Baltimore Orioles Predicted To Sign Recent World Series Champion Starter

The Baltimore Orioles are in an interesting position. They’ll likely have to take a few risks in free agency, as is often the case around Major League Baseball.

For a team as good as the Orioles, they should have a few players who want to play for them, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to get a deal done on every perfect player on the market. 

As Baltimore heads into the free agency market, there are reasons for them to take a risk on several different players.

Among those include Walker Buehler, perhaps one of the top arms in baseball just a few seasons ago. If it weren’t for the injuries he’s dealt with over the past few campaigns, he’d likely be looking at a $150 million deal. 

Unfortunately for the right-hander and baseball fans around the world, that hasn’t been the case. He showed excellent stuff during the World Series, which was a very positive sign for a guy ready to hit free agency, but it’s tough to ignore his past. 

Nonetheless, on paper, the Orioles could give him a chance. They have to be careful, considering they already have a few injuries they dealt with last year that could ride over into 2025 on the mound. Still, it’s worth it.

When he’s at his best, there aren’t many better in the game. 

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports also views Baltimore as a potential landing spot, listing them as a suitor for his services.

“Buehler feels like this winter’s version of Luis Severino: a once-promising right-hander with an injury history and a dismal walk year (at least in the regular season) to his name. As with Severino, the pitch-grading models are a lot sweeter on Buehler’s arsenal than you might suspect they would be based on his poor results. Depending on which one you consult with, Buehler — who closed out the World Series — is estimated to have three or four above-average pitches. We fully expect some team to take that information to heart and hand him a one-year pact worth around $15 million.”

Buehler will be among the more interesting players available this winter. There’s reason to believe that whoever signs him should feel confident in him being a legitimate top-end of the rotation arm, but it could also become a disaster.

If his fastball plays as well as it did during the World Series in the future, a club would be getting a steal. If not, and he looks like he has in other outings since returning from his injuries, things might get ugly.