Evaluating the Orioles 2026 Rotation Following the Major Signing of a 2021 All-Star Pitcher
The Baltimore Orioles have been one team that's prioritized adding to their starting pitching staff this offseason. They made perhaps their most notable rotation addition on Wednesday by signing veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt to a one-year contract worth $18.5 million. This comes after the club re-signed 31-year-old right-hander Zach Eflin to a one-year contract and swung a trade within the division with the Rays for 26-year-old right-hander Shane Baz earlier this offseason. Last season, Baltimore finished last in the AL East with a 75-87 record. Pitching was a massive problem for them, especially within the rotation. Injuries were a factor, specifically with 31-year-old righty Tyler Wells and 29-year-old righty Kyle Bradish. Wells made only four starts last season, and Bradish made only six. Both had been reliable arms in Baltimore's rotation in past seasons.
The Orioles rotation arms that did in fact stay healthy also didn’t pitch as well as expected. Baltimore's biggest starting pitching addition from last offseason was 35-year-old right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, who came over from Japan. Sugano had attracted tons of attention from Major League scouts based on his performance in the NPB. He was a two-time recipient of the Sawamura Award, which is Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young, and he was coming off a season where he posted a 1.67 ERA in 24 starts for the Yomiuri Giants. The Orioles front office liked Sugano enough to offer him a one-year contract worth $13 million. Health was not an issue for Sugano in his one season in Baltimore, as he made a total of 30 starts. He just didn’t pitch all that well. He had a 4.64 ERA on the season, along with a very low strikeout rate of just 6.1 K/9. Sugano also recently inked a one-year deal with the Rockies worth $5.1 million, which makes the Orioles contract they gave him last year look like even more of an overpay.
Another starter that didn’t pitch to expectations last year for the Orioles was Eflin. He came over from the Rays in a trade at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline and pitched well for Baltimore for the remainder of that season. This led to him being named the Orioles' Opening Day starter last season. Eflin only ended up making 14 starts due to a back injury. Even when he was on the mound, he was not at the level he was at in previous seasons. In those 14 starts, Eflin recorded a 5.93 ERA, along with a 1.42 WHIP and a 6.3 K/9. The Orioles did show that they were willing to bet on that being somewhat of a fluke, as they elected to re-sign Eflin this offseason to a one-year deal worth $10 million. He will likely slot into the back-end of the rotation this year, though.
One starting pitcher that the Orioles would like to see pitch at a similar level to last season would be Trevor Rogers. They acquired the 28-year-old left-hander from the Marlins during the 2024 season at the trade deadline. He began last season on the injured list, but he rejoined the Orioles in May and ended up making 18 starts throughout the remainder of the year. Even with a limited number of starts made, Rogers was by far the Orioles' best rotation arm. He put up Cy Young-level numbers, a 1.81 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 109.2 innings and a minuscule 0.90 WHIP. Rogers’ four-seam fastball was an extremely effective pitch for him. He threw it 41% of the time, and hitters still couldn’t figure out how to hit it, as they batted just .158 against it. Rogers is expected to be a huge part of the Orioles pitching staff in 2026 and should be under consideration to be their Opening Day starter.
If the Orioles do go another direction for their Opening Day starter next season, they’ll probably go with Bradish. He’s had some terrible injury luck in his career, as he’s made just 14 starts combined since the start of the 2024 season. His last healthy season in 2023 went very well for him, though. He made a total of 30 starts, logged 168.2 innings, and had a 2.83 ERA. This led to him finishing fourth in Cy Young voting that year. Bradish’s breaking pitches have been what have made him so successful when he’s been healthy. He has a career +23 run value on his slider and a career +14 on his curveball.
The Orioles also likely will expect to get some contributions from their longest-tenured pitcher, Dean Kremer, who has been a factor in their rotation every year since 2020. Kremer will be 30 on Opening Day, and he’s been solid in his career but has yet to turn into a top-of-the-rotation arm. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been at least solid in his career. Last season, he made 29 starts and posted a 4.19 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP. If Kremer does make the Orioles rotation to begin next season, he’d be in the back end.
