The Orioles improved their rotation at the trade deadline. Will that be enough?
The Orioles squeaked in a flurry of moves yesterday before the deadline officially arrived. The blockbuster deal never came, but Baltimore acquired several players that could make a difference in the second half.
It’s easy to question the deals or whether the club could have done more, but the roster is set. Jackson Holliday will reportedly join the team today, and Coby Mayo could arrive at some point, but the Orioles have the bunch that will march toward a championship this fall.
Baltimore did its best to improve the bullpen without relinquishing top prospects, but the biggest upgrades came to the starting rotation. The Orioles added Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers over the last few days.
Eflin earned the win in his Orioles debut on Monday. The 30-year-old allowed a season high 10 hits over six innings, but he really only made one significant mistake. He immediately delivered a quality start that provided his team a legitimate chance to win. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s the type of outing that Eflin can deliver every five days.
Eflin pounds the zone, so the Orioles will need to claw out of their defensive funk, but the lack of walks should provide much needed efficiency to the rotation. The veteran is under contract through next season, and he immediately supplies length to a bunch impacted by injury.
The Orioles surrendered OF Matthew Etzel, IF/OF Mac Horvath and RHP Jackson Baumeister for 1.5 years of Eflin. The 6’6 righty slightly underperformed with Tampa this season, but he posted a 3.50 ERA in the AL East last year.
Baltimore doubled-down on rotation depth by adding Trevor Rogers from Miami. The 26-year-old burst onto the scene with a 160 ERA+ during an All-Star campaign in 2021, but he’s failed to live up to the hype ever since.
The Orioles relinquished Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby to gain the controllable starter. Both prospects were at least partially blocked in Baltimore, while Rogers provides an option for this year and in the future.
Many noted that Rogers allowed two runs or less in eight of his final nine starts with the Marlins. He somehow features a 1.4 WAR despite holding a 2-9 record. Rogers often failed to carry the struggling Marlins to victory, but he should see more win opportunities with the first-place Orioles.
Do the Orioles have a better rotation than they did last week? Absolutely. Eflin and Rogers will replace Albert Suárez and the rookie duo of Chayce McDermott/Cade Povich.
Baltimore needed at least one starter after losing Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells for the year, but the addition of two big league starters qualified as a slight surprise.
McDermott and Povich never looked ready for primetime action, and the stakes are simply too high to let rookie starting pitchers develop during a pennant race. The Orioles bought their two best pitching prospects more time by acquiring Eflin over the weekend, but the addition of Rogers said more about Suárez.
The 34-year-old made for a fun story, but Suárez posted a 7.64 ERA in July. The Orioles either determined they could no longer depend on the journeyman, or they simply liked Rogers better in an A/B comparison.
Both starters should improve Baltimore’s path to the postseason, but will either make a difference once they get there? Eflin, Rogers and Kremer have two months to sort out the pecking order behind Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez.
Eflin made 10 postseason relief appearances with Philadelphia before starting an AL Wild Card game last season. The numbers could be better, but Eflin holds the edge in October experience over Kremer and Rogers.
The Orioles hope to win the AL East and secure a first-round bye for the second consecutive season. Suárez and the rookies would have made that task difficult, while Eflin and Rogers should provide the team a boost.
The price was simply too high for a frontline starter, but the Orioles added stability for this season and beyond. Will the pair of hurlers make a difference in the postseason? Only time will tell.