NASHVILLE -- The starting-pitching market has skyrocketed this offseason. While that hurts the Baltimore Orioles' chances of landing a much-needed starter via free agency, it might actually help their odds of re-signing Chris Davis.
“The price of pitching is pretty steep,” said general manager Dan Duquette yesterday. In the past couple of weeks, Duquette has watched as several free-agent starters have cashed in on the open market. The Red Sox gave David Price a seven-year, $217 million deal, the largest contract ever awarded to a major-league hurler. Zack Greinke's new six-year, $206 million deal with the Diamondbacks has the highest annual value of any contract in MLB history. Jordan Zimmermann's five-year, $110 million pact with the Tigers made him the third hurler this offseason to nab nine digits. It hasn’t taken long for the trickle-down effect to start trickling down.
Jeff Samardzija, who’s never won more than 11 games in a season and whose 4.96 ERA last season was third-worst among American League starters, hauled in $90 million over five years from the Giants. John Lackey, Brett Anderson, and Hisashi Iwakuma have all received multi-year deals that will pay at least $15 million annually. Just how bloated is the market? If you add up the contracts of the 10 free-agent starters who have already signed -- a group that includes castoff Rich Hill, who was pitching with the Long Island Ducks barely more than five months ago -- the average value is more than $22 million per year. It's enough to send a GM into a state of shock.
As Duquette discussed the starting-pitching market with the Baltimore media yesterday afternoon in a sixth-floor suite at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, he was quiet and subdued. Of course, he’s always quiet and subdued. But the current price of pitching wasn’t helping. After all, his Orioles -- who need to fill the void created by the loss of free agent Wei-Yin Chen -- are a club whose richest pitching contract ever is the four-year, $50 million deal that Ubaldo Jimenez inked the winter before last. Suddenly, names that seemed vaguely attainable not too long ago -- second-tier arms like Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy and Scott Kazmir -- now appear far less realistic. As a result, the Orioles are turning their attention to the trade market.
“We’re involved in a couple [of] trade discussions, focusing on the pitching market,” said Duquette.
Specifically, he mentioned targeting teams who have already reeled in a starter and, as a result, might have a surplus of arms and be willing to make a deal. Duquette didn’t mention specific teams, but of the clubs who have signed a free-agent hurler, the Dodgers and Red Sox appear to stand out as having the rotations with the most depth.
It’s hard to imagine what the Orioles might be able to offer in return. Their farm system is relatively barren and was ranked next-to-last by Baseball America prior to the 2015 season, and last summer they appeared unwilling to part with the players that other teams were most interested in (Kevin Gausman, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop). That said, if Duquette is able to swing a deal, it could free up some money that the team could then use in its effort to re-sign Davis.
Granted, if the Orioles were to trade for a pitcher, they’d have to pay that pitcher. But given the inflated market, obtaining a starter who’s already under contract as opposed to signing one in free agency could save the O’s a significant chunk of change next season and beyond. Who knows how much? Maybe it’s $5 million. Maybe it’s $10 million. Maybe it’s more. Regardless of the number, this much is for sure: If the budget-conscious Orioles are going to win the Davis sweepstakes, they’ll need every penny they can get.