Orioles Veteran Pitcher Clearly Most Disappointing Offseason Addition

It has been an extremely disappointing season for the Baltimore Orioles, who have shockingly been one of the worst teams in baseball.

After two years of success, the Orioles have taken a massive step back in 2025. Coming into the campaign, this was a team that was expected to contend with the New York Yankees in the American League East.

However, they are well under .500, and making the playoffs seems extremely unlikely as of now.

There are plenty of reasons why Baltimore has struggled this season, but some of the decisions made by the front office over the winter are to blame.

The Orioles lost arguably two of their best players to free agency, and the replacements simply haven’t gotten the job done.

Who Has Been the Most Disappointing Offseason Addition?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the biggest mistake the Orioles made this offseason, being the signing of veteran right-hander Charlie Morton.

“In particular, signing Morton less than a week after Corbin Burnes inked his monster deal with the Diamondbacks feels like the biggest blunder," he wrote.

When Baltimore saw Corbin Burnes sign his massive deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, there was good reason to be concerned. The right-hander was exactly what the team was looking for when they traded for him in 2024.

The former National League Cy Young totaled a 15-9 record and 2.92 ERA in 2024. He pitched extremely well in the postseason matchup against the Kansas City Royals, but unfortunately received no run support.

Despite losing their ace, Baltimore didn’t bring in an adequate replacement. This has been one of the main reasons for the struggles of the team, with Morton’s ineffectiveness being a contributing factor.

The two-time All-Star has seen quite the regression in 2025, totaling a 0-7 record and 7.68 ERA. Morton has now split his time between being a starter and coming out of the bullpen, with the Orioles trying to find a way to get some productivity from him.

While Morton has arguably been the worst signing, he can’t take the entire blame for the struggles of Baltimore.

In the starting rotation, injuries have played a significant role in the unit’s struggles. Grayson Rodriguez has yet to pitch this year, and Zach Eflin has missed most of the campaign.

The offseason decisions certainly haven’t worked out for the most part for the Orioles and are a major reason for the now uncertain outlook for the team.

With the chances of making the playoffs slipping away quickly, the franchise would be wise to pivot and try to move some desirable assets.