MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Just a few games over the halfway mark of the Major League Baseball regular season, let’s take a look at the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals.
Truthfully, all three teams are having good seasons in the context of what’s been expected of them and by what’s happened to them along the way through the first 83 or so games.
The Orioles, of course, are as good as anybody in baseball; everyone seems to know that, but their current 53-31 record has been tricky.
For starters, they’ve lost starting pitchers Kyle Bradish and John Means to Tommy John surgery, and starter/reliever Tyler Wells for the season, not to mention reliever Danny Coulombe with an elbow injury that will keep him out at least until September. Nor has it helped that starter Dean Kremer has been out for an extended time with a strained right triceps.
All of which comes months after losing Felix Bautista, the best and most dominating closer in baseball, to Tommy John surgery.
Still, through the power of their offense and the depth of their player development, and through the direction and resiliency of the organization, the Orioles just came though the most difficult stretch of the season not only in good shape in the standings, but in better shape than they were when the stretch began.
On May 31, the Orioles, then two games behind the first-place New York Yankees, began a stretch of 30 games in 31 days against the toughest extended stretch of teams on their schedule and gained 2 games in the standings, going 18-12, despite a five-game losing streak toward the end of that stretch.
That’s tough, that’s good, that’s talent and that’s resilience; but it’s not going to be enough, and general manager Mike Elias understands this more than anybody does, because this current pitching staff is not going to hold up.
The Orioles offense is fine; it’s loaded. The pitching staff? It’s smoke and mirrors at this point.
Yes, there is Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez still in the rotation, but at least one more proven starter is going to be required if the O’s are going to make the deep postseason run they expect to make.
The bullpen is shot at the halfway point. As admirable as their performance has been, those guys are already running out of juice and it won’t be pretty if Elias isn’t able to get at least two more dependable arms back there.
All of which will come down to what’s available and what the Orioles general manager is or is not willing to trade for it. It is also curious to wonder if new and eager ownership will step forward with a suggestion or two.
Not to mention a few extra bucks.
To me, the PITTSBURGH PIRATES are a fun watch. I really enjoy watching them play, beginning with their outstanding starting pitching.
The Bucs are 40-43 and just three games out of the wild card, which is impressive given their offense has been so disappointing. The Pirates pitch, compete and play defense with everyone, but they need that bopper in the middle of the offense to first protect the rest of the lineup, but then make it even better and more productive.
Pittsburgh has been linked to Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in trade talks, and while the franchise does not have a history of acquiring big-name players, there is a surplus of pitching prospects in Pittsburgh that Toronto would likely be interested in.
Guerrero Jr. is a big-money commitment, as his arbitration for this season is $19 million, so should the Pirates be able to work a deal with him, Toronto would have to send money to them along with Guerrero. But Guerrero will also be under control for another year after this season, so any team that trades for him will receive more than just a rental.
Thus, as will be the case in Baltimore, it’s just a matter of how willing Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and, most importantly, Pirates ownership will be willing to trade prospects and pull the trigger on a deal that could help land the Pirates into the postseason.
For the WASHINGTON NATIONALS, today is James Wood Day, as Wood has been called up from Triple-A Rochester and will play his first big-league game today in Washington against the New York Mets.
A Rockville native, no less, the 21-year-old outfielder, 6-foot-7, 234 pounds, is the No. 3 prospect in baseball, having come to D.C. in the Juan Soto trade a couple of years ago with big power, having hit .346 with 10 homers and 34 RBI in 51 games in Triple A.
While trading Soto was difficult for Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, it was the right thing to do as the Nats received Wood, Jarlin Susana, former first-rounder Robert Hassell III, former No. 3 pick MacKenzie Gore and former first-rounder C.J. Abrams, who has become the Nationals’ best player.
The Nats are 39-44 and four games out of the wild card, which isn’t bad given they undertook a complete rebuild just a few years ago, with Abrams and Gore being mainstays on the club that continues to bounce back nicely from last year’s 71-91 last-place finish.
The Nationals still have a lot of holes, though their starting pitching continues to get better. They have no power and a leaky bullpen, but they are very aggressive on the bases and are going to take the initiative.
Watching James Wood break in is going to be fun, and though the Nats are just four out in the wild-card standings, look for them to stick more with the rebuild, and if they reach the postseason this season, that’s just a big fat bonus.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @MikeBurkeMDT