Jul 27, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias reacts on the field before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

This key area will be biggest concern for Baltimore Orioles this offseason

Originally posted on Baltimore Orioles on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 9:59 AM ET

With the 2025 season coming to a close for the Baltimore Orioles, they will soon be focusing on how to improve the team over the winter to compete in 2026. Even though this year did not go according to plan, there is reason to believe that the team can quickly turn things around.

Prior to the disastrous start to the campaign, this was a team that seemed to have a ton of upside with an excellent young core of talent. However, during the offseason, the team lost two key producers with both Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander leaving in free agency.

General manager Mike Elias didn’t do an adequate job last winter to replace the production that was lost, especially in the starting rotation. This was a unit that knew they were going to have some pitchers not available as they recovered from injuries, but the moves that were made simply weren't good enough to compete this season.

Now, after an extremely disappointing year, the team has been able to restock their farm system at the trade deadline by moving a majority of their veteran talent. It will be somewhat of a clean slate heading into the winter, and the team must address the rotation.

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the biggest offseason decision for the Orioles being to fix what was a poor starting rotation for most of the year.

How Many Upgrades Are Needed?

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Even though this unit was really poor in the first half of the campaign, they have been better since the All-Star break. A major reason for the turnaround has been the performance of Trevor Rogers. The southpaw has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season and will be the ace of the staff heading into 2026.

The emergence of Rogers in the second half has been a fantastic development for the franchise and now the focus should be on building around him. Even though he has performed great, the Orioles should be getting aggressive this winter to try and get another frontline starter.

Despite winning a lot of games in the regular season in both 2023 and 2024, that success didn't translate into the playoffs. Adding another starter capable of complementing Rogers at the top of the rotation would provide the team with a great one-two punch on paper.

After failing to properly address the rotation last winter, Baltimore must make at least one notable move to improve the unit this offseason. If they don’t, they will once again be taking a major risk heading into the 2026 campaign.

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

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