The Orioles' rotation struggles continue despite Kyle Bradish's recent improvement. Key targets like Dylan Cease and Michael King have excelled elsewhere, leaving Baltimore with a disappointing pitching staff.
Key points
Kyle Bradish showed improvement with six scoreless innings.
The Orioles' rotation has the AL's lowest WAR and a 5.04 ERA.
Dylan Cease and Michael King are excelling with other teams.
The Orioles missed key signings during the offseason.
Injuries have affected the performance of multiple starters.
Baltimore OriolesBoston Red SoxSan Diego PadresToronto Blue Jays
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 27: Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox leaves the field during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Monday, April 27, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Thomas Skrlj/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 27: Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox leaves the field during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Monday, April 27, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Thomas Skrlj/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Back on Wednesday, with evening showers threatening to spoil the Oriolesā series finale against the Yankees, the mounting clouds parted, and out from the mound shone a sliver of light: Kyle Bradish and his six scoreless innings. I jest, but Bradish had started this season with an ERA above five in his first seven starts, and this return to form was a massive bit of good news.
One good outing from Bradish doesnāt change the larger picture, though, which, for this starting rotation remains rather bleak. Presumptive ace Trevor Rogers, who carried a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts last season, has a 5.77 ERA. Three other Oās starters carry an ERA above five: Shane Baz, , and . Three starters are on the IL, for that matter: Povich, , and .
The rotationās failure is especially galling because the front office . Oās GM/president of baseball operations Mike Elias touted an ownership group āthatās really enabling us to invest,ā and promising that āPlan Aā would be finding a top-tier pitcher. Top tier meant, according to our best intel at the time, an arm ike , , Ranger SuĆ”rez or . The Orioles were confirmed to be in hot pursuit of multiple impact starters at the winter meetings in December.
Well, Plan A turns out to have belonged to someone else. Michael King took a hometown discount to stay with the , accepting three years and $75 million. SuƔrez landed with the Boston Red Sox on a five-year, $130 million deal. Cease went to the Toronto Blue Jays for seven years and $210 million. Valdez signed with the on a three-year, $115 million deal. After watching all four opportunities disappear, the Orioles pivoted to veteran reliability. Chris Bassitt, 37, one of the last established veterans on the free-agent market, signed a one-year, $18.5 million deal with in mid-February.
Not to dwell, but the gamble hasnāt gone great. The Orioles starting rotationās numbers since Opening Day tell a tough story. They have the ALās lowest WAR and a 5.04 ERA, worse than everyone but and (Houston also due to injuries, Colorado due to being Colorado). Bradish can be an ace, but he canāt lift a bottom-quartile rotation producing bottom-quartile results into a contending outfit, right?
An analysis piece about the potential for improvement held by guys like Shane Baz and Trevor Rogers would be interesting; I wanted to write instead about the pitchers the Orioles *didnāt* sign. Maybe thatās just sour grapes. I thought it was a question worth asking, anyway.
Snapshots of the road not taken leave some room for jealousy. Start with the best. Which makes him the worst. Dylan Cease has been superb for Toronto: a 2.41 ERA, career bests in ground ball rate and strikeout rateāand on top of that, 75 Kās to lead all qualified AL starters. Cease is, in a word or two or several, everything the Orioles could use right now.
Michael King has been a very good signing for in parts of three seasons. He had an excellent first year in 2024āa 2.95 ERA, 3.33 FIP, and 173 innings. And although injuries limited him to just 15 starts in 2025, the righty is on track for what may be his best season yet. The right hander has a 2.63 ERA over 51.1 innings so far, and what BaseballSavant considers one of the best changeups in the game. To be sure, there are signs of overperformance that suggest Kingās numbers will settle in around his career 3.18 ERA: a somewhat inflated FIP (3.69) and mediocre strikeout numbers (50). But with his 1.6 WAR, King would lead all current Orioles players in value.
The 30-year-old Ranger SuĆ”rez started off slow for Boston, posting a 5.02 ERA through his first three starts. But now he has a 2.44 ERA and what is considered one of the best fastballs in the game. In three of eight starts so far heās tossed a stinker, allowing four runs apiece to Houston, San Diego and New York. But two of those three are great offenses, and heās pitched a shutout in his last three starts.
Finally, Framber Valdez. The 32-year-old righty has been less glowing for Detroit, with a 4.32 ERA and other indicators trending in the wrong direction. He posted a 3.67 ERA in six starts in April, but he got absolutely rocked in Boston a week-and-a-half ago, allowing seven runs in three innings. In particular, thereās evidence of concerning velocity dips on Valdezās heaters. Based on ERA+, this is the first time since 2019 that Valdez is a below-average pitcher.
Would one of them have fixed Baltimoreās rotation? Yes, and itās not even a hard question. Put it in terms of WAR. Cease, King, SuĆ”rez and Valdez each has a bWAR between 0.4 to 1.8. Right now, the only Oās starter whoās healthy and has a positive WAR is Kyle Bradish (0.1): all the rest are in the red. Thus, in WAR-terms, each of the four sought-after candidates would have made the rotation better; more, each would be the best starter on the staff.
Would the Orioles have paid this kind of money for any of them? This notoriously tight-fisted team really stretched itself over the offseason with $60-plus million extensions for Shane Baz and . Only King, whose team-friendly deal was probably only possible given his injuries the season before, would have been in the ballpark, so to speak.
Maybe that shows the limitations of this teamās approach to signing pitching. Maybe the Orioles were true players for these arms, and saw things they didnāt like. Maybe it was reasonable for them to presume, after Trevor Rogersā ace-like season last year, that he and Bradish needed only a supporting cast to lead this outfit. But the rotation thus far has been in desperate need of someone who can give the team a reliable win every five days and keep the bullpen from working itself into the ground. As currently constructed, the rotation has room to grow, and a much higher ceiling than theyāve shown so far, but an ace might have papered over some of those cracks, and given this team room for error.
Q&A
How has Kyle Bradish performed recently for the Orioles?
Kyle Bradish had a strong outing with six scoreless innings, improving his performance after a rough start to the season.
What are the current ERA statistics for the Orioles' starting rotation?
The Orioles' starting rotation has an ERA of 5.04, which is among the worst in the American League.
Which pitchers did the Orioles miss out on signing this offseason?
The Orioles missed opportunities to sign Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ranger SuƔrez, and Framber Valdez, all of whom have performed well for their respective teams.
What impact have injuries had on the Orioles' pitching staff?
Injuries have sidelined three starters, contributing to the Orioles' struggles with their rotation's overall performance.
Related Articles
Sports
Mainoo lifts lid on 'difficult' Amorim experience at Man Utd
Sky SportsĀ·
Sports
Referee Beaton and family given police protection after Celtic penalty award
Referee John Beaton and his family are under police protection after his personal details were leaked online. This follows Beaton's controversial penalty decision for Celtic during a match against Motherwell, which led to a 3-2 victory for Celtic.
