4 Baltimore Orioles who won't be back next season and why
Disappointment probably doesn't begin to describe what Baltimore Orioles fans and the team are feeling after their effort in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers. The result was a sweep, and not in the right direction. Orioles pitching was blasted by the loaded opposing lineup in all three games and the young up-and-comers couldn't answer nearly enough.
After finishing with the best record in the American League during the regular season, that result undoubtedly stings anyone in the clubhouse or rooting for the club. However, the fact of the matter is that the Orioles reached these heights even sooner than expected. Now they have a bright future that should be filled with many more playoff appearances to come -- and hopefully more postseason success.
Having said that, the Orioles can't stand pat on the roster they had for the 2023 season, especially given what we saw in the playoffs. Taking that into account, the writing appears to be on the wall that these players won't be back in Baltimore for the 2024 campaign.
4. Shintaro Fujinami won't be back with the Orioles after a dice-roll
Before the true hullabaloo around the MLB Trade Deadline got rolling, the O's pulled off an under-the-radar deal for once highly-regarded reliever Shintaro Fujinami with the Oakland A's. The Japanese flamethrower struggled with the Athletics but Baltimore took a swing hoping that they could mold him into a useful reliever.
Make no mistake, Fujinami was exponentially better coming out of the Orioles bullpen than he was with Oakland. Whereas he heled a catastrophic 8.57 ERA and 1.66 WHIP with the A's, he bettered that over 30 appearances with Baltimore by posting a 4.85 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Fujinami also improved his K/BB rate from 1.7 to 2.1 over that span as well.
The problem, however, is that he didn't improve quite enough. Given how strong the O's bullpen as a whole was throughout this season, Fujinami was not nearly reliable enough to become a consistent part of that. Subsequently, that's a big part of the reason that he was ultimately left off of the Orioles ALDS roster coming into the postseason.
Fujinami is now set to become a free agent after this season. While there is still a glimmer of hope for the 29-year-old after the improvement he showed with a change of scenery, there's no guarantee. Even if he'll likely be cheap on the open market, the Orioles have proven they're ready to contend now and, though they'll still operate with a budget, Fujinami does not look like a win-now piece to pursue re-signing.