The Baltimore Orioles are set to enter a very important free agency period this offseason after disappointingly finishing the 2024 season.
And one MLB insider expects them to make several major deals. As part of his list of 25 early offseason predictions, Jim Bowden of The Athletic offered an outlook that should excite Orioles fans.
“The Orioles ink Blake Snell to a three-year, $105 million deal and then trade three strong prospects to the Athletics for flame-throwing closer Mason Miller, whom they convert back to a starting pitcher,” Bowden wrote.
Bowden also projects Orioles ace Corbin Burnes to land with the New York Mets, but Baltimore would replace him quite quickly. Snell, whom Bowden projects to the Orioles in free agency, was the best pitcher in baseball over his last 14 starts to end the 2024 season.
Over those 14 starts, Snell would go 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts. Snell tossed a no-hitter in that stretch as well. Miller, 26, found his way in the big leagues as a reliever this season.
He’s voiced his willingness to return to a starting role, which Bowden predicts here, but it might not make the most sense.
Miller posted a 2.49 ERA with 28 saves as a closer last season.
He was one of the best bullpen arms in the entire league. The prospects that Baltimore would need to move in order to acquire Miller aren’t specified by Bowden, but based on the market value for pitchers, it wouldn’t be cheap.
