The Orioles had “legitimate interest” in southpaw Blake Snell before inking a five-year deal with the Dodgers that became official, according to a report today Roch Kubatko from MASN. However, Kubatko notes that it is unclear how far along discussions between Baltimore and Snell's camp were before he chose Los Angeles. Previous coverage hinted that the Orioles might enter the Snell sweepstakes, but Kubatko's report is the first to confirm Baltimore's interest.
The club is aiming to reunite with the right-hander Corbin Burnes or replace his performance at the top of their rotation after he left in free agency earlier this month, it's no surprise to hear the club looked at Snell while he was available. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has actually been better than Burnes in run prevention over the last three years, with a 2.82 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 412 innings. With a 3.08 ERA and 3.49 FIP, Burnes, meanwhile, lags behind in the rate stats, but his 590 innings of work dwarfs Snell in terms of volume. That volume seems particularly attractive for an Orioles club that has serious health issues with a number of its starters, including Kyle Bradish While he recovers from Tommy John surgery, he is expected to be out of action for at least the first half of 2025.
While Burnes will likely remain the Orioles' first pick in free agency this winter, they were attached to Southpaw Max Fried And Garrett Crochet in free agency or trade. However, it looks like they're also looking at the arms in mid-rotation, like they were recently linked to the veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi projects to be much more affordable than Burnes and Fried in free agency this winter, but that affordability comes with a much less impactful track record, as the 34-year-old has a solid but unremarkable ERA over the last five seasons achieved values of 3.75 and FIP of 3.63. The Orioles, of course, know Eovaldi well, as he spent seven seasons in the AL East with the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox from 2015 to 2022.
More tidbits from around the baseball world…
- Sailors Fans received an encouraging update on the right-hander's status Matt Brash recently, as Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported earlier this week that the right-hander is ahead of schedule with his rehab following his Tommy John surgery in early May. According to Jude, the Mariners are “optimistic” that he could return to the club's bullpen in late April next season, nearly a year after he first went under the knife. Brash's return would certainly be a big boost for Seattle, as he established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the club's arsenal during the groundbreaking 2023 season. After being moved to the bullpen midway through the 2022 season, Brash led the majors with 78 appearances in his first full season as a reliever, posting an excellent 3.06 ERA and an even better 2.26 FIP. He struck out a staggering 34.7% of the batters he faced this year, and if he can put up anywhere near those numbers in 2025, he will be a phenomenal addition to closer Andres Munoz next year in the back of the Mariners bullpen.
- The Boy have not yet announced their final coaching staff for the 2025 season, but Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported earlier this week that at least one additional position had been filled. Later assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos left the organization To become the Marlins' pitching coach, the club is promoting internally to replace Moskos with the hiring of Casey Jacobson. Jacobson has been with the Cubs organization since October 2019 and has served as the club's senior pitching development coordinator in the minor leagues for the past two years. Now, for the first time in his career, he will have the opportunity to work on a major league coaching staff, with a number of young players such as: Ben Brown, Jordan WicksAnd Porter Hodge is expected to play roles for Chicago next year.
