An under-the-radar potential pitching target for the Orioles

As the winter meetings prepare to begin on December 9th, fans of the Baltimore Orioles are still waiting for Mike Elias and company to make a big splash, ideally a major splash that addresses the starting rotation.

The Orioles were reportedly very in on LHP Blake Snell before he signed with the Dodgers. They continue to be closely connected with other front-line starters like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Garrett Crochet, but Orioles fans are rightfully sick and tired of being just "in on" or "connected to" big name pitchers. They need an ace to headline their rotation in 2025 and it's time to be uncomfortably aggressive.

Ideally, the Orioles add more than one starter this offseason. Veterans like Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and Sean Manaea are all good options to compliment a Burnes/Fried/Crochet addition, but it would not be surprising to see the Baltimore Orioles go a different route in acquiring back-end rotation help, a route they are pretty familiar with.

Per FanSided's Robert Murray, at least 16 MLB teams are interested in LHP Kyle Hart this winter. A former 19th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox out of Indiana back in 2016, the now 32-year-old lefty is coming off an elite season in the Korea Baseball Organization with the NC Dinos, going 13-3 with a 2.69 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 157 innings. Nearly a pitching triple crown winner, Hart's 182 strikeouts led the KBO, while his 2.69 ERA ranked second and his 13 wins ranked third.

The Orioles could be one of the teams in on KBO pitcher Kyle Hart

Hart does have MLB experience, but it was a brief experience and it was pretty rough. In four appearances with the Red Sox during the 2020 season, Hart pitched to a 15.55 ERA in 11 innings, with 13 strikeouts, 10 walks, and 24 hits allowed. He would spend the 2021-2023 seasons pitching in Triple-A with the Red Sox, Phillies, and Mariners, unable to get a second opportunity in the big leagues again after his rough 2020.

Coming into the offseason, FanGraphs had Hart ranked as their 48th top-ranked free agent, with Ben Clemens projecting a three-year deal at $24 million. Why so much for a pitcher with a career ERA of 15.55 ERA and no MLB experience since 2020?

In a recent interview with Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Hart explained how his fastball, which averaged just 89 mph when he was with the Red Sox, is now averaging 91 mph from the left side and touching 93/94 mph. He also has a completely revamped slider and a changeup that produced a near 40% whiff rate this year in the KBO.

He also noted a very similar story to Erick Fedde, who used his stint in the KBO to rejuvenate his career and find success back in the big leagues here in the States in 2024 with the White Sox and Cardinals. Having a guaranteed starting job and pitching on a set schedule allowed both pitchers to focus on their routine, stuff, game plan, and opponents while not worrying about what their role was going to be on a week-to-week basis while bouncing around minor league ballparks.

The Orioles had the quite the KBO find in 2024 as 34-year-old Albert Suarez gave the organization 133.2 innings while pitching to a 3.70 ERA and being a critical piece to the puzzle as injuries greatly impacted the Orioles rotation. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Orioles attempt this again.

We've already seen Luis Severino go to Oakland for 3/$67 million, Yusei Kikuchi to the Angels for 3/$63 million, Frankie Montas to the Mets for 2/$34 million, Matt Boyd to the Cubs for 2/$29 million, and even Clay Holmes get 3/$38 million to try and be a starter in 2025. Point being, pitchers are getting paid and competition for quality arms is fierce. No one expected anything different.

The projected $24 million for Hart seems pretty high, but it's not surprising to see 16 teams reportedly in competition for him as more teams attempt to find the next Erick Fedde or Albert Suarez and attempt to find pitching on the cheap. Hart is clearly going to be a popular pivot target for many teams.

I genuinely believe that the Orioles will bring in two quality starting pitchers this offseason, including their ace, but if attempts at many of their secondary targets fail, Kyle Hart could be a potential option. As a key piece of the rotation, it would be a severely disappointing move, but as a depth option, why not?