The Orioles had “legitimate interest” in southpaw Blake Snell before he landed with the Dodgers on a five-year deal that became official earlier today, per a report from Roch Kubatko of MASN. Kubatko notes, however, that it’s unclear how advanced talks between Baltimore and Snell’s camp became before he settled on Los Angeles. Previous reporting indicated that the Orioles could get involved in the Snell sweepstakes, but Kubatko’s report is the first confirming Baltimore’s interest.
As the club looks to either reunite with right-hander Corbin Burnes or replace his production at the top of their rotation following his departure for free agency earlier this month, it’s hardly a surprise to hear that the club took a hard look at Snell while he was available. The two-time Cy Young award winner has been even better than Burnes from a run prevention perspective over the past three years, with a 2.82 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 412 innings. Burnes, meanwhile, lags behind in rate stats with a 3.08 ERA and 3.49 FIP, but his 590 innings of work dwarf Snell in terms of volume. That volume figures to be particularly attractive to an Orioles club that has serious health question marks surrounding a number of its starters, including Kyle Bradish as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery that figures to keep him out of action for at least the first half of 2025.
While Burnes seems likely to remain the Orioles’s top choice in free agency this winter, they’ve also been connected to southpaws Max Fried and Garrett Crochet in free agency and via trade respectively. It seems as though they’re also looking at mid-rotation arms as well, however, as they were recently linked to veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi projects to be much less expensive than Burnes and Fried in free agency this winter, but that affordability comes with a much less impactful track record as the 34-year-old has a solid but unremarkable 3.75 ERA and 3.63 FIP across the past five seasons. The Orioles are quite familiar with Eovaldi, of course, as he spent seven seasons in the AL East with the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox from 2015 to 2022.
More tidbits from around the baseball world…
- Mariners fans got an encouraging update on the status of right-hander Matt Brash recently, as Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported earlier this week that the right-hander is ahead of schedule as he rehabs from his early May Tommy John surgery. Per Jude, the Mariners are “optimistic” that he could return to the club’s bullpen by the end of April this coming season, just under a year after he first went under the knife. Brash’s return would surely be a major boost for Seattle, as he established himself as one of the most exciting young arms in the club’s arsenal during a breakout 2023 campaign. After being moved to the bullpen partway through the 2022 season, Brash’s first full campaign as a reliever saw him lead the majors with 78 appearances while posting an excellent 3.06 ERA with an even better 2.26 FIP. He struck out an eye-popping 34.7% of batters faced that year, and if he can post numbers anything like that in 2025 he’ll be a phenomenal complement to closer Andres Munoz at the back of the Mariners bullpen next year.
- The Cubs have yet to announce their finalized coaching staff for the 2025 season, but Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported earlier this week that at least one more vacancy has been filled. After assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos departed the organization to become the Marlins’ pitching coach, the club is promoting internally to replace Moskos by hiring Casey Jacobson. Jacobson has been in the Cubs organization since October 2019 and has spent the past two years as the senior coordinator of pitching development for the club in the minor leagues. Now, he’ll get the opportunity to work on a big league coaching staff for the first time in his career with a number of young arms such as Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, and Porter Hodge expected to play roles for Chicago next year.
O’s are going to surprise in December. I predict two significant signings and maybe a trade.
Oh Lord, I hope so.
Are there any reports linking Max Fried to the Chicago Cubs???
Opposite; Jed has said they aren’t shopping in that aisle. They’ll probably sign one of Buehler, Eovaldi, someone in that range with upside, no comp pick attached, and requires <5years deal.
Highly unlikely that the Cubs will sign anybody who got a QO this off season. They would have to give up 1 million in International signing money, And their 2nd and 5th round draft picks. Add that to the fact that they will probably be trying to ACQUIRE more Intl money than lose it( Sasaki) Makes the fact that they’ll be shopping at the top of the FA pool a complete non starter. That’s a lot to give up for contracts that might be burdens in the future as opposed to trades for younger arms( Crochet) which make way more sense given their deep prospect pool. They already have a decent stable of young arms but as we all know, Stuff happens.
Would be great if mariners got some encouraging news that some hitters were coming !!
Something tells me Daniel Moskos is hoping last year’s injuries scare teams away from Luzardo and Alcantara.
Do the Cubs know it’s the post season and it’s ok to get their heads out of their butts now? No probably not, why improve when you finished “only” 10 games out. Why get anyone established when a kid from your system might be serviceable
I agree it’s time to stop signing over priced FA’s and give youth a chance. Nice Post!
@oldguy; Rickets prefers to spend his money on property in Wyoming. He has inspirations of making a second Jackson Hole out there. He’s receiving a lot of pushback so far. But yeah, why doesn’t he reinvest in his team, the Cubs?
Old guy- Just by standing pat the Cubs could actually improve immensely by subtracting Wisdom, Madrigal, Tauchman and the others they non tendered. I wouldn’t get too excited by the lack of anything happening yet as this is the usual form for Baseball which is the Anti Football and Basketball FA frenzy that happens in 24 hours. They could improve by signing back some of the guys they lost( Lopez, Bethancourt?) Especially with the lame Catching market. I’m not sold on Thaiss being the answer to all that. They don’t need a lot. They need to invest in the Bullpen more than the starters. For just once they need to break camp with a dominant bullpen and Hoyer needs to lose his phobia of signing FA back end guys. Tanner Scott would be an awesome move to give CC a LH closer plus Hodge to use however he wants. Although re signing Keegan Thompson and Merryweather might not be sexy moves, They add quality depth they didn’t have at the start of last season when they ended up behind the 8 ball early.
Might is the key word. They are on the same path of mediocrity.
I would only bank on Brown, PCA at this point. Shaw might get in but there is no clear path. Caissie mid season at best.
Pitching wise Horton has solid upside. But after losing a year he has to prove that he can get AAA hitters out before even getting a look.
For me the only farm untouchables would be Shaw, Ballesteros, Horton, Wiggins, Smith and Gray. I’m not sure what Gray did to drop from like #7 to 25 in one season after TJ surgery but his arm is undeniable. Sure he was wild last year( Name a young P who isn’t) So I don’t know what the deal is. Getting a guy like Crochet, Alcantara is a much better proposition than giving Burnes or Fried at 30 a boatload of money at this point. If starting proves to be too much for either of those guys being high end bullpen pieces is surely an option. More flexibility = Better Major League team.
Still hoping this is actual “legitimate interest”, giving the Orioles new ownership group the winter to prove itself. Many articles in the past had the Orioles “interested” in many big names and never getting them.
Crochet is begging for an overpay for someone. I’d be ok with Eovaldi if he is not the only pickup because of the age and injury concerns. Fried or resigning Burnes would be the preferred option at this point, and if one comes with a plus Eovaldi that’s a decent winter.
Thornton Mellon;
The O’s problematic issues on chatroom boards and in baseball media is their pitching.
The O’s problems down the stretch and in the playoffs was defense and pitching…..and we can throw in fundamental baseball including base running. But spreadsheets don’t show that…watching the games does.
Stats lie, but they help create narratives led by media people that don’t understand what it is they’re covering….in anything in our culture.
What? The O’s problem down the stretch and in the playoffs was offense. If they aren’t hitting homers, they aren’t scoring. Period. I am so sick of people whitewashing the putrid offensive shortcomings highlighted this year, and giving the offense a pass for ALSO sucking in the 2023 postseason (in their highest scoring game, Aaron Hicks had 5 of the 8 RBI!).
The Orioles will not win anything until they fix their inconsistent offense. The pitching is overall fine. The defense is overall fine. Now, nothing they did post-ASB was fine other than starting pitching, every element seemed to break down at some point, but the offense was the real killer. To ignore that is irresponsible. It all hinges on the offense. If the offense isn’t clicking, nothing is.
This bogus “pitching is the problem” mythology from internet chat groups is so… stupid. And I recognize you’re saying it was pitching, defense, and baserunning – but that is still ignoring the real problem, and lumping in pitching inaccurately.
I’m sure that Tito is loving the Reds pulling their usual disappearing act on additions until just before spring training when the coffers are empty.
They should kick the tires on Luis Robert. It’s going to cost 1 high end position player prospect and a decent second. Anything else token long shots years away. In the end, Getz answers to Reinsdorf and he wants to shed the salary. They also want to deal him “before” Crochet. Take advantage of them telegraphing they want that clarity.
I concur. Believe Robert would awaken in a big way changing teams/league.
Brash’s first full campaign as a reliever saw him lead the majors with 78 appearances.
And then have TJ surgery. Huh.
Are there any underrated hitters that could become Juan Soto in Seattle?
Yoan moncada would be a blockbuster addition for us!
He’d be a boon for your IL list anyway.
Such disrespect for Eovaldi. I would put him up against Snell, Burnes and Fried in a game 7.
I agree. Eovaldi is a vet, a winner, and a big game pitcher.
This trend is emblematic of a broader issue: Baltimore’s reluctance to commit financially to elite talent, even as they emerge as contenders. I wonder if the hesitation stems from a lack of confidence in their window of contention or broader financial constraints.
There is no trend. This is the first offseason under Rubenstein. Nothing previous matters. Also, fun fact, the players have to commit too. You know nothing about why Snell chose LAD, but the fact remains that he did indeed CHOOSE their offer. The offering club(s) can only do so much. The decision is up to the player. What’s Snell supposed to like about Baltimore’s 2nd half of 2024? The putrid offense? Now the moving the wall back in – which hurts lefty pitchers? While on the flipside he can join the reigning WS Champs…