The Orioles Tried to Patch Their Rotation in 2025. It Didn’t Work-Now What?
For years now, the Orioles have followed a clear pattern when it comes to the MLB Draft: load up on bats, tread lightly on arms. It’s a strategy that dates back to the Dan Duquette era and has continued under GM Mike Elias.
The logic? Pitching prospects are risky, volatile, and often break.
But in 2025, that long-standing approach finally caught up with them in a big way.
Let’s be clear: the Orioles didn’t totally ignore pitching. They just didn’t prioritize it, especially early in the draft.
And when you don’t invest in young arms, you’re left with two options-buy them in free agency or trade for them. That’s exactly what Baltimore tried to do this past season, and the results were, well, underwhelming.
The Bargain Bin Approach: Sugano and Morton
Instead of going after high-end starters like Dylan Cease, Garrett Crochet, or Max Fried, the Orioles opted for short-term, low-risk signings: Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton. The idea was simple-get veteran innings-eaters on one-year deals and hope for some upside.
But when you’re a team with World Series aspirations, “hope” isn’t a strategy. It’s a coin flip.
Sugano, a veteran right-hander from Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, was an intriguing pickup. He came with solid NPB credentials and a reputation for command, but the transition to MLB is always a question mark.
In Baltimore, he was serviceable-posting a 4.64 ERA with a tidy 5.1% walk rate. He ate innings and didn’t implode, but he also didn’t elevate the rotation.
He was, at best, a back-end guy. And for a team trying to take the next step, that’s not enough.
Then there was Charlie Morton. At 41, the veteran righty brought playoff experience and one of the game’s better curveballs, even if his velocity and consistency had dipped.
His Orioles tenure was a rollercoaster. He opened the season with a brutal 0-7 record and a 9.38 ERA over nine starts, including a seven-run drubbing in a 24-2 loss to Cincinnati-the franchise’s worst defeat since 2007.
But just when it looked like he might be done, Morton flipped the script. He rattled off a six-start stretch with a 2.37 ERA and nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings.
Then, just as quickly, he was gone-traded away and retired shortly after.
The Orioles gambled on two veterans to stabilize a rotation that needed more than stability. What they got was inconsistency and missed opportunity. Neither Sugano nor Morton moved the needle enough, and the rotation’s struggles became a defining storyline of the season.
A Rotation That Couldn’t Keep Up
By season’s end, the Orioles’ rotation ranked third-worst in the American League with a 4.65 ERA. Only Colorado, Toronto, and Oakland gave up more home runs.
That’s not just a stat-it’s a red flag. This is a team that won 101 games in 2023 and 91 in 2024.
The core-Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday-is young, talented, and ready to win now. But instead of reinforcing that core with top-end pitching, the Orioles went shopping in the clearance aisle.
Injuries didn’t help. Baltimore was hit harder than most in that department.
But the lack of organizational depth made things worse. When the injuries piled up, the replacements weren’t ready.
The result? A revolving door of arms-38 pitchers used over the course of the season, not counting position players like Jorge Mateo and Gary Sánchez who were thrown into mop-up duty.
Names like Cody Poteet, Shawn Dubin, Carson Ragsdale, Matt Bowman, Scott Blewett, and Corbin Martin all saw time on the mound. Some held their own.
Most didn’t. The point is, the Orioles were forced to dig deep into the system, and what they found wasn’t enough to sustain a playoff push.
Draft Philosophy Comes Due
This is the consequence of years of deprioritizing pitching in the draft. You can’t develop what you don’t draft, and you can’t rely on arms that were never part of your pipeline. The Orioles have done a masterful job building a lineup through the draft and trades-but that same approach hasn’t extended to the mound.
To their credit, 2025 showed some signs of change. The team used the draft to pick up a few projectable college arms-lefty Joseph Dzierwa in the second round and righty JT Quinn as a competitive balance pick.
Both have size, stuff, and some upside. But they’re not going to help in 2026.
These are long-term plays, not immediate solutions.
Baltimore also added some arms via midseason trades, but most of those were bullpen prospects or lower-level starters projected more as depth than difference-makers. Norfolk’s rotation might look better next year, but the big-league club still lacks the kind of impact pitching that can carry a team through October.
The Alonso Signal
Which brings us to the Orioles’ most eye-catching move of the offseason: the signing of Pete Alonso. The slugging first baseman isn’t just a power bat-they already had plenty of those.
Alonso represents something more: a shift in mindset. After years of measured spending and slow build-up, the Orioles finally made a statement.
They’re ready to win now.
But if Alonso is the opening act, the real headliner has to be starting pitching. Because if there’s one lesson to take from 2025, it’s this: you can’t patch together a rotation and expect to contend deep into October.
Not in this league. Not with this core.
The Orioles have the pieces to be special. Their young talent is among the best in baseball.
But windows like this don’t stay open forever. Henderson, Rutschman, and Holliday are only going to get more expensive.
The time to go all-in is now.
So the question becomes: will the front office treat the rotation with the same urgency they showed in landing Alonso? Will they pursue a true frontline starter-someone who can take the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series and give you a real shot? Or will they once again hope that low-cost veterans and internal depth can get the job done?
Baltimore learned the hard way in 2025 that you can’t half-commit your way to a championship. The Alonso deal suggests they’ve taken that to heart. Now it’s time to prove it-on the mound.