Today, the Baltimore Orioles made a key move to strengthen their starting pitching depth.
The team hasn’t been as busy as many expected them to be this winter, but this move certainly helps them improve for 2023.
Baltimore acquired left-hander Cole Irvin from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for infield prospect Darell Hernaiz.
Irvin reached the big leagues with the A’s in 2018 and was primarily used as a reliever until being moved to the starting rotation in 2021.
Last season, Irvin went 9-13 with a 3.98 ERA in 30 starts, while also recording 128 strikeouts and posting a WHIP of 1.160.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report the news.
The Baltimore Orioles have acquired left-hander Cole Irvin in a trade with the Oakland A's, sources tell ESPN. Infield prospect Darell Hernaiz is headed back to the A's.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 26, 2023
With John Means coming back, the Orioles rotation was set to improve slightly in 2023.
But they still needed some more pieces.
Earlier in the offseason, Baltimore signed veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson to a one-year deal.
Now, Irvin joins a young Orioles club that appears ready to take the next step and emerge as a legitimate postseason contender.
They finished just three games out in the Wild Card race in 2022.
Baltimore hasn’t been as active as fans would have hoped, but they have not been dormant.
In addition to Gibson, they also signed reliever Mychal Givens and second baseman Adam Frazier.
But Irvin should fit into the Orioles rotation quite nicely.
The left-hander threw 181 innings with the A’s last season.
The Orioles were tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for 17th in the Majors in ERA, posting a 3.97 mark.
The team also may not be done adding, as Michael Wacha and Zack Greinke remain unsigned.
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