Clinging to a razor-thin lead atop the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles appear to be on the precipice of shifting into win-now mode.
According to a report by Jon Morosi of MLB Network on Wednesday, the Orioles are showing interest in acquiring Pirates southpaw Francisco Liriano.
#Orioles interested in Francisco Liriano, source says, but #Pirates remain focused on competing for playoff berth. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 22, 2016
The 32-year-old Liriano has been unspectacular at best and flat-out bad at worst this season. He currently holds a 4-7 record to go along with a 5.03 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP, and an AL-leading 46 walks. A move to a more hitter-friendly park like Camden Yards might make matters worse, but the Orioles definitely seem to be in the market for another starter. Outside of a spectacular year from Chris Tillman, Baltimore’s rotation hasn’t given them much cause for optimism. Yovani Gallardo is still working his way back from a shoulder injury while Kevin Gausman and Tyler Wilson have been woefully mediocre. The end result has been an overworked O’s bullpen that has pitched the 10th-most innings in the MLB this season, including the most in the American League since the beginning of June, per Eddie Matz of ESPN.
Morosi’s report appears to suggest that the Pirates are leaning towards keeping Liriano for their own potential postseason bid (they sit at 34-37 at the moment, but are still very much in contention for a Wild Card spot in the NL). At the very least however, the Orioles are one team to keep an eye on that could possibly swing a trade for a starter before next month’s trade deadline, even if that starter might not necessarily be Liriano.
Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
H/T Rotoworld
