Challenges remain to find a starter

SAN ANTONIO de GUERRA, Dominican Republic – Some of the top Orioles officials are gathering this morning for the opening ceremony for their new state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra. The club is hosting a clinic for kids from communities across the Dominican Republic on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m., with the organization and the Orioles Advocates providing 150 baseball gloves to the participants that were gathered at collections in Baltimore throughout the 2023 season.

Players, coaches and alumni will offer instruction on a variety of baseball skills.

This is a quick break from the winter work done to improve the major league roster and begin another hunt for the first World Series title since 1983.

The biggest move remains the signing of closer Craig Kimbrel at the Winter Meetings for a guaranteed $13 million. The rest is about depth – pitcher Jonathan Heasley, catchers David Bañuelos and Michael Pérez, third baseman Dominic Freeberger and utility infielder Errol Robinson.

Kimbrel always had top two status. An extra infielder or outfielder was less important. A starter to lead the rotation was the crucial pairing.

It still hasn’t happened, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote Sunday about the apparent stalling of the club’s efforts and the “staring contest,” with teams like the White Sox and Marlins knowing that the Orioles most benefit by striking now instead of waiting until the trade deadline.

Waiting can lure more teams into the bidding and ramp up the intensity, but the Orioles won’t suddenly have a less desirable farm system. The cards that they hold won’t change.

Dylan Cease and Jesús Luzardo wouldn’t suddenly become rentals. Cease is under team control for two more years, Luzardo for three. Luzardo would give the Orioles a second left-hander and more rotation balance.

Rosenthal mentioned the other options – signing someone like James Paxton, Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger or Hyun Jin-Ryu from the second tier, or as I suggested earlier as a possibility, reinforcing the bullpen instead.

Every report on Cease seems to include the high asking price. The White Sox reportedly want Yankees outfield prospect Spencer Jones or right-hander Chase Hampton as part of the package, and Rosenthal confirmed that they seek Colton Cowser or Heston Kjerstad among the Orioles prospects. Two outfielders that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is reluctant, at the very least, to surrender.

Right fielder Anthony Santander is entering his final season before free agency. The Orioles must plan for his possible (likely?) departure, unless there’s any interest in extending him. One of the reasons why you build a talent pipeline is to have replacements ready and stay within your financial comfort zone.

Enrique Bradfield Jr., last year’s first-round draft pick, could take over center field with Cedric Mullins two seasons away from free agency. Outfielder Dylan Beavers is a top 10 prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline’s most recent rankings.

Elias is gaining a reputation as “a collector,” as one person put it. Sounds better than “hoarder.”

He doesn’t see a logjam or feel an urgency to make a trade just for the sake of creating room for other prospects. Rival executives wish he would, but they don’t control it. They’d just benefit from it.

You can bet that there are players at Triple-A Norfolk wondering how they’ll get an opportunity without any movement. It’s one of the more pleasant problems that an organization can possess.

While waiting for today’s opening ceremony, I leave you with the following question:

If you’re Elias, do you:

1. Part with Cowser or Kjerstad in a package for a top starter.

2. Sign a second-tier starter for the middle or back of the rotation.

3. Forget about a starter and acquire another high-leverage reliever to hopefully shorten games.