Baltimore Orioles

Say what you will, but the Orioles are doing something right

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:18 p.m. ET

Ken Rosenthal

The list makes you wince.

Jake Arrieta is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Eduardo Rodriguez is part of the Red Sox’s rotation, Zach Davies part of the Brewers’. Josh Hader, also with the Brewers, is the game’s 54th-best prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com.

The Orioles have traded all of those pitchers since 2013, and also sacrificed Pedro Strop in the Arrieta deal. All of the players who arrived in those deals are now gone, and outfielder Mark Trumbo is the only remnant from the acquisitions of Scott Feldman, Andrew Miller, Gerardo Parra and Bud Norris — Trumbo arrived in a deal for catcher Steve Clevenger, who was part of the return for Arrieta and Strop.

Yet, Orioles general manager Dan Duquette does not look back with regret — the O’s are the winningest team in the AL since 2012. In fact, Duquette is likely to make the same kind of deal for a starting pitcher again in the coming weeks, prospects be damned.

The Orioles are 41-30, the surprising leader in the AL East by 1.5 games. Their deficiency is painfully obvious — they rank 13th in the AL in rotation ERA, ahead of only the Athletics and Twins. Oh, and by the way, all of their starters are right-handed.

So, here they are again.

Let other teams hold onto prospects as if they are precious gems. Let Baseball America rate the Orioles’ farm system as the fourth-worst in baseball. Duquette’s philosophy is to go for it, and if he occasionally loses an Arrieta for a Feldman or a Hader for a Norris, so be it. Miller helped the Orioles to the 2014 ALCS, didn’t he?

“You have to have some good depth in your minor-league system so when you have a chance to make a trade, you can make a trade,” Duquette said. “Sometimes, it propels a team over the top.

“I think you have to take a shot. The way I look at it, it’s investing in your present — you take some of the future to invest in your present, make it better, make it stronger, especially for your fans.

“I don’t spend a lot of time watching how players do after we trade them. We do whatever we can to win the pennant, have a good team. Most of our fans want the same thing. We’ve been pretty consistent with that.”

The question this season, as it has been in the past, is how the Orioles will even pull off such a deal, given the weakness of their farm system. Duquette all but scoffs at such talk, saying, “I’m sure we have the wherewithal to add to our club.”

Dylan Bundy

Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano and Padres lefty Drew Pomeranz are two pitchers in whom the O’s have interest, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and MLB Network. The Pirates, though, currently have no intention of selling and the price for Pomeranz figures to be exorbitant, given that he is earning $1.35 million this season and under club control through 2018.

Rockies lefty Jorge De La Rosa, a pitcher whom the O’s have liked in the past, might be a more realistic target — he is a potential free agent with a $12.5 million salary, and the Rockies have younger pitchers whom they might prefer to use in their rotation.

The truth, though, is that the Orioles are in the same position as the Red Sox, Rangers and every other team looking for starting pitching — they’ve got plenty of mid-rotation and back-end types. Ideally, they want a top-of-the-rotation starter to pair with righty Chris Tillman. That pitcher isn’t out there, and the O’s likely would get outbid for him by teams with deeper farm systems if he were.

Which raises the question: How far would the Orioles go to upgrade? Would they trade right-hander Dylan Bundy, whom they drafted fourth overall in 2011 and who is finally healthy and contributing as a reliever after missing most of the previous three seasons with injuries?

Bundy, 23, could be part of the 2017 rotation. The Orioles probably would move him only if they could acquire a starter under multi-year control in return. At least that should be their approach.

“We like Dylan Bundy for the long-term,” Duquette said. “He’s doing a good job on this year’s club. It seems like he pitches better the more innings he gets. We like him to help our ballclub this year, help us accomplish what we want to accomplish, and help us a little more next year.”

Another top pitching prospect, right-hander Hunter Harvey, missed all of last season with elbow issues and is working his way back from hernia surgery. The Orioles, though, recently used 27 of their 41 draft picks on pitchers, and they are fairly deep at catcher, starting with Chance Sisco at Double A.

Sisco ranks second in the Eastern League in batting but 18th in OPS due to his lack of power. Some scouts also question whether he will need to change positions, making him perhaps an unlikely successor to Matt Wieters, a potential free agent. Not to worry — three of the Orioles’ Class A catchers recently were named All-Stars in their respective leagues.

The team’s pitching prospects include Double-A left-hander Chris Lee, who is on the disabled list with a shoulder issue, and Class-A left-hander Tanner Scott, a reliever who touches 100 mph. Two other names that could be in play — third baseman Jomar Reyes, who is struggling at High A at age 19; and Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson, Triple-A outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, whom most project as an extra outfielder but is a favorite of some scouts.

Orioles fans should not grow too attached to any of those players, but at a time when some teams are rebuilding and others stubbornly holding onto prospects, at least the O’s are trying. They’re resourceful, too — their roster often includes three former Rule 5 selections (lefty T.J. McFarland, infielder Ryan Flaherty and outfielder Joey Rickard) and manager Buck Showalter must protect Bundy the way he would protect a Rule 5 pick while trying to keep him healthy.

Duquette and Showalter are not always on the same page. Duquette and owner Peter Angelos had a memorable standoff when the GM wanted to leave and become president and CEO of the Blue Jays. All three, however, share a passion for winning. Somehow, they make it work.

Sure, the Orioles blew it on Arrieta, sacrificed Davies for an ineffective Parra, perhaps gave up too much for one good year of Norris. But they are headed for their fifth straight non-losing record, including a .500 mark last season. If the season ended today, they would be in the postseason for the third time in those five years.

They’re doing something right, huh?