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Jul 4, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the Baltimore Orioles 4th of July hat in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Truist Park. Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Orioles must fix this glaring roster hole to be a contender next season

Originally posted on Baltimore Orioles on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 10:00 AM ET

After a disappointing 2025 season, the Baltimore Orioles have entered the offseason with some important decisions to make regarding the direction of the franchise. This team was seemingly on the right track after making the playoffs two straight years, but it took a step back this year.

Unfortunately, despite actually starting to spend some money in free agency, that money wasn’t well spent. Some of the free agents that they brought in severely underperformed and didn't make up for the production that the team lost.

While that certainly played a factor, perhaps an even bigger one was a rash of injuries to the starting rotation. Coming into the campaign, this was a unit that was relying on Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez to be their top two starters. Injuries ended up having a negative impact on both of them, with Rodriguez never pitching in 2025 and Eflin missing a lot of time as well.

Heading into the winter, the plan should be fairly simple for the front office, and that is to improve the depth of a unit that was crippled when pitchers missed time.

Starting Pitching Depth Is Important to Improve

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

In an October 8 article, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report wrote about the biggest roster hole for each MLB team to address during the offseason. Unsurprisingly, Reuter chose the middle of their starting rotation for the Orioles.

"The second-half emergence of Trevor Rogers (18 GS, 1.81 ERA, 109.2 IP) and a healthy Kyle Bradish (6 GS, 2.53 ERA, 32.0 IP) gives the Orioles two quality starting pitchers to build their rotation around in 2026, but they need at least one more reliable arm to join that group," Reuter wrote. "Grayson Rodriguez has the potential to be that guy if he can stay on the field, but relying on him to make 30 starts would be a mistake."

Prior to the breakout of Rogers in the second half of the season, finding an ace felt like it was going to be the top priority for the team this winter. Fortunately, their star southpaw was able to put together an impressive stretch and was one of the best pitchers in baseball this campaign. This was further complimented by the return of Bradish, who picked up right where he left off after dominating in 2023.

Trevor Rogers had the second-lowest ERA among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched! pic.twitter.com/mqzfL3HDc0
— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2025

Finding an ace to lead the staff is a considerable break and will help make the offseason a bit easier to navigate. Instead of having to spend $100 million or more on a starter, they can look to improve their depth and find some quality pitchers for the middle of the rotation. However, this was exactly what the Orioles tried and failed to do last offseason, although that may have been exacerbated due to the loss of Corbin Burnes.

Even though this was a unit that took a lot of blame for the struggles in the first half, they were good after the All-Star break and Baltimore unsurprisingly played better. There is plenty of reason to believe that the Orioles can bounce back and be a contender once again in 2026.

In order for them to accomplish that, fixing the middle of the rotation will be key. They don’t have to go on a wild spending spree, but adding some quality veteran pitchers should help propel this team back into contention.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Orioles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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