Orioles' showing at 2024 Winter Meetings has fanbase anxious about 2025 season

The deeper into the MLB offseason we get, the more curious we are to see how Mike Elias and the Baltimore Orioles will handle the remaining holes in the roster ahead of 2025. We've probably mentioned Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander in this space 100 times over the past month, but they're two glaring roster holes right now, and it's a significant amount of production for the Birds to try to fill in one offseason.

To stem the bleeding a bit, Elias brought in former Cardinals and Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill on a 3-year deal. As of now, it looks like O'Neill is going to try to play most days, if not every day, in the Orioles' outfield. With the left field wall getting moved closer back toward home plate, O'Neill's power should play in Camden Yards.

If O'Neill is healthy, and to be clear that's a rarity, he could be a strong addition. And for just under $50 million in total, the Orioles will hope that's the case, especially depending on what Santander eventually signs for this winter.

The Orioles also brought in former Yankees' All Star catcher Gary Sanchez to replace locker room leader James McCann. While McCann is past his prime in terms of offensive production, there are other important roles he played on this club. Sanchez has big shoes to fill, and not just with the on-field stuff.

Orioles still have time to make an impact addition this winter

But even with the additions of O'Neill and Sanchez, there's a glaring hole atop the Orioles' rotation. Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are a strong 2-3 pairing and when Kyle Bradish eventually returns, the group should look really good on paper. However, they're still missing the type of ace production that Burnes provided.

We've seen Blake Snell and Max Fried come off the board as free agents, and we've seen the Red Sox acquire Garrett Crochet, who despite his glaring flaws is still an extremely talented pitcher. With the top teams around them all making moves to get better, what are the Orioles thinking? We know that Elias wants to improve the roster. They've said they wanted to address the rotation over the winter, and ideally it'll be with a top tier guy.

We first had rumors about Sonny Gray as a trade target, though those rumors seem to have subsided with Gray reportedly invoking his no-trade clause. That leaves two primary trade targets left on the market. Dylan Cease of the Padres and Framber Valdez of the Astros will be at the top of everyone's list, assuming those two teams are seriously considering trade offers for them. Outside of that, it's basically Burnes or bust in the free agent market. Everyone else out there is at least one, if not two, tiers down.

On one hand, it feels like the Orioles are running out of time to make an impact move to shore up the roster prior to 2025. But the fact is that there's still two months until spring training. There's a lot left to play out this winter, and the Orioles could still surprise us with a move similar to the one they made last winter to acquire Burnes in the first place. Anything is possible, and Orioles fans shouldn't be overly worried just yet.