Nothing exemplifies the Orioles' dire starting pitching situation more than a breakdown of their 40-man roster, which includes 28 pitchers, yet only one who is penciled into next year's rotation. The inventory behind staff ace Jeremy Guthrie is there; it's just flawed and damaged.
Daniel Cabrera is a candidate to be nontendered, and Brian Burres and Brian Bass are viewed more as long relievers. Chris Waters, Hayden Penn, Garrett Olson and Radhames Liz have mostly looked overmatched in their big league stints, while Troy Patton, Danys Baez and Matt Albers are trying to rebound from serious injuries.
As the Orioles' top executives head to Las Vegas for tomorrow's start of baseball's annual winter meetings, their challenge is clear. They need to find some way to upgrade a rotation that has been one of baseball's worst for several seasons.
"Pitching markets are always tough because the supply never comes close to meeting demand," Orioles president Andy MacPhail said. "It seems like it gets to be more and more that way. Starting pitching is probably the hardest commodity to have."
This year's free-agent class isn't overflowing with options for the Orioles, whose top pitching target appears to be moving further and further from their grasp. A.J. Burnett, who lives in Monkton and wants to pitch close to home, is being wooed by a handful of teams as an alternative to top free agents CC Sabathia and Derek Lowe.
MacPhail met last month with Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker, and he'll likely touch base with him this week. However, the Orioles are not expected to come close to matching the Atlanta Braves' reported offer, a four-year pact worth $60 million with an option for a fifth season.
Fearful of Burnett's injury history, the Orioles are even hesitant to offer him a guaranteed four years, likely leaving them to pore through other options. They have expressed interest in Paul Byrd, Jon Garland, Mark Hendrickson, Braden Looper and Randy Wolf. They have meetings scheduled with the agents for Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara, and appear to be in decent position to land at least one of the Japanese starters.
And the Orioles, who traditionally have avoided taking chances on pitchers who are health risks, are even considering players such as Bartolo Colon and Matt Clement.
"We're looking at everything," MacPhail said. "We're going to do everything we can to augment our pitching. There's no question it will be difficult. It always is."
