Baltimore Orioles named landing spot for former All-Star

The Baltimore Orioles are in desperate need of starting pitching this offseason and could target the former All-Star returning in free agency.

Luis Severino’s baseball career hasn’t reached the heights he seemed to be heading to when he was younger, but he took a step in the right direction this season.

Like Jim Bowden from Athletic After researching Severino’s prospects as a free agent, he considered the Orioles to be an ideal landing team.

Bowden also projected the pitcher to receive a two-year contract worth $32 million, which is a fair price for a good starter.

While Severino may not be the guy to replace Corbin Burns, Baltimore also needs to focus on finding reliable players in the middle of the rotation.

The Dominican Republic native burst onto the scene as a rookie with the New York Yankees back in 2015 with a 2.89 ERA in 11 starts.

He didn’t become an ace straight away, however, as he had to go through some growing pains during his next campaign. In 2016, he split time between the starting rotation, bullpen and minor leagues.

Flamethrower responded with his first All-Star nod in each of the next two seasons, sending his hype through the roof.

His fastball averaged just under 98 mph, and he hit batters at high speed and with great efficiency without giving away very many free bases.

However, due to the high speed, many problems with the hands arose.

Severino’s career was never the same after he signed a big contract extension with the Yankees.

He missed most of the 2019 and 2021 seasons due to injuries and did not participate at all in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

The right-hander played most of 2022 and 2023 but is still injury-free during that time. In his final season in New York as a Yankee, he also had a tough time on the mound.

While this doesn’t sound like the ideal person to come in to calm an Orioles team that has been struggling with multiple injury issues, the good news is that he finally returned to some form last season. Its market is higher than ever.

The 30-year-old remained on staff, signed with the New York Mets and was a key factor in their successful run to the NLCS.

He finally played a full season and posted a solid 3.91 ERA. While he no longer averages 98 mph, he still has plenty of speed and is a great pitch.

Interested teams will also be happy to see that he had a solid postseason, posting a 3.24 ERA in 20.2 innings over three starts.