Call me crazy but I don't think that the Orioles should pursue a big pitcher this offseason. We don't need another starter, maybe some cheap bullpen pieces, but not another starter. We already have 4 of 5 starters for next season with (1) Tillman (2) Chen (3) Gonzalez and (4) Norris. So who is our number 5 pitcher? Kevin Gausman. How could it not be Gausman? He pitched pretty well out of the pen this year and he showed flashes of pure brilliance this season. At the very least he deserves a chance to compete for the 5th spot. And with pitchers like Eduardo Rodriguez, Stevie Johnson, Zach Britton (I guess we can give him another chance),Josh Stinson, and T.J. McFarland (among many others) there is no reason for the Orioles to spend money on a pitcher like Feldman or Vargas to come in and be the 5th starter (we aren't going to win the AL East because we have a solid #5 pitcher who can eat innings).
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So how do the Orioles improve for 2014?
We need to go out and get a true DH in free agency (FA).
The Orioles need to add a big player this offseason. With all due respect to Dan Duquette (and none to Peter Angelos) Im tired of watching the Orioles spend no money on players. I know that we need to resign Manny, Davis, and Weiters soon. But that doesn't mean that they can't get a bat in FA. There is no one in our organization that I believe can step up and be a QUALITY DH in the MLB. If the Orioles want to win in the AL East and for that matter the playoffs they need another quality bat. Pitching is not the problem. We have tons of internal options for both the rotation and maybe even the bullpen. Its time to spend some money. And they don't have to break the bank either. Instead of spending $7-10 mil on Feldman or Vargas maybe they should spend $10 mil on one of
-Corey Hart (tell me he wouldn't be a perfect fit for the Orioles, a righty who hits for average and power and he can play OF and 1B and he can DH)
-Nelson Cruz (could be a cheap option since he is coming off the steroid suspension)
And thats just to name a few. I like the Orioles plan of building a team internally, it's worked well so far... But that doesn't mean that you can just ignore FA. If the Orioles want to win next year, in the toughest division in the MLB I might add, they need to make some moves.