One year after the Orioles improved their win total by 29 games, Baltimore’s young stars reeled off 101 wins and won the AL East for the first time in nearly a decade. Now, the O’s head into the 2024 campaign with World Series aspirations and a new ace to captain their rotation. Here’s our Orioles offseason recap.
Related: 2023-24 MLB Offseason Recap: Oakland Athletics
Notable Additions
- SP Corbin Burnes
- RP Craig Kimbrel
With a deep offense and more to come up the prospect pipeline, pitching was likely going to be a focus for the O’s this winter.
Arguably the biggest holes heading into the offseason were a frontline starter to pair with Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish, as well as a late-inning reliever given Felix Bautista will miss all of 2024.
Baltimore addressed the bullpen in December with Craig Kimbrel, who saw his Whiff% rate rise by almost 4% in 2023 as compared to 2022 and pitched mostly well aside from hiccups in the National League playoffs for Philadelphia.
But the most significant move was the addition of former NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, who had the lowest opponent’s OPS (.577) out of any MLB starter from 2021-23 (min. 400 IP).
Burnes’ abilities to limit hard contact and miss bats have catapulted him to at or near the top of the starter food chain, and now he’s a member of the Orioles heading into his final season before free agency.
Now, a look at the subtractions part of our Orioles offseason recap.
Notable Subtractions
- SP Jack Flaherty
- 2B Adam Frazier
- RP Shintaro Fujinami
- SP Kyle Gibson
- SP/RP DL Hall
- OF Aaron Hicks
- INF Joey Ortiz
Baltimore parted with DL Hall and Joey Ortiz to get Burnes. Additionally, the O’s opted not to return deadline acquisitions Jack Flaherty and Shintaro Fujinami, as well as 2022-23 offseason acquisitions Adam Frazier and Kyle Gibson.
The Orioles did strike gold with Aaron Hicks last year. Hicks posted a .806 OPS and 15 extra-base hits in Baltimore after a dreadful start in The Bronx. The 34-year-old turned it into a new deal with the Angels.
One interesting note, though, is the Orioles did retain Anthony Santander to this point. Santander, who hit 61 combined home runs from 2022-23, is a free agent after 2024.
What to Expect in 2024
The Orioles come into 2024 with significant expectations. Baltimore has a strong nucleus led by Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday could join that group in the very near future.
With a dangerous lineup, a strong bullpen that includes Yennier Cano, Danny Coloumbe, and the aforementioned Kimbrel, and a bonafide ace now in town, Baltimore comes into the season as a legitimate World Series contender.