Baltimore Orioles: Forget Adding Veteran Starters

May 28, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter (26) asks for the ball from Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (31) during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

The Baltimore Orioles have problems with the starting rotation, as expected. But what to do about it is not obvious or simple.

There will be a cry from some that the Birds need to go out somewhere and make some sort of move to get a veteran starting pitcher who can be counted upon. Why would such a player be available out there (wherever “out there” is)? Why would such a player not be of indispensable value to his current team?

The Baltimore Orioles have previously “gone out there” and gotten what are supposed to be dependable, effective, innings-eaters types of starters. There is $22 million of the 2016 payroll dedicated to such.

So, how has that worked out?

The O’s are 6-8 in games begun by the pair of expensive, mercenary starters. At the same time, two rookie pitchers – who admittedly are learning on the job – have seen the Orioles go 8-6 in their games started. They are doing it at five percent of the cost of the “out there” acquisitions.

While it is true that Gallardo is coming back from an injury and his history with the Orioles is only four games, it is not as if there were not concerns of this very eventuality. It is not beyond total imagination that he could yet come back and pitch well for the Orioles, even beyond this year. But I fear it is even more imaginable that the very opposite could come true.

Yes, we are talking about buyer’s remorse. We can argue until the cows come home about whether or not this was predictable, and for the record, here at The Baltimore Wire we were rather skeptical of both moves, while hoping for the best.

Perhaps an illustration will help communicate the major premise here. You buy a beautiful home alongside a lovely river. There have been some floods, though the home has weathered them historically. However, now the weather systems have changed, as have conditions upstream. The home floods regularly. You can’t sell it; nobody will by it. You have so much investment that you have to attempt to keep living in it and keep it repaired from that last flood. So here is the question: having bought such a home a couple of times, would you look to buy another expensive home on a river, or build a newer inexpensive house on higher ground?

So, enough with piling up veteran pitchers. They clog the developmental arteries. Now that we have a couple of these guys, there needs to be some continual effort to get them to deliver some value. That is a sad reality. But don’t add more of the same!