Orioles offseason moves ranking includes a curious (but maybe correct) omission

Among all MLB clubs, the Baltimore Orioles certainly had one of the busiest offseason even if a frontline starter ended up eluding them. The lineup, bullpen, and rotation all saw meaningful additions/upgrades, and the energy around the team is great at the moment, especially with Pete Alonso going ham at the start of spring training.

In the wake of all of the offseason chaos, Bleacher Report decided to rank the top three moves every team made this past offseason. Predictably, the Orioles' signing of Alonso topped the rankings, and, while optimistic, having the Shane Baz trade in the two spot is certainly defensible.

However, it was a bit curious to see B/R's Joel Reuter put the Taylor Ward trade as the third-best move Baltimore made this offseason. Not only is that one of the moves that has the best chance to backfire spectacularly, but that it was viewed as better than signing Ryan Helsley with his pedigree was pretty bold.

Orioles signing Ryan Helsley may not be the sure thing fans are hoping for

It is important to remember that signings and trades shouldn't be treated in isolation. Baltimore needed an infusion of power in the middle of their lineup, especially from the right side, so adding Ward and his 30+ homer upside as a complementary piece to Alonso makes lots of baseball sense. Reuter said as much in the article, and honestly, one can see the argument, even if it is anything but a sure thing, and will look terrible if Grayson Rodriguez pops off with the Angels.

B/R's rankings could also reflect the fact that, despite previously being one of the more feared closers in all of baseball before last season, Helsley's stock is down at the moment. Part of the issue is that, for whatever reason, Helsley started tipping his pitches in 2025, but there is always going to be some level of concern for a bullpen arm that got knocked around the previous year, regardless of the reason(s) why.

One just hopes that Helsley comes out of the gate and shoves, even if he isn't one of MLB's elite bullpen arms. Baltimore just needs a steady presence at the end of games, and Helsley has the stuff to be that guy, even if he is in decline and/or is telegraphing some of his pitches. More importantly, the Orioles need to hope B/R is right and Ward, whose hit tool hasn't looked awesome the last few years, is a big-time producer in their lineup.