As the Winter Meetings were winding down, the Orioles managed to take a step in the right direction by landing veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood.
I wrote over the weekend about the need for the Orioles to acquire a seasoned starter in order to bring some guidance to a roster laden with young, promising arms. A guy like Millwood can bring just that type of balance to their rotation, along with the endurance to carry 200 innings while posting a sub-3.70 ERA.
He’ll be the Orioles’ ace come the season’s start, and my bet is he’ll do well all season long. Similar to his move to Texas, a change like this could help Millwood put up some solid numbers. He has the winning attitude that every number one starter should, and he also possesses the ability to go deep into games even when he doesn’t have his best stuff. With those skills, Millwood will set a great example for the younger guys.
Plus, a guy like Millwood can go out every 5th day and keep the Orioles in the game. His arrival pushes the younger arms deeper into the rotation, where they’ll find a more natural fit and have a lot of pressure lifted.
Acquiring Millwood could also open up some more doors for making moves before spring training starts. Now that the pitching rotation has found more stability, the Orioles can consider making some riskier moves that have a high upside, moves they may not have considered before.
Take a guy like Erik Bedard, I’ll use him as an example because he played for the Orioles as recently as 2007 before going to Seattle. Before the Millwood acquisition, the Orioles didn’t have a lot of room to risk picking up a hurler like Bedard. While Bedard’s stuff on the mound has never been questioned; there’s always been some worry about his durability at the major league level.
Now that the Orioles have Millwood in the rotation, they can be more comfortable taking a risk on a guy like Bedard, someone who can throw electric stuff but may or may not have what it takes to last all year.
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