Orioles should target Mariners' ace after disappointing Winter Meetings

Mike Elias and the Orioles' brass left Dallas on Wednesday following a quiet - and frankly disappointing - Winter Meetings. The New York Yankees reeled in the big pitching prize of the meetings, agreeing to a mega-deal with lefty starter Max Fried, while the Red Sox acquired their own lefty ace, snagging Garrett Crochet in a deal with the White Sox.

Meanwhile, the division-rival Orioles, who have clear starting pitching needs, left the Winter Meetings empty-handed. Yes, the Orioles did some of their winter shopping before the events officially began, signing outfielder Tyler O'Neill and catcher Gary Sanchez to deals on Saturday.

But without question, available starting pitchers have been scooped up by more aggressive teams. The Dodgers signed star lefty Blake Snell, who the Orioles were reportedly "in on." The Yankees acquired Fried and the Red Sox acquired Crochet. And Nathan Eovaldi, who has been a sensible fit for Baltimore for the last several years, re-signed with the Rangers. Yes, the Orioles could still bring back Corbin Burnes, but with Fried signing an 8 year, $218 million contract, Burnes is likely out of the O's price range.

The Orioles' best hope for acquiring a talented starter capable of replacing Burnes' production may lie out west, where the pitching-rich Seattle Mariners are entertaining trade offers of offense for pitching. One such name the Mariners are listening on is ace Luis Castillo.

The Baltimore Orioles should try to acquire Mariners' ace Luis Castillo

Indeed, the Red Sox have already been tied to Castillo, despite landing Crochet earlier on Wednesday. Simply put, the Orioles cannot afford to allow their division rival land two star pitchers with the Orioles landing none. The Orioles should move in on Castillo now before he finds his way to Beantown.

Castillo, 31, is entering the second year of a five-year, $108 million deal he signed with the Mariners ahead of the 2024 season. The big right-hander provides a lot of things the Orioles should be looking for in a pitcher: durability (he has started at least 25 games ever year since 2018, not counting 2020); good strikeout rates (at or over one strikeout per inning since 2018), and a strong ERA (3.56 over his career).

To be fair, Castillo is a solid, above-average starter, but does not have the ace pedigree of Burnes. However, he is also under a significantly more reasonable contract than Burnes is likely to get and the commitment is only three years (four if he picks up his 2028 option). It seems like the Mariners have been interested in trading pitching for hitting for years, so let's see if we can work something out.

The Mariners need offense just like the Orioles need pitching. The Orioles could package first baseman Ryan Mountcastle with young, hard-hitting outfielder Heston Kjerstad, both of whom would likely start in Seattle, for Castillo. Since they are likely competing with other teams such as Boston for Castillo, the Orioles would likely need to sweeten the deal. Perhaps adding Jud Fabian and another prospect such as Max Wagner or Creed Willems could get the deal done.

Mountcastle, Kjerstad, Fabian, and Wagner/Williams is a steep price to pay, especially since the Orioles likely want to see what Kjerstad can do as a regular following the departure of Santander. But the Orioles need to acquire pitching, and as this offseason has taught us, pitching is expensive. The Orioles appear to have opted against spending money for pitchers, leaving them to spend player capital to improve the rotation. A deal for Castillo, while perhaps imperfect, would be a good start.