When the clouds parted over Camden Yards on Wednesday evening, Orioles fans caught a glimpse of something they'd been desperately hoping to see: Kyle Bradish dealing six scoreless innings against the Yankees. After opening the season with an ERA north of five across his first seven starts, this was the Bradish of old—sharp, confident, and in control. It was a welcome sight, but one brilliant outing doesn't erase the storm clouds that have been gathering over Baltimore's rotation all season long.
Let's be honest: the starting pitching has been the team's Achilles' heel. Presumptive ace Trevor Rogers, who dazzled last season with a 1.81 ERA over 18 starts, has stumbled to a 5.77 mark. He's not alone in the struggle, either. Shane Baz, Cade Povich, and veteran Chris Bassitt are all carrying ERAs above five, while Povich, Zach Eflin, and Dean Kremer are currently watching from the injured list. For a team with postseason aspirations, that's a rotation in crisis.
The frustration runs deeper because expectations were sky-high this winter. Orioles GM and president of baseball operations Mike Elias confidently declared that ownership was ready to invest, promising fans that "Plan A" involved landing a top-tier arm. Names like Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ranger Suárez, and Framber Valdez were swirling in trade and free-agent rumors, with Baltimore confirmed to be in hot pursuit during December's winter meetings. The message was clear: the Orioles were ready to play with the big boys.
But Plan A turned out to be someone else's reality. Michael King took a hometown discount to stay in San Diego at three years and $75 million. Suárez headed to Boston on a five-year, $130 million deal. Cease landed in Toronto for seven years and $210 million. Valdez signed with Detroit for three years and $115 million. One by one, the Orioles watched their targets slip away, eventually pivoting to veteran reliability in the form of 37-year-old Chris Bassitt, who signed a one-year, $18.5 million deal in mid-February. It was a safety net, not a splash.
The results since Opening Day have been a tough pill to swallow. Baltimore's starting rotation has posted some of the league's weakest numbers, and the gamble on bargain-bin pitching hasn't paid off. While Bradish's gem offers a flicker of hope, the bigger question lingers: would signing a true ace have changed the narrative? Based on the current state of the rotation, it's hard not to wonder what might have been.