BALTIMORE -- Fans around Baltimore have been asking the same questions over the past week: When will the Orioles add another starting pitcher? Will the Orioles add another starting pitcher?
Even Orioles control owner David Rubenstein asked president of baseball operations Mike Elias that type of question on Tuesday night, when Rubenstein hosted a panel featuring multiple members of the O’s leadership team at The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
“So it’s been rumored in the press that you’re looking for another pitcher,” Rubenstein said. “What can you say about that?”
“I am judiciously looking to improve the roster until Spring Training starts,” Elias replied with a grin, “and we are assessing opportunities.”
Elias might not have been willing to divulge his plans/discussions, but here’s what we know about the Orioles’ pursuit of another starter as things stand.
There’s room for another frontline starter on the staff
Baltimore acquired right-hander Shane Baz in a trade with Tampa Bay on Dec. 19, then re-signed righty Zach Eflin on Dec. 28. Those moves bolstered a rotation landscape that now looks like this:
- RHP Kyle Bradish
- LHP Trevor Rogers
- RHP Shane Baz
- RHP Zach Eflin
- RHP Dean Kremer
Depth: RHP Tyler Wells, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Brandon Young, RHP Albert Suárez
The O’s understand the importance of having more than five strong starter options after their injury-marred 2025 season. There will be injuries -- and they might even be without Eflin at the start of ‘26, as they could be cautious with the 31-year-old as he comes off back surgery.
Money shouldn’t be an issue
With Rubenstein’s ownership group fully settled in after purchasing the team in March 2024, the Orioles are now more willing to shop in the top tiers of the free-agent market. (For example, the five-year, $155 million deal they agreed to with first baseman Pete Alonso on Dec. 11.)
Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Baltimore's 2025 Opening Day payroll was $164.6 million. The team isn’t even back to that figure yet, currently sitting at $151.6 million for '26. Plus, the Orioles have expressed a willingness to go past their number from last season.
So, Baltimore can be in the market for free-agent starters such as left-handers Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez and right-hander Zac Gallen. And the O’s have been linked to Valdez and Suárez for quite some time.
As MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand recently noted, the Orioles and Mets have been the teams most often connected to Valdez this offseason. Feinsand also confirmed the O’s link to Suárez.
Adding a starter like Valdez or Suárez to the top half of the rotation -- grouping one of those southpaws with Bradish and Rogers -- would be a huge boost. It would also make Baz, Eflin and Kremer a strong bottom half of the staff, giving Baltimore more than five solid options to choose from early in the season.
Losing a Draft pick wouldn’t be an issue, either
Valdez, Suárez and Gallen were each extended (and declined) a qualifying offer by their previous teams this offseason. That means if a new club wants to sign one of them, it will have to surrender its third-highest pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.
Operating in win-now mode, Elias made it clear at the GM Meetings in November that he wouldn’t shy away from players with a QO attached.
“We will absolutely be in the free-agent market for qualified free agents this winter,” Elias said then. “We’re fully prepared to sacrifice the Draft pick.”
In fact, the Orioles might be more willing to do so now. They sent their 2026 Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 33 overall) to the Rays in the Baz trade, meaning their third-highest pick is no longer the No. 46 selection, but rather No. 83. So the cost to sign a qualified free agent isn’t as much as it would have been at the beginning of the offseason.
The trade route is still a possibility
Baltimore sent a hefty package of prospects to Tampa Bay in the Baz trade, parting with outfielders Slater de Brun and Austin Overn, catcher Caden Bodine and right-hander Michael Forret. Yet, the O’s farm system remains plenty deep, a product of last July, when they landed six players within the first 69 picks of the Draft and acquired 15 prospects in Trade Deadline moves.
The Orioles also have a logjam at first base, with the signing of Alonso making either Ryan Mountcastle or Coby Mayo an ideal trade chip (more likely the latter).
So, the O’s still have the capital to land a potential trade candidate -- such as Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta, Washington’s MacKenzie Gore or someone else -- should one become available at a fair cost.