I gave up a long time ago trying to tell the Orioles what to do with their money, but it seems to me that the club is very much at a philosophical crossroads.
The previous ownership, which was among the biggest spenders in baseball during the 1990s, eventually recognized the folly of trying to outspend the Yankees and then turned the small-market excuse into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It remains to be seen whether the David Rubenstein ownership group will come to the same conclusion, but I’m hoping that they take one big risk to help pull the Orioles out of their 16-month funk.
This team needs a big-time right-handed bat, and if they have been watching the World Series they might have noticed that Blue Jays All-Star Bo Bichette can literally fall out of bed or come off a lengthy stint on the injured list and hit line drives in the postseason.
Wait a minute. Am I seriously suggesting that the Orioles spend hundreds of millions of dollars to sign a shortstop when they already have budding superstar Gunnar Henderson at the same position?
Yes I am.
There are two spots on the left side of the infield and Henderson obviously is capable of playing at both of them. The Orioles would also have to move Jordan Westburg, but he has shown he’s also capable of playing multiple positions, and Bichette in the lineup would make both of them better hitters.
Of course, Rubenstein would have to dig very deep to win a bidding war for a guy that a lot of people think is the best pure hitter in the game. I’m guessing the Blue Jays will try hard to keep him, but they just shelled out a half-billion to lock up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., so who knows whether budget considerations will get in the way?
And who knows if Bichette, fresh off his first World Series, would be willing to come to Baltimore and be a difference-maker for a team that hasn’t sniffed the Fall Classic in 42 years. Geez, I was 28 when I covered that Series for the Orange County Register, so I know it must feel like forever to O’s fans.
The Orioles’ organization hasn’t exactly had a charmed history when it comes to free agents. The club signed Albert Belle to a $65 million contract back around the turn of the century and lived to regret it, even though much of the contract was paid by insurance after Belle’s hip failed him.
When the O’s finally waded back into the upper level of the free-agent market and signed two-time major league home run king Chris Davis to a $161 million contract, it would turn out to be another disaster.
I fully understand both the history and the economics, but the unexpected downturn that began in the second half of the 2024 season has rubbed a lot of the luster off the successful Mike Elias rebuild and created an inflection point for the new Orioles ownership.
There is much to do this winter. The starting rotation has to be strengthened. The bullpen has to be rebuilt. And the Orioles need a premier right-handed bat to complete a talented group of young hitters.
Signing Bichette or – failing that – acquiring some other top-flight hitter to balance the lineup and make the team less vulnerable to left-handed pitching would go a long way toward re-energizing the organization and its fans.