The Orioles know they still need more arms, and the search is already underway.
With Shane Baz, Kyle Bradish and Brandon Young penciled in as the only projected starters for now, Baltimore is expected to keep shopping for rotation help through trades and free agency before the anticipated early December lockout. President of baseball operations Mike Elias and new general manager Jared Banner will be at the GM meetings in Las Vegas this week, where pitching is sure to be a major focus.
“We’re talking about that right now,” Elias said at Banner’s introduction on October 27 th. “We have, I think, a really promising internal group of arms, both at the major league level and in the minor league level, but as we were talking about it upstairs, looking for upgrades in the rotation is absolutely at the ready.”
One name worth watching is Trevor Rogers, who is expected to be among the top starters available. Baltimore already extended him a $23.15 million qualifying offer, and Rogers has until November 17 th to accept or reject it.
Even if the Orioles do make a move outside the organization, they may still lean on some familiar internal options to fill out the staff. Cade Povich, Trey Gibson and Luis De León are all in the mix in some form, and each has already gotten a taste of Orioles baseball.
Povich is the most experienced of the group. The left-hander has appeared in 46 games, made 43 starts and gone 8-18 with a 5.07 ERA.
He had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, and this year he went 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA in eight games, seven of them starts. His strikeout rate dipped from 9.5 per nine innings to 6.8, while his walk rate has stayed steady over his three seasons.
This year, he walked 3.6 batters per nine innings.
Povich also remains one of the notable pieces from Elias’ trade with the Twins in August of 2022, when Baltimore acquired him, Yennier Cano and minor leaguers Juan Nunez and Juan Rojas for Jorge Lopez. Cano has become the headliner from that deal, earning a two-year extension during the season and finishing this year 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA and there saves. Rojas went 2-1 with a 7.62 ERA in 26 games between Double-A Chesapeake and High-A Frederick, while Nunez pitched in two games - one for the Florida Complex League Orioles and one for Single-A Delmarva - before being released this year.
Povich has bounced between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk over the last three seasons. He also missed two months this year with left elbow inflammation.
There has been talk about moving him to the bullpen, but for now he is still being treated as a starter. With one option left, the Orioles could use him in the rotation at Norfolk and Baltimore, or include him in a trade.
Gibson’s first big-league look came after he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he ended up making nine appearances with eight starts. He went 2-3 with a 6.13 ERA over 39 1/3 innings, just shy of the 45-inning limit for rookies.
MLB Pipeline ranks him 17 th. His command was shaky - he walked just over six batters per nine innings - but he also struck out 8.4 per nine innings.
His best outing came at the end. In the second game of a doubleheader on September 23 rd, Gibson threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Toronto, allowing three hits and dropping his ERA from 7.36 to 6.13. His first major league start was a rougher assignment: Yankee Stadium on May 3 rd, where he gave up three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings in an 11-3 loss.
De León’s first major league work came out of the bullpen, and he impressed there with a 1.93 ERA in eight outings. Even so, the Orioles still want him in the conversation for a starting role. In the minors, the eighth-ranked prospect had control issues, walking 5.5 batters per nine innings at Norfolk and Chesapeake while striking out 11.
It would not be a surprise if Gibson or Povich opens the season with the Orioles while De León starts at Norfolk. Baltimore also has several right-handers who could enter the picture later, including Braxton Bragg, Michael Forret, Nestor German and Levi Wells, all top 30 prospects who would need to be added to the 40-man roster. Those names are more likely to matter as trade pieces than as immediate rotation answers.
For Elias and Banner, the work is just getting started, and the clock is already ticking toward December 1 st at 11:59 p.m., when the lockout could begin.
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Orioles Have A Clear Trade Path To Fix Two Roster Problems
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For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious: turn an area of depth into a chance to address a separate need, especially on the pitching side. Elias has worked with Miami before, and that history only adds to the sense that this is a path worth watching as the trade market develops. Names like Sandy Alcantara or Eury Perez fit the kind of upside the Orioles might chase, even if nothing has moved beyond the speculative stage so far. [Read more 🡒]