The Baltimore Orioles have had a disappointing offseason. While they have made a few moves to boost their roster, they also have lost some significant pieces.
If Tyler O’Neill stays healthy, he can be a solid replacement for Anthony Santander, but Corbin Burnes left for the Arizona Diamondbacks and has not been replaced.
Baltimore needs a top-level starter if they want to return to the postseason in 2025. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report proposed the idea of Baltimore acquiring Dylan Cease from the San Diego Padres.
“Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano may be aboard, but the Orioles still have a hole atop their rotation where Corbin Burnes used to be,” Rymer wrote.
“They’ve been connected to a number of potential solutions in this regard. Among them is Cease, who Jon Morosi of MLB Network linked to the Orioles in December.”
One issue the Orioles will run into is the fact that like Burnes when he was acquired, Cease is entering the final year of his contract, and they might run the risk of having a similar outcome.
The hypothetical trade idea has Baltimore sending Heston Kjerstad and Chayce McDermott to the San Diego Padres. These are solid young players, and it may be risky to give them up to make this trade happen.
The 29-year-old right-hander went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA in 33 starts, pitching 189 1/3 innings, striking out 224 batters and posting a 4.2 WAR.
Even with the risk involved, Cease would give Baltimore a true front-of-the-rotation starter. It might be worth it to make a deal happen.
It will be interesting to see if the Orioles have a plan to add a starter this offseason.
More MLB: Blockbuster trade idea would land Orioles $71 million starter from Padres