Baltimore Orioles Acquiring Star Pitcher From San Diego Padres Would Be 'Win-Win'

With Spring Training right around the corner for the Baltimore Orioles, there is still a glaring need for the team to address before the start of the year.

It was another successful campaign for the Orioles in 2024. For the second consecutive year, they were able to win over 90 games and reach the postseason. Unfortunately, for the second straight year, they were unable to win a postseason game.

This offseason, Baltimore has seen a couple of notable departures from key players in free agency. Slugger Anthony Santander signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, leaving a significant void in the lineup considering he hit 44 home runs last year. However, the Orioles have seemingly done a decent job trying to replace his power with the additions of Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sanchez.

The more significant loss for Baltimore in free agency was that of Corbin Burnes. The Orioles acquired the former Cy Young in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers last offseason, but they unfortunately saw him leave in free agency for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

So far, while Baltimore added two veterans in Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, neither of them will be able to replace the production of Burnes. With the offseason quickly coming to a close, the Orioles really should find a suitable front-end of the rotation pitcher if they want to be a contender.

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report recently proposed a win-win trade for the Orioles and the San Diego Padres that would send starting pitcher Michael King to Baltimore.

“Perhaps King would only be an Oriole for a year, but you don't get the sense that Elias—who has made his name off of tremendous drafting—minds collecting compensatory draft compensation after a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer leaves. And in that year, King could help the O's to compete for a World Series.”

The addition of a pitcher the caliber of King would make a lot of sense for the Orioles and Baltimore would make sense as a trade partner for the Padres.

This offseason, it is clear that the Padres are trying to trim salary. With some big contracts on the books, San Diego is trying to stay below the luxury tax threshold. This has resulted in key players like Luis Arraez, Dylan Cease, and King all having their names mentioned in trade rumors.

However, despite a desire to trim salary, this was a team that nearly eliminated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason last year. More than likely, they will want something that can help them in 2025, just at a cheaper cost. The Orioles could feature a deal with Dean Kremer leading the package, who has MLB experience already.

For Baltimore, King proved last season with San Diego that he can be an ace of the staff. However, with him as a likely free agent at the end of next season, Baltimore could be looking at another short-term fix.

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