MLB season preview: Are Orioles any better after spending $280M?

Editor’s Note: With the arrival of baseball season we’re previewing each MLB team, from worst to best. We’ll look at their key offseason moves, projected lineup, best and worst possible outcomes plus examine the team’s fantasy implications. Our daily series continues with No. 22: The Baltimore Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles, almost surprisingly, were one of the biggest offseason spenders. When you think of the baseball teams that were just tossing around money, you think about the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants, even the Arizona Diamondbacks to some degree.

(AP) But the Orioles spent about $280 million, $250 million of that coming from free agents and trades. They gave Chris Davis his $161 million, then brought back Darren O’Day ($31M), kept Matt Wieters ($15.8M) on a qualifying offer and added Yovani Gallardo ($22), Pedro Alvarez ($5.75M) and Hyun-soo Kim ($7M). They also traded for Mark Trumbo ($9.150).

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That’s quite a spending spree. Now that it’s done, we have to ask the question: Are the Orioles that much better? It’s really tough to say, but the knee-jerk says, “no, not really.”

The O’s were 81-81 a year ago and they’ve mostly kept things the same, despite all the ch-chinging. They’ll hit some homers, sure, and their bullpen will be good, but the starting pitching will continue to be the question mark. (Gallardo is a good addition, but his numbers aren’t that different than Wei-Yin Chen, who left in free agency). To spend as much money as Baltimore did and not markedly improve the starting staff is troubling.

What we’re getting at is this: It wouldn’t be a shocker if the Orioles didn’t match their .500 mark from a year ago, considering the AL East is very competitive and generally unpredictable.

Key additions: Yovani Gallardo, Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez, Hyun-soo Kim

Key subtractions: Wei-Yin Chen, Gerardo Parra, Steve Pearce

The Orioles offseason will be remembered for the one player who didn’t sign, as opposed to all the players the team brought back. The Dexter Fowler debacle hurt in a number of ways. Not only was it embarrassing from a team standpoint, but the on field product suffered without Fowler in tow. Despite that, the Orioles did a lot to bring in talent. Gallardo, Trumbo and Alvarez aren’t stars, but they should be modest upgrades. On top of that, bringing back Chris Davis and Darren O’Day were huge. The team’s rotation remains a question, especially after Chen left for Miami. While getting a bunch of sluggers is fun, the defense should suffer with Trumbo patrolling the outfield. (Chris Cwik)

Kevin Gausman: The 25-year-old has been on the verge of the breakout for what seems like years now, but the Orioles haven’t given him the opportunity.

After putting up a solid 3.57 ERA over 20 starts in 2014, Gausman was relegated to a relief role to open 2015. He eventually made his way to the rotation, and showed improved peripherals, even though his ERA jumped to 4.25.

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It finally looks like Gausman will receive a full season in the rotation to finally show what he can do. Once upon a time, he was considered one of the top pitching prospects in the game, and it’s not hard to envision Gausman emerging as the club’s top starter if they finally leave him alone. (Cwik)

Lineup:
1. Manny Machado, 3B (286/.359/.502, 102 R, 35 HR, 86 RBI, 20 SB)
2. Adam Jones, OF (.269/.308/.474, 74 R, 27 HR, 82 RBI)
3. Chris Davis, 1B (.262/.361/.562, 100 R, 47 HR, 117 RBI)
4. Mark Trumbo, OF (.263/.316/.419, 39 R, 13 HR, 41 RBI)
5. Matt Wieters, C (.267/.319/.422, 24 R, 8 HR, 25 RBI)
6. Pedro Alvarez, DH (.243/.318/.469, 60 R, 27 HR, 77 RBI)
7. Jonathan Schoop, 2B (.279/.306/.402, 34 R, 15 HR, 39 RBI)
8. J.J. Hardy, SS (.219/.253/.311, 45 R, 8 HR, 37 RBI)
9. Hyun-soo Kim, OF (.326/.428/.541, 103 R, 28 HR, 121 RBI, 11 SB in Korea )

Rotation:
1. Chris Tillman (11-11, 4.99 ERA, 173 IP, 120 K)
2. Miguel Gonzalez (9-12, 4.91 ERA, 144.2 IP, 109 K)
3. Yovani Gallardo (13-11, 3.42 ERA, 184.1 IP, 121 K)
4. Ubaldo Jimenez (12-10, 4.11 ERA, 184 IP, 168 K)
5. Kevin Gausman (4-7, 4.25 ERA, 112.1 IP, 103 K)

— compiled by Kyle Ringo

The Orioles have more than enough offense to be considered dangerous and a good enough bullpen to convert that offense into a fifth straight winning season. It’s a deep and very tough division though. Mashing their way to the very top will be difficult, but it could be enough to secure them a wild-card spot. (Mark Townsend)

Lousy starting pitching torpedoed their 2015 season and threatens to do the same in 2016. Even with Yovani Gallardo added to the mix, Baltimore will need more improvement across the board or it could easily find itself buried at the bottom of the standings. (Townsend)

Will Manny Machado be a top-five fantasy player? His ADP is just outside the top-10, so it would hardly be a shock if Machado finishes in the top five. He’s coming off a monstrous season in which he posted a line of .286-102-35-86-20 as a 23-year-old. He was the only player in all of baseball to reach both 35 homers and 20 steals, and he’s eligible at shortstop in Yahoo leagues (while playing the less taxing third base). Machado should be drafted in the first round with extreme confidence.

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Will Kevin Gausman finally breakout? It seems like every season fantasy owners are waiting for Gausman to turn into an elite starter, and while last year’s 4.25 ERA and 4-7 record (partially because he started out in the bullpen) were once again disappointing, there are encouraging underlying peripherals. Gausman sported a 3.55 K/BB ratio while averaging 95.3 mph and producing an elite 10.9 swinging-strike rate. He pitches in a hitter’s park and the tough A.L. East, but what should be strong run support and a good bullpen will help. It’s time Baltimore quits messing around and sees what the young hurler can do in 200 innings. Gausman’s Yahoo ADP is 248.3, and he has the talent to outperform that by a wide margin. (Dalton Del Don of Roto Arcade)

On the whole the Orioles aren’t an overly active squad on Twitter, but at least All-Star closer Zach Britton maintains a social media presence. You can find him @zbritton where he tweets a little about his personal life and a little about baseball and also holds occasional Q&A’s with fans. It was no surprise that the Orioles picked Britton to be a big part of the #BirdlandSocial event they held at Camden Yards last summer. So don’t waste any time and follow him to see what he has in the store on social media for this season. (Israel Fehr)

Watching videos with my wife, so she can keep her law license up 2 date. It’s like lawyers are from another planet..r they speaking english?

— Zach Britton (@zbritton) January 21, 2016

There’s always Adam Jones. He’s the O’s centerfielder and one of their most engaging personalities. He’s got an appetite for life — and we don’t mean that only because he likes to eat.

Keep it fun. @SimplyAJ10 breaks it down before he takes some swings. #StayHungry #OrangeSpring pic.twitter.com/wjM3WzKi2N

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 8, 2016