The World Series rosters offer the Orioles a couple of obvious places to shop once the season ends, and the names that stand out most are all tied to the kind of transactions Mike Elias has already been willing to make.
That matters because Elias has shown plenty of comfort doing business with these clubs. He made the blockbuster deal for Corbin Burnes from the Brewers, then turned around and sent prospects to the Rays for Shane Baz. Those kinds of connections are baked into this conversation, and the idea here is simple: Baltimore should keep looking in those directions, even if the results have been uneven.
The clearest pitching target is former Rays Cy Young starter Shane McClanahan, even though he isn’t pitching in the postseason and was shut down in September. His comeback from surgery still left enough of an impression to make him the best starting-pitching trade target for Elias.
He’s a left-hander with the kind of build and stuff teams dream on, but he’s also someone who knows how to pitch, not just throw. He has already dominated at Camden Yards and shown he can go toe-to-toe with the top starters in the Yankees or Red Sox rotation.
Freddy Peralta is the more obvious free-agent name, and he comes with a lot to like. The hope was that his rough stretch with the Mets before his late-season move to Tampa might hold down his price, but his regular-season line still looks strong: 30 starts and a 3.50 ERA.
He’s young enough, durable enough, and after an ALCS for the ages, his market may wind up closer to $30 million a season than $20 million. Even so, he fits what the Orioles need in 2027: a top starter.
The only catch is that Baltimore would still be short a lefty unless it also landed McClanahan.
If Elias wants a different kind of arm, Brandon Woodruff belongs in the mix too. He was once a co-ace with Burnes before injuries piled up, but the stuff and competitiveness are still there.
He made only nine starts this season, and he’ll be 34, but he was excellent in 2025 with a 3.17 FIP. There’s real concern about the workload - he hasn’t topped 70 innings in a season since 2022 - yet he had been a 150-innings-a-year starter before that.
Baltimore has already shown a willingness to live with injury risk when the upside is worth it, as it did with Kyle Bradish, and Woodruff could fit as the second starter the Orioles add this offseason on a two-year deal.
Then there’s the infield side of the equation, where one familiar name could make a huge difference. Joey Ortiz, the 2019 draft pick sent to Milwaukee in the Burnes trade, would be a smart target if the Orioles wind up moving Gunnar Henderson.
Ortiz profiles as a glove-first shortstop, and that kind of defense would change the shape of the roster. Paired with Jordan Westburg at second, he could do a lot for the infield defense and help remake the spine of the team.
And if Tampa declines the option on Taylor Walls, he should be on Elias’s radar too. The Rays shortstop is Gold Glove caliber, and for an Orioles team that may need to rethink the whole infield, that’s exactly the kind of player worth chasing.
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Then came the kind of season that can change how an organization views a young player. Irish put together a breakout 2026 offensive campaign and earned a spot in the MLB Futures Game during the All-Star break, only for his year to come to an abrupt halt after a left meniscus injury. For the Orioles, the next chapter now is less about the promise they already saw and more about how his recovery shapes what comes next. [Read more 🡒]