Orioles attempt to patch massive hole with Odrisamer Despaigne

(AP Photo/Alan Diaz) A quick glance at the Baltimore Orioles roster may lead to some to believe the team hasn’t done anything this offseason. That is, of course, not true.

The Orioles most significant moves of the offseason involved bringing back their former players, giving the appearance that not much has changed when looking at their depth chart. Chris Davis was re-signed in order to retain excellent power in the order, and Darren O’Day returned to keep the excellent bullpen intact.

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That wasn’t the case in the rotation, where Wei-Yin Chen departed after receiving a five-year, $80 million deal from the Miami Marlins. While Chen wasn’t an elite starter, he leaves a massive hole at the position.

That’s especially true when you consider the Orioles have done nothing to replace him. Davis replaced Davis on offense, O’Day replaced O’Day in the bullpen, but no one has replaced Chen in the rotation.

The club made an attempt to fix that Thursday, picking up Odrisamer Despaigne from the San Diego Padres. In exchange, Baltimore sent 19-year-old Jean Cosme to the Padres. Problem is, Despaigne isn’t enough.

In his first taste of the majors, Despaigne was a bit of an enigma. Despite some iffy peripherals, he managed to post a strong 3.36 ERA. His 3.74 FIP suggested that, while he should have been a little worse, he was generally a pretty solid pitcher.

The reason for his success may have been his craftiness and deception. Despaigne threw seven(!) different types of pitches his first year in the majors, according to Brooks Baseball. He wasn’t getting hitters out with exceptional stuff, but he was the classic example of a guy who “knew how to pitch.”

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That ability left him in 2015. Or, perhaps more accurately, the league adjusted to his shenanigans. Despaigne saw his strikeout rate drop to just 12.6 percent, which is unacceptable for nearly every starting pitcher. On top of that, his home-run rate spiked. His 5.80 ERA did the same. Despaigne simply wasn’t fooling anyone anymore.

While a swap to a new league could help, Despaigne has a lot of things working against him in the American League. For one, he’ll no longer have the luxury of facing a pitcher at the bottom of the order. Instead of seeing Clayton Kershaw at the plate, he’ll have to deal with Alex Rodriguez. That’s a staggering difference.

On top of that, Camden Yards isn’t a great place to go for someone with home run issues. While it should be noted that Petco Park actually favored home runs last year, Camden still allowed them at a higher rate according to StatCorner.com. A bad situation just got worse.

The same could be said of the Orioles rotation. Despaigne was presumably brought in to help in that area, though that’s somewhat unclear. The Orioles have a bit of a jumbled mess at the bottom of their rotation at the moment. Ubaldo Jimenez, Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez seem like locks at the top, but then things become unclear.

Kevin Gausman has long been a promising prospect, and showed off some skills last season, but the team has always been hesitant to fully insert him into the rotation. He’s been constantly shuttled between the rotation, bullpen and the minors over the past few seasons. It’s assumed he’ll finally get his full-time shot as a starter this season, but that’s not a guarantee given his past.

The fifth spot could be where Despaigne fits. Mike Wright is currently penciled into that spot, but he was somehow worse than Despaigne in almost every way last year. The club also has former top prospect Dylan Bundy kicking around, but he’s never fully recovered from shoulder issues. He’s out of options, so it’s now or never for the former ace prospect.

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No matter what five the club settles on, it’s clear that the rotation is still their biggest weakness. Despaigne may actually help, but that’s only because the team’s other options in the five spot are undesirable. And while the optimist might predict a resurgence, Despaigne isn’t going to suddenly turn into a top-of-the-rotation guy. His upside is limited.

The Orioles did a fine job re-signing their elite players in the offseason. But it’s the one guy they let go who is going to haunt them the most. Chen wasn’t a bonafide No. 1, and he wasn’t going to be the team’s savior this year. But he was a dependable innings-eater who could post a strong ERA. After Thursday’s trade they could still use someone like that.

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