3 bold trades the Orioles should pursue to shake up roster in the offseason

The Baltimore Orioles spent years rebuilding the franchise into a legitimate contender. Over the last two seasons we have enjoyed the success of that rebuild only to be quickly eliminated from the playoffs. The core of the team is built up of young stars that should be contending for years to come, but it is clear that they need some help to get over the playoff hump.

There are several players on the free agent market that the Orioles should pursue, however a team with as much talent as the O's have will sometimes be looking for a specific skill set or type of player. The more specific the needs of the team are, the smaller the pool of players to choose from becomes. The day after the Orioles announced David Rubenstein would be taking over as the primary owner of the O's, they went out and traded for Corbin Burnes. Rubenstein and co. now have a full offseason and still a loaded system to work with and could be looking to make their next big splash.

Prior to next season the Orioles should look to solidify their bullpen. The return of Felix Bautista will go a long way to strengthen the back end of a bullpen that struggled in the second half, but the Birds will want to be careful with their closer. The failed addition of Craig Kimbrel was temporarily alleviated by Seranthony Dominguez, but it is not yet known if the Orioles will pick up Dominguez's $8 million option for next season.

Pirates' reliever David Bednar could help the Orioles solidify their bullpen

One arm out of the bullpen that might be available is David Bednar. Bednar had been great for the Pittsburgh Pirates since he joined them in 2021, pitching to a 2.25 ERA with 226 strikeouts in 179.2 innings with 61 saves in 70 opportunities over three seasons. He still managed to record 23 saves in 2024 but struggled to a 5.77 ERA and had seven blown saves. Bednar lost his closer role heading into the final month of the season but could benefit from a change of scenery.

The Birds could potentially get Bednar, who has two more years of team control, from the Pirates at a reduced cost because he has fallen from favor in Pittsburgh. If Bednar, were in Baltimore he would be in a role with less pressure as either the primary setup man to Bautista or a high leverage reliever that can come in earlier in games. He can also be used to close some games when Bautista may not be available. Even if the Orioles do retain Dominguez, a back end of Bednar, Dominguez, Bautista would be able to shut down opposing offenses and shorten games similar to the Kansas City Royals bullpen in 2015 with Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland.

If the Orioles instead opt to try and duplicate the success of trading for a starter, the Miami Marlins should be the first phone call Mike Elias makes. The Marlins seem content with being essentially a farm system for the rest of the major league franchises and they have continued to develop pitching at the major league level.

Marlins' starter Sandy Alcantara could be the ace the Orioles need in 2024

The Orioles made a poor trade with the Marlins at the most recent deadline for a starter but can redeem themselves by landing former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara has been a workhorse in Miami and dominated hitters in 2022. He had a down season (for his standards) in 2023 and had Tommy John surgery following the season. He missed all of 2024 but is projected to be ready for the 2025 season.

The Orioles starting rotation is in serious trouble. Corbin Burnes will be a highly sought after free agent, Kyle Bradish may not be ready to return from Tommy John surgery at any point next season and John Means is a free agent.

They'll still have Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin, and Dean Kremer, Cade Povich and Albert Suarez will likely fill out the rotation if they can't add anyone, but Alcantara could play a huge role for them if he returns to form. He just turned 29 years old and has two more years of team control with a team option for 2027. Slotting him in as the second or third starter could be a huge boost to the Orioles' rotation.

Could the Orioles pry superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the division-rival Blue Jays?

While pitching is always the most sought after skill, the Orioles could look to upgrade their offense that struggled to perform consistently in the second half. One of the biggest names that has been thrown into the trade market is Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and there were links to a potential trade to the Yankees so the Blue Jays could be willing to send Guerrero to a team in the division. The Blue Jays slugger is coming off the second best season of his career and even though he's played six major league seasons, he's still only 25 years old.

The O's have gotten solid offensive production from the first base position. The Ryan's (Mountcastle and O'Hearn) are both good hitters but are very streaky. They can each carry an offense when hot but the cold times can get frigid.

Guerrero, who has a connection to Baltimore since his father spent his last major league season as an Oriole, would be a clear upgrade offensively and the O's would get the bonus of not having to face him so many times after Guerrero hammered them last season. Trades within the division are always tricky and Vladito is going to be expensive, but he could be the big right handed bat that's been missing from the middle of the O's lineup.

The Orioles are expected to be active this offseason and increase their payroll. They have graduated a lot of players from their farm system but still retain one of the best in baseball. They have started dipping into that talent pool to improve the big club and finally get the Orioles back to the promised land.