Orioles must monitor Blue Jays rotation shakeup as key trade option may emerge

The Toronto Blue Jays are making life difficult for the Baltimore Orioles and their search for starting pitching this offseason. Signing Dylan Cease wasn't enough for Toronto; they also added Cody Ponce, who turned his KBO success into a three-year deal worth $30 million. It's never fun to see a division rival poach a potential target, but in this case, Toronto may have opened up a trade option for the Orioles.

With the additions of Cease and Ponce, the Blue Jays' rotation seems to be set once you factor in that they already have Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and World Series standout Trey Yesavage.

It's a rotation that may have forced veteran starting pitcher José Berrios, but considering he is making $18.7 million next season and over $24 million in 2027 and 2028, conventional wisdom would point to the Blue Jays trying to trade the 31-year-old starter this offseason.

After a free agency splurge on starting pitching, the Blue Jays suddenly have an intriguing trade option for the Orioles in Jose Berrios

An elbow season prevented Berrios from being included on the Blue Jays' roster against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic, but he pitched 166 innings last year while posting a 4.17 ERA. If nothing else, Berrios has proven reliable, averaging over 182 innings pitched per season since 2021.

With injuries being at the center of what decimated the Orioles' rotation last season, and Mike Elias never replacing Corbin Burnes, Berrios would be a dependable innings eater for Craig Albernaz's pitching staff moving forward.

The bad is that it's pretty rare for division rivals to be trade partners. Even though Berrios may not be pegged for their rotation, it's hard to envision a scenario where Toronto is eager to move him to the Orioles. The other side of the coin is that Berrios isn't quite the top-of-the-rotation arm that the Orioles need. If the Orioles are going to trade for a starting pitcher, they probably need to aim higher.

That doesn't mean that the Blue Jays' recent moves won't have an impact on what the Orioles do this offseason. For example, it would now seem unlikely that Chris Bassitt or Max Scherzer return to Toronto. Exploring either of those options could be the move for the Orioles before seeing they they can poach Berrios away from the Blue Jays.