014 notably less than what Baltimore shelled out for other arms this offseason. And all he\u2019s 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\u2019s own bullpen is being stretched thin by the failures of a starting staff that can\u2019t work deep into games.<\/p>\n
The Orioles didn\u2019t pass on Coulombe to save money \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Whether it was concerns about age \u2014 which seems highly unlikely \u2014 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still time to right the ship \u2014 but as the losses pile up and offseason mistakes come to light, it\u2019s becoming harder to ignore the fact that some of the Orioles\u2019 wounds are self-inflicted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Orioles declined a $4M option on Danny Coulombe \u2014 only to watch him dominate for the Twins. Was it a misstep they couldn\u2019t afford to make?… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n