Orioles' Grayson Rodriguez replacement won't get fans back believing in Mike Elias

The Baltimore Orioles were dealt a devastating injury blow when Grayson Rodriguez suffered elbow inflammation in spring training. Rodriguez's timeline to return from the injury is unclear, but he's going to begin the year on the Injured List. Baltimore being without Rodriguez to start the year while Kyle Bradish is already on the IL and Corbin Burnes is in Arizona makes their current rotation almost unrecognizable.

With Baltimore badly needing depth, GM Mike Elias went out and signed arguably the best starting pitcher still out there, Kyle Gibson, to a one-year deal according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

On the surface, this isn't a horrible signing. Gibson is far from an ace, but he is a durable innings-eater who can be valuable in the back of just about any rotation. Getting him on a cheap one-year deal is not bad business, but it's still a move that won't be received particularly well by Orioles fans.

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Kyle Gibson signing is Mike Elias' latest underwhelming decision

Again, as an emergency replacement, Gibson isn't a bad option. However, he's far from a slam dunk. This is a 37-year-old that we're talking about here, who happened to pitch for the Orioles in 2023 and did not look good in the black and orange. In fact, Gibson surrendered more hits (198) than anybody in the American League that season, and posted a 4.73 ERA.

Gibson already struggling in an Orioles uniform makes this a frustrating move, and Elias' continued reluctance to make a big trade only adds to the frustration. The Orioles have graduated many of their high-end prospects but still have guys like Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo, who are among the best position player prospects in the sport and don't have a direct path to playing time in Baltimore in 2025. Even guys like Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Chayce McDermott would have a good amount of value if they were made available.

High-end arms aren't really available right now, but the Orioles had the ammo to make a move for a starting pitcher over the offseason and refused. Instead, Elias wound up signing 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano to one-year deals. Those pitchers aren't bad, but the Orioles could have and should have done much better.

The Orioles won 91 games last season and got substantially worse over the offseason in large part due to their reluctance to make a big move. The longer Elias refrains from making a big blockbuster to put this Orioles team over the top, the more agitated Orioles fans will be with him.