This Orioles offseason move represents everything that's wrong with the organization's approach to pitching

This past offseason, everyone knew that the Baltimore Orioles needed to add starting pitching. Because the Orioles had such a disappointing 2025 season and their POBO, Mike Elias, revealed an offseason wishlist that included a top-of-the-rotation starter, many people expected the Orioles to go after one of the top available starting pitching free agents. The pitcher that the Orioles were reportedly most interested in was Ranger Suarez.

Unfortunately for the Orioles, when the Red Sox lost out on Alex Bregman, they too set their sights on Suarez, and between the Red Sox's deeper pockets and Suarez preferring Boston as a destination, the Orioles lost out on their man. This happens to teams all the time in free agency, and it's no great failing to get outbid for a free agent. However, what the Orioles did next was a head-scratcher. Rather than look for another pitcher near Saurez's caliber, they instead pivoted to Chris Bassitt and signed him to a one-year deal. The difference in what Suarez has done this season and what Bassitt has done this season only proves how poorly the Orioles executed their offseason plan for acquiring pitching.

Chris Bassitt was never a good backup plan for Ranger Suarez

Ranger Suarez is a legit top-of-the-rotation arm. If the Orioles had signed him, it would have been the biggest Orioles pitching contract ever. For the pivot plan from "biggest Orioles pitching contract ever" to be 37-year-old Bassitt on a one-year deal makes no sense at all.

If you felt like the team needed a legit top-of-the-rotation arm and were willing to pay nine figures for it, then when that player signs somewhere else, you needed to pivot to another top-of-the-rotation arm and fill the need that you previously identified.

Having the backup plan for signing Ranger Suarez to be Chris Bassitt would be like if you decided you needed a new car to commute to work and went to the dealership saying, " I'm going to buy the best car I can find, and if I can't get the one I want, I'll just buy a used Lime scooter on my way home."

Those things are not the same! That's a bad plan! If you need a car, then buy a car! If you need a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, then get a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher!

As bad as the Orioles free agent pitching plan was, it might have looked ok if Bassitt could have pitched to a 4.00 ERA like he generally has over the last few years. Instead, he's completely fallen off a cliff and is having by far the worst year of his career. He's put up career-worst numbers in ERA, FIP, WHIP, and his K% is at an all-time low. His starts have mostly been short and put the bullpen in a bad spot for the next game, and now he's hurt.

The worst part is that the Orioles should have learned their lesson after what happened last year with Charlie Morton, and the fact that they went back to the aging veteran well after how badly that went last year makes it hard to believe that they'll ever change their approach to building a rotation. If what happened in 2025 wasn't bad enough to make the front office get a real pitcher, then what would?

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