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Orioles Could Help Pirates in Offseason by Taking Expensive Contract
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- Orioles Could Help Pirates in Offseason by Taking Expensive Contract
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
It's fair to wonder what the Pittsburgh Pirates want to do in this year's free-agent class and offseason.
There's reason to believe that the Pirates aren't going to do what they have to on both sides of the baseball to ensure they can compete after doing so a year ago, as it's fair to wonder whether ownership is still going to be cheap.
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Bob Nutting hasn't given us anything to suggest he'll spend the necessary money to improve his roster, but he could free up money and spend it elsewhere if he can move on from Mitch Keller.
The front office will have to make some tough decisions with this roster this offseason, and nearly all of it will come down to money.
Moving on from Keller would bring more benefits than just ending his five-year, $77 million deal, which doesn't end until the free agency class of 2029.
Not many teams around Major League Baseball are going to be willing to take Keller's contract, but it seems like the Atlanta Braves and others could be.
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We've already talked about his potential fit with the Braves, but another squad could make sense: the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles had one of the most disappointing seasons in Major League Baseball this past campaign, and there's reason to believe their ownership will finally do what's necessary next year after promising the fan base when it took over that it's always going to be competitive.
A guy like Keller could fit right into what the Orioles are looking to do, and he wouldn't cost anything as much as some of the other names Bleacher Report recently mentioned as potential trade options in Baltimore.
"Whether it's Baz or Bradish starting on Opening Day, let's just say Baltimore isn't projected for a top-10 spot in any sort of "Ranking the 30 Opening Day Starting Pitchers" article. There's also ample room for improvement in the combination of Trey Gibson, Cade Povich, Michael Forret and Luis De León for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the rotation.
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"Basically, Baltimore could really use one, maybe two years of an ace-caliber pitcher to hold down the fort until at least one of those top prospects is ready to shine. Of course, the catch is they would almost certainly need to part with one of those pitching prospects—and more—to acquire a Logan Gilbert, Drew Rasmussen, Joe Ryan, Nathan Eovaldi or Sandy Alcantara, each of whom could become a free agent after the 2027 season," Bleacher Report wrote .
The Orioles have an above-average farm system still, but it's certainly not as highly regarded as it was a few seasons ago. For the Pirates, I don't think it's a huge deal if they don't get something major back for Keller.
The hope is that another team is willing to take on his full contract, though I can see why there are some concerns about that.
It all comes down to how the Pirates spend money beyond that, though one of their first orders of business may be moving on from him.
