Look, folks. The Orioles need an ace. You know it. I know it. The Orioles know it.
But boy, was that point hammered home at the just-concluded MLB Winter Meetings. On consecutive days, two of the Orioles’ AL East rivals acquired top-of-the-line starting pitchers, first with the Yankees signing ace lefty Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract, then the Red Sox swiping southpaw Garrett Crochet from the White Sox for four prospects. In the blink of an eye, two O’s divisional opponents boosted their rotations immensely, while the Birds’ starting pitching depth chart is led by.