The Orioles are signing free agent starting pitcher Chris Bassitt to bolster their rotation. The move comes after Baltimore failed to bring in one of a few available aces in free agency. The Orioles did trade for Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz earlier in the offseason, and now they add a proven veteran in Bassitt for $18.5 million.
Is the signing enough for Baltimore’s rotation to keep pace in a competitive American League East? Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff has to say about the addition of Bassitt:
Jacob Calvin Meyer, reporter
When the Orioles lost out on the sweepstakes for pitchers Ranger Suárez and Framber Valdez, it was clear that they needed to do something to bolster the rotation.
The group entering spring training Wednesday was good enough, if healthy, to lead a team to the postseason. Key words: if healthy. Kyle Bradish is a worthy No. 1 starter. The same can be said for Trevor Rogers as a No. 2 and Shane Baz as a No. 3, and Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer are solid back-end starters. But that group’s recent injury history and the questionable depth behind them raised major concerns for the ballclub this spring.
A front-line starter like Suárez or Valdez would have been ideal, but the qualities of pitchers like them were more important than the label put on them. The Orioles needed another starter who is reliable, experienced, consistent and an innings-eater.
They got that in Bassitt.
Bassitt checks off every box the Orioles needed once they struck out (swinging or looking, who knows) on a front-of-the-rotation starter. Over the past three seasons in Toronto, he’s averaged 180 innings while recording a 3.89 ERA. Only eight pitchers in baseball have thrown more innings than Bassitt’s 541 1/3 since 2023. No Orioles pitcher has tossed more than 475 over that span.
He’s well-regarded as a clubhouse leader. He’s unpredictable with an eight-pitch mix. He has a career 3.04 ERA.
A rotation with Bradish, Rogers, Bassitt, Baz and Kremer/Eflin is more than good enough — and it’s much better than it was before Bassitt joined it.
Matt Weyrich, reporter
The Orioles got their pitcher. He isn’t an ace, a No. 1 or even a “front-line” starter to use a term that Mike Elias offered at the start of the offseason, but Bassitt, like Charlie Morton was supposed to do last year, brings stability to the Orioles’ rotation both as a modern-day workhorse and as a largely reliable pitcher start to start.
Bassitt can be counted on for 170-plus innings — a number he’s hit each of the past four seasons — with an ERA in the high 3.00s or low 4.00s. Though he’s about to turn 37 years old and there’s always concern over an aging pitcher, his track record suggests the Orioles’ rotation is gaining an arm it can depend on.
That the Orioles signed him with Zac Gallen still available in free agency is curious and suggests that Baltimore felt as if Gallen’s asking price was too lofty. Bassitt, to his credit, is coming off the better season than Gallen. But until their rotation proves otherwise, the Orioles will face questions over whether they should’ve paid up for one of the market’s top arms this winter.
Josh Tolentino, columnist
Bassitt shouldn’t qualify as the second splash the Orioles once suggested they had payroll room for, but he arrives to Baltimore as a respected veteran and known innings-eater. The 36-year-old right-hander has made at least 30 starts in four consecutive seasons and owns a 3.77 ERA during that span. His reported one-year, $18.5 million salary ranks seventh in annual average value among starting pitchers signed this offseason, representing a meaningful investment, but still well short of the market’s elite tier that Birdland hoped owner David Rubenstein and president of baseball operations Mike Elias would shop around.
The last time Elias invested one-year deals in aging starters, the results were disappointing and regrettable, so it’s understandable if you’re feeling a sense of caution with this addition. But even at 36, Bassitt has proven sturdy, and his arrival at the outset of spring training should provide him a proper “ramp up” period to prepare for the start of the regular season.
While the Orioles appear poised to set a franchise record for opening day payroll after Rubenstein’s second full offseason, they still project to rank just 16th in MLB. Will Baltimore ever climb into the top 10 in MLB spending? Bassitt’s one-year deal adds proven stability, but it also leaves plenty to be desired and emphatically underscores what didn’t materialize in recent weeks. He’s a fine consolation prize, though the Orioles did not land the ace on a multi-year deal that many fans envisioned.
C.J. Doon, editor
While it would be nice to have Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez or Freddy Peralta taking the mound on opening day or Game 1 of a playoff series, the Orioles boast a pretty strong group behind Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers. Simply put, Shane Baz and Bassitt are a lot more appealing than Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton and Kyle Gibson in the back end of the rotation. Mike Elias clearly learned from those mistakes.
This move has ripple effects, too. Now Tyler Wells can likely become the late-inning reliever he was meant to be, while Cade Povich and Brandon Young will have to earn their starts. Dean Kremer fits in nicely as a middle-of-the-rotation arm.
What’s really intriguing about this addition is Bassitt’s recent postseason performance. In 8 2/3 innings as a late-inning reliever for the American League champion Blue Jays last year, Bassitt allowed just one earned run and recorded 10 strikeouts with two walks. He pitches with an aggressive demeanor and should give the Orioles a trustworthy option when the pressure ramps up in October.
If Bassitt can continue to be a reliable innings-eater while getting some key outs in the postseason, this move will be considered a bargain.
Bennett Conlin, editor
He’s not Valdez or Suárez, but Bassitt immediately upgrades Baltimore’s rotation, which was seemingly the team’s weakness. The team’s biggest flaw might now be the bullpen, but this move should help push Wells into a reliever role in 2026.
Bassitt is a good pitcher, and perhaps most importantly, he’s reliable. He’s pitched at least 150 innings in five consecutive seasons, which should help take pressure off that aforementioned average bullpen.
The Orioles had too many games in 2025 that were seemingly over after five innings. Bassitt won’t overpower most opponents, but he should keep Baltimore in games. That’s a distinct improvement from what the Orioles received at times from guys like Morton and Sugano a season ago. That’s also a low bar to clear, and some fans will understandably be frustrated by the lack of offseason star power added to the rotation.
But Kyle Bradish is elite when healthy, and there’s obvious upside for other starters such as Baz, Trevor Rogers and Zach Eflin. Adding Bassitt makes it slightly less critical that Rogers, Baz and Eflin all deliver good seasons. The Orioles should feel decent about their rotation because it is a decent rotation. This isn’t the flashiest addition, but Bassitt raises Baltimore’s floor. Elias didn’t hit a home run with this move, but at least he took the bat off his shoulder.
Have a news tip? Contact C.J. Doon at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.